Copyright (C) 1985 by Colonel Eugene C. Jacobs.
(Note: Project Gutenberg's .zip includes the images from the book.)
A Medic's Sketch Book
By
Colonel Eugene C. Jacobs
Edited by Sam Rohlfing,
Vero Beach, Florida
A Hearthstone Book
Carlton Press, Inc. New York, N.Y.
To my wife, Judy, a beautiful person.
Limited Edition
© 1985 by Colonel Eugene C. Jacobs
Manufactured in the United States of America
The purpose of Blood Brothers is to acquaint the reader with a seriesof harrowing incidents experienced by the isolated U.S. Armed Forcesin the Far East during World War II.
We might well be voicing the words of Saint Paul which wererecorded in his Second Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter I) verse 8:
"For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble whichcame to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, abovestrength, insomuch that we despaired even of life!"
Of his First Guerrilla Regiment, General Douglas MacArthur stated that"He had acquired a force behind the Japanese lines that would have afar reaching effect on the war in the days to come"; that it had kept"Freedom's Flames burning brightly throughout the Philippines"; thatit had produced a "human drama with few parallels in militaryhistory"; and later, during the landing in Lingayen Gulf, had"accomplished the purposes of practically a front line division."
MacArthur further stated that "the courageous and splendid resistancemaintained by you and your command filled me with pride andsatisfaction."
Of the Hell Ship Oryoku Maru, Gen. James O. Gillespie stated "it wasprobably the most horrible story of suffering endured by prisoners ofwar during World War II."
Gen. John Beall further stated, "You say a lot of things that need tobe said, lest the United States forgets the horrors of the way theJapanese treated our prisoners."
In writing Blood Brothers, I found it necessary to resort to frequentflashbacks; and to keep the reader aware of the history taking placearound the world, I tried to make reference to these events as theyhappened, even when they were merely rumors.
This story has not been pleasant to write; I'm glad it is finallyfinished.
In Blood Brothers, there are no heroes. The survivors of thePhilippines arrived home in 1945, quietly and without recognition, tobe admitted to hospitals near their homes.
With winners and heroes everywhere, there was no time for "Losers."
Eugene C. Jacobs
"Our senses can grasp nothing that is extreme! Too much noise deafensus! Too much light blinds us! Too far or too near prevents our seeing!Too l