Philippine Birthmark: The Story of William Singleton Carroll His birth and first three years as a prisoner of the Japanese in the Philippines 1941-45

Philippine Birthmark: The Story of William Singleton Carroll His birth and first three years as a prisoner of the Japanese in the Philippines 1941-45

Philippine Birthmark tells the story of William Singleton Carroll's birth and first three years as an unwilling captive of the Japanese in Manila during WWII. Little is known of the bombing of the Philippines taking place the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. This narrative will shed light on the conditions suffered by many Americans in Manila at Santo Tomas Internment Camp from January 1942 to February 1945. Philippine Birthmark is a captivating and expertly researched book of personal struggle and the indefatigability of the human spirit that sheds dramatic light on an oft-neglected pocket of World War II history, namely, the Japanese run internment camps in Manila in which countless Americans languished during the war. Retracing the birth and early life of her husband in these harsh conditions, author McLean Goodpasture Carroll brings into vivid relief both the political and deeply human details of the events that rocked the Philippines in the 1940s, trapping her future in-laws in bondage and laying the tumultuous foundation of her husband's life. Philippine Birthmark draws on history, first-hand accounts, personal narratives, and auto biography in order to paint a holistic picture of both William Singleton Carroll's early years and the particulars of 1940s Southeast Asia as both the man and the region were rocked by war, managing to overcome trauma and tragedy only through an unflagging spirit and the courage of family, country, and love. Truly, a must read. -- Charles Asher Phi Beta Kappa