Overview

The Expendable is the true story of Charles Conrad Beckner, a young Navy corpsman confronting life and death in the opening battle of WWII in the Pacific. Charles leaves his Indiana sharecropper family and enlists in the Navy in 1939. After basic and clinical training as a hospital corpsman, Charles is posted to Ca�acao Navy Hospital in the Philippine Islands. He is later assigned to Patrol Wing 10. In December 1941 he is serving as the independent duty Corpsman, caring for the crewmen of PBY Seaplane Squadron VP-102 at Olongapo. Japan opens the War in the Pacific on 7 December with a devastating strike on U.S. Navy ships at Hawaii. Six hours later, with smoke and flames still billowing from Pearl Harbor, Japan throws the full weight of its Imperial Military Forces against the outnumbered and under equipped Filipino Garrison. The American-Filipino Army is unable to hold a line of defense across the Bataan Peninsula. Low on ammunition ammunition and food, and riddled with malaria and dysentery, General Douglas MacArthur's troops retreat to the tip of the Bataan Peninsula to face surrender or worse. Left behind when the remnants of his PBY squadron fled south with the rest of the American Far East Fleet, Charles talks his way into Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 as a squadron corpsman and machine gunner on PT-34. After two months of action off Bataan and in the South China Sea, the four remaining PT Boats are handed a covert, critical mission: transport General Douglas MacArthur from the island fortress of Corregidor to the Del Monte airfield on the southern island of Mindanao. Four of the three PT Boats complete the harrowing two-night ocean run through enemy waters. Once MacArthur has flown on to Australia, the small squadron continue offensive operations around the southern islands. When PT-34 is lost, Charles is abandoned on the island of Cebu. He makes his way across the island on foot, evading roaming Japanese patrols and hostile natives. Reaching Mindanao Island, he joins an organizing guerrilla resistance. Charles is pulled for a special mission and unexpectedly reunited with crewmates from Patrol Wing 10. In a final desperate effort, they will attempt to repair and fly a badly damaged airplane to Australia.

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9781734542103

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Reviews

This well- researched history vividly portrays a terrible defeat for the United States as WWII opens in the Pacific. Dr. Floyd's depiction of an independent duty Navy Corpsman was spot on. It is a highly readable action story and reminded me of many solid corpsmen I had the privilege of working alongside; ordinary yet extraordinary, the best of what is American. Frankly, I was sorry to see the story end. Well done, sir. -Anthony de la Torre, U.S. Navy Corpsman 1968-78. Captures the feel of the times and events. Even though I knew what the outcome was going to be I was still enjoying it and in some suspense until the end. This was one of the best creative nonfiction books I have read . . would make a great movie! - Robert Thomas, Archival Research Volunteer, National Naval Air Museum, Pensacola, Florida. Thank you for reigniting my love of reading. - S. H. Martin, Scientist

Author Information

John Lewis Floyd is a retired physician and the son-in-law of Charles Conrad Beckner CWO4 (Dec). John has published dozens of peer-reviewed scientific journal papers, but this is his first book. The Expendable is based on John's close, four-decade relationship with 'Mr. Beckner' and on meticulous primary research on the opening months of the Pacific War. John and his wife Barbara, both USAF Veterans, reside in Colorado and Arizona when not exploring far-flung corners of the world.

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