Book excerpt: Follow the men who fought America's first battle in World War II--their will, their resolve, the odds against them, their surrender, the Death March, their imprisonment, and the few who escaped to continue the fight.After the destruction of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the U.S. Army on Bataan was forced to surrender to the Japanese and70,000 American and Filipino soldiers became Prisoners of War. Over the next three years, almost two-thirds of them would die in Japanese custody. However, a few hundred Americans refused to surrender, evaded the Japanese Army, and slipped into the jungle to hide and await the return of General MacArthur. Some joined Filipino guerrilla bands hoping to help the war effort during the months they would wait. But months turned into years, and there was no sign of General MacArthur or his army. At home in the United States their families waited for them, not knowing if their men were dead or alive. Bataan Diary is the remarkable true chronicle of the American prisoners, evaders and guerrillas, trapped in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.