Canada
Lest We Forget
Lest We Forget
Book Review by Sandie Oreta Gillis
Written by Edwin Price Ramsey and Stephen J. Rivele, “Lieutenant Ramsey’s War” is an exhilarating personal story of Ed Ramsey’s valiant efforts while stationed in the Philippines during World War II following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and their subsequent invasion of the Philippine islands in early 1942. A fearless 24-year old lieutenant in the 26th Cavalry, Philippine Scouts, Ramsey faced a ruthless enemy and a war he could hardly imagine. The character build-up portrays Ramsey as a child and through his teenage years, caught in his inner struggles. The narrative is well-done, giving readers a clear understanding of the man.
The many critical key decisions Ramsey made during the war showed his strength and razor-sharp intuition. A determined man, he never gave up despite the physical, mental and emotional agony he and his comrades confronted in the jungle (Ramsey with a bounty on his head). Building the guerilla resistance movement in the East Central Luzon Guerilla Area (ECLGA) was grueling, but at its peak, Ramsey led a force of 40,000 Filipino soldiers. Many lives were lost as Filipinos fought for their freedom. Fighting side by side with them, Ramsey formed intense bonds. “I was no longer merely with the Filipino people; I was of them. I was not simply organizing among them; I had grown organically to be a part of them. Their struggle had become my struggle, and their liberation, inevitably, would be mine as well. It was a vague reality and a foreign one, but somehow, through two years of shared suffering and danger, the professional and private faces of my war had become superimposed.”
Ramsey and his co-author relay an in-depth account of events leading to the rise of the underground movement. The American officer led this group of guerillas, escaping death countless times, even as the Japanese occupiers put his name at the top of their death list.
Reading about the horrors of the war make us realize and appreciate how fortunate we are to be living in a peaceful country, even as other parts of the world remain mired in war.
Originally published in the United States in 1990, this new UST Press edition of “Lieutenant Ramsey’s War” is the book’s first-ever publication in the Philippines. The timing of its publication in 2016 comes some 75 years after the war in the Pacific started in 1941. It is also a timely reminder for us to embrace the peace we enjoy. The arrival of a Philippine edition also gives Filipino students an opportunity to read a first-hand memoir of the courage and sacrifice of the Philippine Scouts who changed the course of history, which comes across on every page of this American hero’s memoir.
Based on the book, a 75-minute documentary film produced by Vanilla Fire Productions will premiere on November 13, 2016. Entitled “Never Surrender: The Ed Ramsey Story”, the film is directed by Steven C. Barber and Matt Hausle, and narrated by actor Josh Brolin.
