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Errett Lujan, the author’s father, joined the 200th Coast Artillery (Antiaircraft) of the New Mexico National Guard, trained at Ft. Bliss, deployed to the Philippines, and was attacked all within the span of eleven months in 1941. His was the largest regiment in the Philippines when the Japanese invaded just hours after their attack on Pearl Harbor. Lujan survived the invasion, the Bataan Death March, transport on the hellship the Nagato Maru, and held at five POW camps: O’Donnell, Cabanatuan, Bilibid, Mitsushima, and Kanose. The author pulled together nuggets of information from over 280 letters between Errett and his family, eleven interviews with 200th survivors and other x-POWs, Lujan’s war diaries, unpublished primary documents, and an unestimated number of books to create this piece of history.

Please contact me at judy.reed.author.nc@gmail.com. I’d love to hear what you think of this book.

to order visit https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/from-bataan-to-freedom/

Reader’s Comments

“So graphic, well delineated, clearly imagined are her necessary wordy descriptions that every World War II enthusiast will almost instantly rank Judy at the same level, if not better, than most of our respected pictorial war wordsmiths.” D. DeNevi

“Received your book on Wednesday and finished it on Friday. It was riveting and devastating to read about the atrocities your father and POWs endured.” P.V.

“Your book is great.  This is the deepest analysis of the events involved I’ve ever seen, written in clear simple language.  The story of your father is powerful.”  K.H.

“As a teacher, I loved the way you wove the story of your dad and history together.”  C.S.

“You had a deck of cards.. Normally, when you shuffle cards and deal, the cards come out at random, i.e., suites, and numbers. Complicated but with your cards they they all came out in order and the end result is your terrific book!” J.L.

The Japanese imprisonment of U.S. soldiers during WWII is often difficult to comprehend. And such inhumanity does not make for an easy read. But, the author’s knowledge of the subject and level of detail in retelling her father’s POW experience, particularly while at Mitsushima and Kanose, is faithful and vivid. From Bataan to Freedom is a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly testament to Errett’s struggle to cope and survive, not just for himself but for the love of his family. Dominic McBride

OTHER PUBLISHED WORKS BY JUDY REED

“Stormy Weather” and “A Godsend” are included in Vol. 11, 2024; “From Blossom to Earth” is in Vol. 8, 2021; ”June Magic,” winner of the 2019 Carolina Prize for Prose is in Vol. 6; ”My Dear Patcy,” a creative history of Martha and George Washington’s correspondence is in Vol 5., 2018.

for ordering information contact https://www.cpwriters.org/county-lines-journal

This 2010 anthology was compiled in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of the villa of Santa Fe in 1605/1606. Judy Reed’s chapter “Santa Fe in WWII, 1940-1947 briefly covers the 200th/515th Coast Artillery (Antiaircraft) regiment of the New Mexico National Guard, the Department of Justice Japanese Internment camp in Santa Fe, and Bruns Army Hospital, also in Santa Fe. Chapters by other authors chronicle the history of the city’s founding, its earliest colonists, its presidio and royal horse herd, the killing of Governor Albino Perez, its sovereignty under Spanish, Mexican, and U.S. flags, and its role in combating the tuberculosis epoidemic of the early 20th century.