FERDINAND (I have it in caps because the author had it in caps) is an operation that distributed men throughout the South Pacific with radios. Those men would then watch and report the locations and movements of Japanese troops. Often working with natives, the men had to be able to not only refute Japanese propaganda but know who to trust to survive.
Some natives were loyal and others helped the Japanese. There are a lot of close calls and fighting with the land. The jungle is not a place to be trapped unless you have an idea of how to live off the land.
The author of the book was initially in charge of the operation. He was taken away from it later on due to a medical issue, but his history is pretty complete. Instead of hearing one point of view, this is more of an overview of FERDINAND as a whole. I read about many different people and what happened to most of them. These people were courageous and stories like this are too often overlooked and forgotten.
The book does have some pictures here and there, but there weren't that many. Also, I was kind of hoping there would be some statistics in there. As in, here's how many men were part of the operation, and here's how many were lost. It's not a huge deal, but it would have been nice to know.
This book is a good read, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about some truly heroic people. These men fought adversity, the enemy, people they believed to be friends and sometimes each other. They saved countless lives, but not all of them made it out alive. They should be remembered. Good Book!
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