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Part two of The Reckoning. Chapters 21-35 Spoilers welcome on this topic "The Boneyard"
If the first to post please briefly summarize to guide the discussion.

Chapter 21

Seems we are stepping back here to a 21 year old Pete, o a visit to Memphis with an army buddy. Here he meets Liza, who is to become his wife. He made clear to her that he was not wealthy, and it soon became clear that she was not either. They had a whirlwind courtship, interrupted by orders for Pete, then complicated by Liza being pregnant. They married.
Times being what they were,,the Depression happened. The soldiers were secure, but the farm was threatened and was losing money. As his parents died, Pete resigned his commission and returned to the farm.

Chapter 22

Pete launched enthusiastically into building the farm and building a family. Liza joined the church and got involved. Liza liked the city life though, and Pete, the farm. There was some friction between Liza and the help also, as the farm people ad been there for generations. Liza was having a problem with miscarraiges though, and soon became convinced she could not have more children.

Chapter 23

By 1941 Pete had the farm on firm footing financially (finally). The word was going to war though. Pete was activated, and a farewell dinner was held, which included the new preacher, Dexter Bell. Pete was sent to the Philippines, at the worst time imaginable.

Chapter 24

MacArthur was in charge of the defense of the Philippines, and knew how impossible a task that was. Pete’s unit was a horse cavalry, American officers and Philippine scouts. Poor planning by MacArthur led to the destruction of all of the US air force on the ground, and no hope for a working defense. With the war locally lost, Pete was ordered to delay the Japanese. In one skirmish, they charged the Japs on horseback, for a grand finale of the horse cavalry. Over time though, as MacArthur feld to Australia, the men he left behind began to starve and suffered for lack of supply. At home, it was clear the war had come to America.

Chapter 25

Pete’s unit no longer had horses, so they got shovels and dug in for the inevitable while slowly starving. When the final offensive began, both sides suffered a terrible toll, but the end of the Americans was clearly coming, and with only 1 man in 10 fit to fight, they surrendered. The Japanese were brutal, beating and beheading prisoners until they were organized in hwat became known as the Bataan Death March. The Filipinos were treated especially badly, and none were given food nor drink.

Chapter 26

The match continued, no less brutal. Prisoners were dying by the hundreds. Pete is knocked out by a sadistic Japanese. Pete played dead for a while, then crawled away. The Japanese found Pete and returned him to the march. Eventually, he made it to a POW camp.

Chapter 27

60,000 prisoners were put in a place made for 20,000. The base commander harangued them when they arrived. They were told that they were cowards and had no honor. The prisoners were dirty and hungry and thirsty. The remains of Pete’s unit thought him dead, and so reported it. Pete befriends Clay, who helps him get needed medication and saves his life.

Chapter 28

On the home front, 2 officers arrive to tell Liza that her husband is missing and presumed dead. In the camp, 100 Americans a day were dying. Clay and Pete started acquiring black market food, and digging graves for their comrades.

Chapter 29

The grave digging caught the eye of the Japanese, who figured Clay and Pete were healthy enough to ship to Japan as slaves. They were stuffed, with many others, in the hold of the ship with high temperatures and little air. The ship is torpedoed, but Clay and Pete make it overboard. They make it onto a raft and paddle away . Hey were rescued by Filipino fishermen. They were put in contact with partisans, so they could settle some scores.

Chapter 30

The fishermen release them near land, and a new life begins. They are met by a partisan, but he is killed in a Japanese attack. Pete and Clay soldier on. They find food and arms when they ambush a wounded Japanese soldier. Soon ey find a guerrilla and make contact.

Chapter 31

The irregulars are commanded by a WW1 British General they call Lord Granger. He promises them they will see blood soon, and in a few days, they get their first assignment.

Chapter 32

They attack a Japanese truck convoy with guns and TNT. The attack worked, many dead enemy and captured food and munitions. No casualties.
The rainy season bogged down the Japanese even more, and made them easy pickings for the partisans.
Pete was locally promoted to run his own squad. His worst moment was coming on a town where the Japanese had slaughtered the adults to learn where the Americans were.

Chapter 33

Back on the farm, cotton kept growing and Liza fell into a routine.
In the mountains, the troops were all sick, but still looked forward to a mission to destroy oil tankers. The Japanese had changed tactics though, and the attack never happened.
But Granger wants Pete to figure out a way to kill the Zeros on the ground. The raid worked, but there was a cost, including the capture of some commandos. They were tortured, and gave up information some real, some not.

Chapter 34

The Japanese intensified patrols to get Granger, but Granger targeted the patrols with much success.
The next target was a heavily fortified bridge, so they decided to steal a truck and load it with TNT. Another success, but Pete shatters his leg in the process of escaping.
As the tides of war turned, and te Americans returned, Pete gets tasked with harassing the retreating Japanese, and gathering intelligence. He gets caught in a firefight, and damages his other leg. The good news is he is rescued by the Americans, and given proper care before being sent home. He arrives in San Francisco, and all he wants is a phone.

Chapter 35

Niniva took the call, and went for Liza. Liza spreads the news and heads for California. They met in the hospital and shared news of the last 3 years. While there, Liza was the angel of the ward.

We finally learn some of the pieces that did not come out in the trial. Not that they would matter, but we do have a better measure of Pete.

Barry wrote: "Chapter 25

...The Japanese were brutal, beating and beheading prisoners until they were organized in hwat became known as the Bataan Death March. The Filipinos were treated especially badly, and none were given food nor drink...."

I didn't know Grisham had it in him to depict the Bataan Death March. Courtrooms, law offices, and jails, sure, but the prison camps and jungles of the Philippines? And for the most part he dramatized it pretty well. I found it educational, both from a historical standpoint and as it helped reveal Pete's character and what he was contending with.

Barry wrote: "Chapter 22

...Liza was having a problem with miscarraiges though, and soon became convinced she could not have more children. ..."

I wondered about that. Liza thinks she's barren... Pete sends her off to the asylum... Was she crazy, or was she pregnant? Would the baby be Dexter's or perhaps Jupe, the field hand?

Hoping the final section will flesh out why Liza was sent packing. Must be a key there to Pete's motivation.

Barry wrote: "Chapter 24

MacArthur was in charge of the defense of the Philippines, and knew how impossible a task that was. Pete’s unit was a horse cavalry, American officers and Philippine scouts. Poor planni..."


MacArthur sure didn't come off well in this book. Not sure how much of that is deserved/accurate, but it changes the view I had based on the old Gregory Peck movie. General King came off as a good officer, but given Imperial Japanese treatment of POWs, I really question King's decision to surrender. Easy for me to say sitting in a cushy chair in America in 2018, but I wonder why Grisham stuck it to MacArthur and let King off so lightly.

You can extrapolate backwards from Truman firing MacArthur. There is such a thing as too big of an ego,though I have heard he got high marks for the reconstruction of Japan.

Barry and Russ: I found this part two section completely riveting. I was not aware of some of these specific battle strategies but was peripherally aware that there were horrific details of the war in the Philippines that this section viscerally drove home. I will write more later.

Russ: I was not expecting the detailed war-time dramatization either and found myself riveted by it. It's funny. I resisted buying the audio with an Audible credit, intending to save those for a book I couldn't borrow from the library. Instead this second part convinced me to spring for a credit when my loan ran out. I co u ld have done th a t sooner. Live and learn.
Russ wrote: "I didn't know Grisham had it in him to depict the Bataan Death March. Courtrooms, law offices, and jails, sure, but the prison camps and jungles of the Philippines? And for the most part he dramatized it pretty well.
I found it educational, both from a historical standpoint and as it helped reveal Pete's character and what he was contending with ..."

Barry and Russ: Now I find myself understanding the loyalty and support of the soldiers who came to see Pete at the time of his trial and execution. I also understand a bit more how Pete could be completely cold-blooded about killing Dexter (though not why yet) I am going to be annoyed if we don't find out why.
And I understand a bit more how Pete is able to be so compartmentalized. he had way too much practice while surviving. I am not giving him a pass on his treatment of Liza though.

Ann wrote: "Now I find myself understanding the loyalty and support of the soldiers who came to see Pete at the time of his trial and execution. I also understand a bit more how Pete could be completely cold-blooded about killing Dexter..."

Agreed. After part 1, I wasn't sure how Grisham was going to convince us that Pete had a good side. The scenes demonstrated Pete's depth--his ability to go to the mat for his friends and yet also how he became coarsened.