Prisoner of the Samurai

James Gee, Rosalie H. Smith

James Gee was fresh out of college at the University of Texas and making plans for his future when World War II interrupted these happy pursuits. He and his friends joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1940 and after training he was posted to the U.S.S. Houston. At first, assignments in Hawaii, Guam and the Philippines--whilst instructing him in the rough and tumble of crew life--were free of encounters with the enemy. But then in 1942 the Houston was first attacked during the battle of the Flores Sea and subsequently sunk by the Japanese fleet during the battle of the Java Sea. Witnessing the last moments of the great ship, Gee survived a prolonged period in the sea clinging to a makeshift raft, before being picked up by a Japanese ship. But this was just the beginning of his ordeal. Initially held prisoner in Java and forced to load and unload enemy ships, he was then transferred to...