Perhaps Major Noguchi was correct and they could not hope to stop the steel wave as it broke upon their shore, but they could make the invaders pay dearly all the same. If they did not stop the Americans here, then they would be that much closer to Japan.
The Japanese high command was well aware of what was at stake. A constant stream of ships had been arriving to bring reinforcements to the Philippines. While the Japanese did seem to have men and ammunition in relative abundance, what they lacked was a supply of food and other basic needs, such as medical supplies, for these men. The Americans had wrought such havoc on their shipping that the supply ships had simply not been able to get through. There was only so much that the Japanese commanders could do to feed an army off the land itself. Many of the Japanese troops who had helped to build the defenses on this hill still looked weak and underfed.
As for the Filipinos themselves, it had become clear that several of those who attacked the hill had been guerrilla soldiers. The few who had been captured had been dealt with severely enough.
Also, there had been reprisals in the nearby village of Palo, which was likely home to many family members of these guerrillas. Ikeda himself had led a search of the village, resulting in gathering several more workers for the crews on the hill and the beach defenses. Those Filipinos who had resisted had not survived — Ikeda had seen to that.
Although he went about his duties enthusiastically, the marksman realized that his role was a small one. Ikeda knew that he probably could not even begin to grasp the sheer scale of the military strategy involved. But he could fight. His own battle would simply be reduced to what he could see in his rifle sights.
He hoped that he might get the chance to again confront the American sniper he had run into. The man was clever and a good shot.
Were American snipers as good as Ikeda himself? Ikeda smiled. That remained to be seen, but he knew that he and his men would soon be put to the test.
NOTE TO READERS
After Guam was secure in the late summer of 1944—except for a few Japanese holdouts who persisted for many years after the war — the United States set its sights on regaining the Philippines. The Japanese had captured the islands from the US right after Pearl Harbor. General Douglas MacArthur had every intention of taking them back — which is where Patrol Easy enters the picture in Rising Sniper.
To be honest, the story was inspired more than a bit by a childhood spent watching old WWII movies like The Guns of Navarone. But mostly this story was loosely based on the advance raids that Army Rangers made on small islands in Leyte Gulf, in order to secure the approaches to the beaches for the Leyte invasion. From those actual events, a plot was born around Hill 522, a Japanese stronghold on Leyte. The hill really had been turned into a fortress, although the battery that Patrol Easy intends to take out is the stuff of fiction.
That’s a good thing in this case, considering that the fight for Leyte would turn out to be difficult and costly enough. The guns in the story were based on those manufactured for the infamous Japanese battleship Yamato. As it turned out, even those massive guns couldn’t protect the Yamato, which was sunk by US forces.
Once again, some of the language and attitudes expressed by the characters are typical of men confronting a deadly enemy in the Pacific theater of 1944 but that we don’t find acceptable today. It’s also worth noting that while Ernie Pyle, Douglas MacArthur, and Tom O’Connell (my great-uncle) were real people, they are used fictitiously here.
The next book will pick up the story in the waning months of 1944 as the actual battle for the Philippines begins and General MacArthur prepares to wade ashore.
Deacon Cole and the rest of the gang are sure to lend a hand.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Healey lives in Maryland, where he worked as a journalist for more than twenty years. He is a member of International Thriller Writers and a contributing editor to The Big Thrill magazine. Join his newsletter list at:
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ALSO BY DAVID HEALEY
GHOST SNIPER
American hunter Caje Cole and German marksman Kurt Von Stenger first encounter one another in the wake of the D-Day invasion, playing a deadly game of cat and mouse across the hedgerow country of Normandy.
IRON SNIPER
When German sniper Dieter Rohde’s older brother is unjustly shot for desertion by the SS, he will stop at nothing to win the Iron Cross medal and redeem his family’s name by targeting as many Allied troops as possible. The German sniper’s efforts bring him into direct confrontation with Caje Cole. As the final pitched battle for France takes place around them at the Falaise Gap, these two snipers declare war on each other.
GODS & SNIPERS
Two patrols cobbled together from the survivors of the Falaise Gap — one American unit, one German — find themselves in a small French village on the banks of the Moselle River. Both sides want possession of the ancient bridge across the Moselle, and the result will be an epic showdown that pits general against general, and sniper against sniper.
ARDENNES SNIPER
As German forces launch a massive surprise attack through the frozen Ardennes Forest, Caje Cole and Kurt Von Stenger find themselves aiming for a rematch. Having been in each other’s crosshairs before, they fight a final duel during Germany’s desperate attempt to turn the tide of war in what will come to be known as the Battle of the Bulge.
RED SNIPER
Red Sniper is the story of a rescue mission for American POWs held captive by the Russians at the end of World War II. Abandoned by their country, used as political pawns by Stalin, their last hope for getting home again is backwoods sniper Caje Cole and a team of combat veterans who undertake a daring rescue mission prompted by a U.S. Senator whose grandson is among the captives. In a final encounter that tests Cole’s skills to the limit, he will discover that forces within the U.S. government want the very existence of these prisoners kept secret at any price.
FROZEN SNIPER
Caje Cole thought he was done with war after the victory in Europe, but a violent act of justice back home in the mountains forces him into the Army once more to fight in the Korean War. With his unit surrounded at the frigid Chosin Reservoir and confronted by a deadly enemy sniper, Cole must use all his skill with a rifle to fight back.
SNIPER RIDGE
Sniper Caje Cole and his squad have one clear objective, which is to capture the next hill and keep it from falling back into enemy hands. That’s not easy when the enemy still attacks in overwhelming numbers. To make matters worse, a deadly enemy shooter has positioned himself on the hill known as Sniper Ridge, picking off the defenders and outshooting Cole. To defeat this enemy, Cole must return to his mountain roots as a hunter, tracker, and jaw-dropping marksman.
FALLEN SNIPER
Deep in the Korean mountains, U.S. sniper Caje Cole and his squad are on patrol when they witness a dogfight that ends with an American pilot being shot down over enemy territory. Cole leads the rescue effort that puts him in conflict with a deadly Chinese sniper, but that turns out to be the least of his worries. Enemy forces are on the move, starting with the capture of an outpost just beyond the American line. Cole fights a desperate last stand against overwhelming odds as he faces a showdown of his own with the enemy sniper and a ruthless political officer.