Never Say Die (book)

First edition (publ. Dorrance)

Never Say Die is a memoir by Jack Hawkins, a lieutenant with the United States Army's 4th Marines in World War II. It was first published in 1961. The book relates Hawkins' experiences as a prisoner of war in Japanese prison camps after the American surrender in the Philippines. When he and others finally escape from a camp, they join the American-Filipino guerrillas under the command of Lt. Col Wendell Fertig. Hawkins serves with Fertig for several months and is involved in numerous actions. For these actions he was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross

Eventually evacuated to Australia by an American submarine, Hawkins later was involved in planning for the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He stayed in the USMC after World War II and eventually retired as a full Colonel.

References

• Hawkins, J. 1961. Never say Die. Dorrance & Company, Inc. Philadelphia.
• How marine POWs hung tough, History Net.
• Mead, Eileen (Nov 12, 1988). "Writer's genre not escapist fiction". The Free Lance-Star. Retrieved 7 March 2012.