Rendezvous By Submarine: The Story of Charles Parsons and the Guerrilla-Soldiers in the Philippines Paperback – August 27, 2018

This is a must read for anyone interested in:1. How to manage and support an insurgency over a nation. It is a must read for the military2. An adventure store in the Philippines that is true3. A study of freedom loving Filipinos4. A study of how a man and his family managed to successfully leave occupied Philippines5. The politics and operations of an insurgency6. A study in how to get people to do the right thing during a rough period in Philippines' History7. How to deal with US Military Bureaucracy to get what is needed to win a war8. A unique study of military leadership9. A history of how Filipinos felt about freedom during World War 2Commander Parsons moved to the Philippines prior to World War 2 and built business interests and friendships in actually most of the Philippine Islands. He became a Reserve Naval Officer and was in the thick of it at Cavite.Instead of retreating to Corregidor like most Americans, he stayed in Manila with his family. His ace in the hole was that he was the honorary Panamanian Ambassador (so to speak). Through diplomacy and intelligence he and his family managed to get back to the USA through occupied China. That in its self was an entire adventure story.He worked in D.C. as a naval officer. His experience with the Philippines plus language ability along with an in depth knowledge and contacts of Flipinos made him an ideal candidate for the task that he was given. Even more remarkable, he could work with MacArthur and his staff.My wife is a Filipina from Mindanao. I recognized the areas he worked in on the Island of Mindanao. His talent and organization was key to making the Filipino insurgent movement successful against the Japanese military. He organized and selected leaders, settled arguments between various insurgent groups in the region, ascertained their logistics requirements, evacuated Americans & some Filipinos who went into the hills by submarine.His ability and success was awesome.As combat veteran in Southeast Asia, this should have been required reading. It explains how conventional military have huge problems dealing with good jungle fighters.There are many tales to read but the best thing to do is get the book and read it. You should enjoy it.

Rendezvous by Submarine: The Story of Charles Parsons And The Guerrilla-Soldiers In The Philippines by Travis InghamCharles "Chick" Parsons lived a remarkable, adventure-filled life that has largely been forgotten by people outside of the Philippines, which he made his home and where at least one of his children still resides. The ballroom of the U.S. State Department's historic Chancery in Manila is named after Parsons and displays his medals. He was one of the most important figures in organizing armed resistance against the Japanese occupation during WWII and preparing the way to ease MacArthur's return. Through his efforts, he saved countless civilian and guerrilla lives through evacuations, deliveries of medicine and supplies, and helping direct the U.S. liberators' bombardments away from the civilian populations. His story is a real G.I. Joe meets James Bond that seems too incredible to be true. The foreword by Carlos P. Romulo is evidence that it's true and was also well-known to the people of the Philippines in the 1940s. I recommend the film documentary that his son helped produce about his life for more information.The problem with Ingham's account is that some of it seems too sensational to be true, or it's not clear how he got the information for his story. He is writing the account in 1945, before the war's conclusion, competing with other books for a nation eager for the most-recent accounts of the war. On the official record, and what tidbits in the book are attributed directly to Parsons, Parsons' reports to MacArthur downplay, or even hide, anything remarkable about his actions. Parsons does not seem the type to embellish or say more than he needs to. I personally got the sense that the author took what little information he had and weaved them into more interesting accounts.The historian Peter Eisner also wrote a book (2017) chronicling what is known about Parsons from publicly-available materials (or materials available by thoroughly searching through archives, at least) along with Claire Phillips and other entities in the American-Filipino resistance from 1941-1945. Eisner seems to take Ingham's account with a large grain of salt, but even suggests there could be more to Parsons' story based on what Parsons' children remember. It's possible that Parsons was able to sneak his way into Manila and other parts of Luzon, something that is suggested in Ingham's account but not fully explained. In fact, because the country had not been fully secured at the time of writing, the identities of some key characters in Luzon remains obscured and Parsons states that the story of the resistance in Manila may never be fully told (Eisner's account 70 years later does its best to fill that void).It's pretty clear from the book how much Parsons loved Filipinos and the Philippines. The rest of the story is that Chick Parsons elected to remain in the Philippines after the war and continue in business and life. He evidently gave up his US citizenship in favor of a Filipino one.Worth reading. Four stars. For supplemental reading, check out works on Wendell Fertig and other guerrilla leaders.

I'm writing this in the summer of 2021 while the world is still winding down from the covid pandemic. During the peak of this virus, people were claiming that their rights were being trampled on by having to wear masks or not being able to gather in crowded bars. Many were panicking because toilet paper was not immediately available.These people should read this book.This book gives us a view of what hardship really looks like with stories of the real suffering, bravery, and resilience of the Philippine people as well as the GIs who refused to surrender and take to the hills as guerrillas. The story of Charles Parsons is compelling and, although I have no doubt it was somewhat positively altered given it's 1945 pub date, provides a good picture of the man and is consistent with other accounts of the time and place.All in all, this book leaves me sad that people had to endure this hardship, awed at the bravery displayed by many and thankful that, in defeat, Japan was able to rebuild it's culture.

I knew that there were partisans that were active in the Philippines during WW II but I had no idea how active and organized they were and the role that they played in the invasions of the islands. I also knew that there were submarines that dropped off coast watchers and supplies here and there, but I was unaware of the scope and magnitude of the effort necessary to equip and supply an army by submarine. The fact that American military personnel lived and worked behind enemy lines for years is a testimony to them and their love of the Filipino people. The book is well written and suspenseful.