Blessed Are the Merciful

By Joyce Shaughnessy

Nine hours after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese attack the Philippines, starting a
war against the United States that was to last four years. Elton and Susan have fallen
in love and there is no escape from the Japanese.
The soldiers fi ght desperately for six months on the Bataan Peninsula, with the
Army nurses at their side, rendering aid when possible. Finally, dying of starvation
and disease, the Army discovers that the United States cannot send any supplies or
men to fi ght the Japanese because they are committed to the European campaign
fi rst. The Army ultimately must surrender.
Elton is forced to walk the Death March and to witness horrifying atrocities
during the rest of the war at Camp ODonnell, Cabanatuan, and on the Hell Ships,
where Americans are murdered by Japanese cruelty and neglect. Susan is interred at
Santo Tomas and secretly aids the Filipino Guerilla movement.
Following his escape from a Hell Ship, Elton becomes involved with the Sixth
Army Rangers when they free Cabanatuan Prison Camp behind Japanese lines.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456898205

Joyce Shaughnessy

Joyce Shaughnessy lives in Midland, Texas with her husband, Dennis, a physician, and a cocker spaniel. They have two married daughters and four granddaughters. Joyce is a lover of all things Filipino and WWWII. They own a large library of books, both classic and contemporary.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

ELTON MAXWELL WAS running so fast he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. His legs were starting to cramp, and he had to find a place to ditch his red cap.

Elton had been wandering around in the store on Christmas Eve in 1939 at five o’clock after work. It was really crowded with last-minute shoppers, and he thought that maybe he’d get lucky and see something he could afford to buy for his mother, although he had almost no extra money after giving most of his puny salary to her. Then he saw it. It was sitting outside the jewelry case where the salesman had put it while he showed it to a customer. The man had walked away from it for a minute and left it sitting there. It was beautiful to Elton, the blue stones matching his mother’s blue eyes exactly, although it was just cheap costume jewelry. Even Elton could see that, but he didn’t care. He wanted it. He wanted to give it to his mother tomorrow morning and see her eyes light up the way they had before his father died and they got evicted from the farm. He furtively looked around, picked it up, and stuffed it in the bag he had been carrying. Elton wasn’t stupid. He knew it was wrong to steal it, but it didn’t matter when he thought about how happy it would make his mother. He had stuffed the bag in his shirt jacket and walked out of the store, waiting to feel someone’s hand on his shoulder.

Then he heard someone yelling, Git that boy! That boy over there with the red cap. He stole that package!

Elton started running as hard as he could, evading all the shoppers on the street. He threw his red cap down the alley on the right, turning left at the same time, and hopefully sending the men who were chasing him to the right after his cap. He didn’t even know if they were cops, but he could hear them yelling at him to stop.

I can’t get arrested! I just can’t. What will they do to me there?

Elton just kept running at full speed, darting in and out of businesses and one restaurant. He didn’t think they would stop him in there because it would cause too much commotion, but he pulled a brown cap from his back pocket and put it on anyway.

After exiting the restaurant, he tried to blend in with the busy crowd walking down the sidewalks. He had never stolen anything this big before. Sure, he had picked up a package of cigarettes or a candy bar occasionally and didn’t pay for it, but never jewelry. It made him wonder if they caught him, what would happen. They’d probably put him in jail, and his mother would never know that he did it just because he wanted to make her happy, that he wanted to see her eyes light up again. He was so tired of scrounging for everything, of never having anything nice. Mostly, just for once, he wanted to give his family something his father would have given them if he were alive. Mostly, he wanted things to change, to be better than they were, to make his mother happy just for once.

When he gave his mother the necklace the next morning, she had such a look of pure awe on her face, it almost caused tears in his eyes, but he kind of shrugged, like it was nothing. She gave him a kiss, assuming, he guessed, that it wasn’t expensive, which it probably wasn’t. He just hoped that she never learned that it was stolen.

CHAPTER TWO

ELAINE AND ELMER had bought the small farm right after they married. They had met in church when they were young, and neither one had finished the seventh grade, but they worked hard and were determined to raise their children to be honest, loving people. Although they couldn’t give the children a lot of material things, they worked hard in order to show them what a family could do when they worked at it together. Then there was the accident.

Elmer had been out in the fields bringing in the corn crop in 1933 when he was bitten by a rattlesnake. By the time he had made it back to the house, it was already too late. The poison had already gotten too far into his system. He died that night, and it was like a stack of cards. Everything started to change for the worse.

The stock market failed in late 1929, and then the Great Depression hit the rest of the country. It hit the Plain States the hardest because of its dependency on the farming economy. Hugh Bennett, the head of the Soil Conservation Movement in the United States, said that the Plain States had not known how and therefore did not practice proper soil conservation methods. Dry land farming led to the systematic destruction of the prairie grasses, and all that was left was dry sand. Then one of the hardest cycles of droughts hit the Plain States, making it impossible for the farmer to grow any crops. Behind the drought came the awful wind, and because there were no crops, the wind blew bare soil high in the air, creating dust storms. School was canceled because of dust storms, not snowstorms. Many farmers, in trouble because of the bad economy, were forced to give up and move out of the plains looking for work. There were many evictions because of the lack of crops. What angered the farmers more than anything was that once the bank took possession of the land, they hired someone willing to use a tractor to tear down houses and barns—symbols of the farmers’ hard work and lives on the land.

Everyone who stayed began wearing pieces of cloth around his mouth and nose. It was difficult enough just to have to walk outside without being blindsided by the wind and dirt. In 1933, the average person living in North Dakota earned only $145 a year. That compared with a national average of $375, over twice as much.

Elton remembered the day they had been evicted. It was June of 1935. He stood outside the house on the porch beside his mother. It was a really hot summer day. The breeze was barely blowing, which, in a way, was a blessing since it only blew the dirt around. His mother was wearing an old blue shirtdress that he’d seen her wear hundreds of times. It was all bleached out from the sun and the washing. Her blonde hair was always pretty though. She kept it a little below her shoulders, and it was wavy. She had been trying to keep the house clean, and she was carrying a dirty old rag she’d used on the floor. Her face had lines on it far beyond her thirty-five years. She looked more like fifty.

They heard someone driving down the old dirt road, which was unusual considering the fact that everyone was conserving gas. However, it turned out to be Wheaton from the bank. His big black car stirred up enough dust to make him start coughing when he got out. He was wearing a dark suit already covered in dust. To Elton, he looked like an undertaker. There was dust everywhere. Hi there, Miz Maxwell, he said. It sure is a hot day, isn’t it? He took out his handkerchief and started wiping perspiration from his face. "I see you’ve had a hard time growing anything in this dirt too. Have you ever seen anything like that big dirt cloud on April 14? I read in the Times that it was twenty-seven thousand feet high and contained three hundred fifty million tons of dirt. They were calling it Black Sunday because it covered the sun. It supposedly went all the way to Maine. In town, we stayed dark for three days. What about out here?"

It lasted about three days. You ought to feel lucky that you didn’t have babies scared to death and crying. I even heard that Betty Wallace lost her four-year-old little girl. She’d put her outside to play, and the next thing she knew, the air was so full of dirt that you couldn’t find anything. Her husband looked and looked for them and found Betty sittin’ by the side of the road down east a bit still lookin’ for her little girl. The neighbors all helped look for her, but we never did find her. Betty still ain’t right in the head.

My god. I didn’t know that. That’s just awful. Well, we can at least be thankful that nothing like that happened to your children. Elaine replied, Yeah, we do have that to be thankful for. Now, why don’t you quit beatin’ around the bush and tell me why you’re really out here?

Well, I have some unpleasant things to discuss with you. It’s about the loan on your farm.

Yeah. What about it?

"Well, you’re way behind on your payments, to be exact, seven payments, and I’m sorry but the corporate office in Chicago wants you to come up with your delinquent payments. The amount that you now owe, including interest accrued, is $71.75 at $10.25 per month.

You know that I don’t have that kind of money. It’s hard enough trying to feed my children. How can I come up with money to pay the for the farm when I can’t even bring in a crop? Talk to God. He’s the reason we ain’t had any rain in over three years.

I’m sorry, Miz Maxwell, but the Chicago office said that if you couldn’t come up with your payments, we were going to have to foreclose.

That means you’re gonna evict us? Does the office in Chicago know that my husband died two years ago and that I have six children to take care of? I couldn’t find a job around here even if I had the time because nobody has the money to hire anybody.

Yes, ma’am, it does mean that I’m going to have to evict you, and I told them that you were a widow lady, but they said it couldn’t be helped.

You mean to tell me that because I’m behind seven damn payments, that the bankers in Chicago are going to have to go without their salaries, that they’re gonna lose their houses? Elaine’s voice was getting louder, and Elton could tell that she was trying not to cry.

I don’t know about that, Miz Maxwell. What I only know is that they told me to give you two days to get your stuff together and leave, but I’ll give you four. Then I’ll have to bring the sheriff with me to see that you leave. I’m sorry, but it’s the law, and I’m only doin’ my job.

That’s real charitable of you, Mr. Wheaton. Four whole days to wrap up twelve years of my life where I lived with my husband and raised six children. My God, Elmer’s buried just over that little rise! You’re gonna dig up him too when you dig up the house and barn?

I’m really sorry, Miz Maxwell. If there was anything I could do about it, I would, I really would. I don’t like having to come out here and give you this kind of news, not with you without a husband and all. They’ll just fire me if I let you stay, and someone else would come out here to tell you to leave. I don’t know where I’d find another job either.

Just forgit it. It doesn’t matter anyway. We’re runnin’ out of food real fast anyway. I’m gonna have to leave anyway as much as I hate to. I’ve got to go to New Mexico to stay with my sister until I can find some sort of job, I guess. I just hate leavin’ Elmer this way. Elaine started crying in the rag she’d been using to clean the floors.

Elton stood up straight and said, I think you did all that you can do, Mr. Wheaton. I think it’s best that you leave now. We’ll be gone just like you said.

Mr. Wheaton walked back to his car with his shoulders slumped and opened the car door. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry about this. I hate this job. Then he turned the big car around and headed back out to the main road.

Elaine looked up at her son and said, What are we gonna do, Elton?

I’ll help, Ma. We’ll just have to see if we have anything we can sell so we can buy some gas. I’ll take it into town. I don’t think the sheriff will say anything to me about driving the truck when I’m too young, not now anyways. I’ll help you with the young’uns too. Why don’t you rest for about an hour, and then we’ll start gittin’ stuff together?

Elaine stood up and said, You’re a good boy, Elton. Always have been. I don’t know what I’d do without you. Your pa would be mighty proud of you.

Elton helped his mother get up, and they went inside to start the terrible process of disassembling their lives.

All Elton had ever wanted to do was help his mother. His mother was stuck with six kids, no husband, no money, and no place to go other than his mother’s sister in Hobbs, New Mexico. He had wanted to help her, and after they got everything out of the house they could sell, he went into town. When he got back home he found his mother standing over the stove trying to warm some milk on the stove. She looked like she was about to fall down.

Elton walked in and said, I’m sorry, Ma, but all I could git was fifty cents, and that was from the preacher’s wife. I think she felt sorry for us. I put some gas in the truck, and Wes, the owner of the gas station, let me put in double what I give him. It’ll take us a bit I suppose.

Because Elton was only eleven then, they were afraid for him to drive too far from home. They didn’t want to have to pay a fine. The best thing he could do was try to make the other kids behave. He still remembered stopping right outside of Amarillo because they had run out of gas. That was the first time since his father had died that he had ever seen his mother just sit down and start weeping.

He could remember saying, I’m going to walk into town and see if I can work just for the rest of the day somewhere. Maybe we could push the truck to the side of the road, Ma, and you and the kids could get some sleep. Maybe I could drive when I git back. I know I don’t have license, but I can drive a little. If we see any traffic, I’ll stop. I’ve been watchin’ you. You been goin’ without stopping for about three days. I’ll be back after dark. I’m going to try to do enough work to git money for gas. The kids will just have to wait awhile for food. We have plenty of water.

His ma said, I’m sorry, Elton. I’m just plain worn out. If you can help me out this one time, I’ll try to git work down the road a bit. I just have to stop for a little while. I love you. Please be careful.

Elton remembered hoofing it into Amarillo, and noticing there were a lot of big houses on the east side of town, so he started knocking on doors, hoping he could get work mowing lawns or something. After about an hour, one little old lady cracked her door open and peeked out.

What is it, boy? What are you doin’ round my house?

Elton said, I’m just tryin’ to find an afternoon’s work, ma’am. My ma ran outta gas, and I got five brothers and sisters. We’re on our way to my aunt’s house in Hobbs. Do you need your grass mowed maybe? It’s real high.

You mean you walked into town to work to help your mother? How am I supposed to believe you?

Cause it’s the truth. Even if you don’t believe me, I could still mow the grass. Elton’s voice was getting shaky because he was becoming desperate.

The old lady said, Where’s your pa?

He died about two years ago. Could I mow your grass or do somethin’ for you? My ma’s just plain tuckered out.

I tell you what to do. You come on in for a minute. I’ll let you walk back and git your ma and tell her to come in here and park in my driveway. I’ll give you thirty-five cents, and you go on down to the gas station. It’s called Dan’s Station. She pointed down the street. You go up that street and turn right. It’s about a block from there. Ask them if they’ll loan you a can, buy the gas, and then tell them Mrs. Walters sent you. You can give them the can back tomorrow when you buy more gas. It’ll give you enough gas to drive into town. Take it to your ma, and bring everyone back here. They can sleep in the truck while you do my yard work. You can even spend the night out here if you want to. That way I know you’re tellin’ me the truth. If you do that, I’ll give you more money for the yard and maybe a little food. You had any food lately?

Elton replied, No, ma’am. We ain’t had hardly nothin’ to eat. We’re just trying to hold out till we git to Hobbs.

The lady went back into her kitchen and came back with a sack. This has biscuits in it. Baked ’em myself this mornin’. You bring your ma in here, and you eat before you start workin’. I don’t want to have to call the hospital to come git you.

Elton smiled and said, Thank ya’, ma’am. Thanks a lot. I’ll be right back. I promise. He took the sack and started back down the road toward Dan’s, gorging himself on two biscuits while he was walking. He had intended to leave them for everyone else, but he was so hungry he couldn’t help himself.

And that was the way they finally made it to Hobbs, to his Aunt Ruth’s house. He would find someplace to work in yards and let his mother rest from the drive. Sometimes they had to buy food, but more often, people were kind enough to give it to them. If it hadn’t been for his Uncle John, things might have turned out differently for Elton. He might have believed in the general kindness of people.

Uncle John was a drunkard, or at least that was what Elton thought of him. He was a pathetic, clingy, wasted mess who let his Aunt Ruth do all the work and provide everyone else with a place to live. After they had been there a couple of nights, Elton heard his mother talking to his aunt. She was trying to get her aunt to leave Uncle John and move away somewhere with them, but she wouldn’t do it. Aunt Ruth believed that God had placed her in her situation, and it was her God-fearing duty to endure it. His mother had argued with her, telling her that what she had said

Reviews for Blessed Are the Merciful

[haroldtitus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The strength of Joyce Shaughnessy’s historical novel, Blessed Are the Merciful, I believe, is the detailed information she provides about the suffering of the men and women incarcerated in Japanese prison camps in the Philippines. It is evident by her bibliography, her frequent reference to atrocities, diseases, and malnutrition, her information about important American and Japanese military leaders, and her inclusion of official military messages that she has thoroughly researched her subject matter. Any reader who wishes to learn about this subject matter would profit by reading this book.I offer these suggestions about the story-telling. Too often the author tells about rather than shows the experiences of her characters. For instance, we are told that early during the Bataan Death March, Elton Maxwell, the male protagonist, is horrified at seeing the Japanese commanding officer, Colonel Masanobu Tsuji, severe the hand and cut off the ring finger of an American soldier to obtain the soldier’s ring. The incident is summarized in seven sentences. Other horrible atrocities are presented similarly. We are told that Elton is traumatized to the extent that he vows he will kill Tsuji, but I never felt sufficiently his wrath.This is not to say that telling the reader certain information rather than enacting the information should not be done. Every fiction writer knows better. A balance needs to be established that will both inform the reader of necessary information and encourage the reader to identify emotionally with one or more of the characters. For me this didn’t happen.Also, Mrs. Shaughnessy does not help the reader visual settings. Readers hear characters speak; they must imagine the characters’ immediate surroundings. Emotion is not conveyed through precise physical reactions (other than tearfulness) but through what is said and thought. Dialogue tends to be lengthy, thereby diluting emotional responses. Rarely does a character speak but one or two sentences before a second character responds. The two main characters, Elton and his wife Sarah, an army nurse, are moral people victimized three years by a cultural, wartime savagery. It asks very much to expect them to carry such a complicated, informative, lengthy story of physical and emotional injury, fortitude, and sacrifice. I would have liked to have seen presented here and there the viewpoints of several secondary characters connected to Elton and/or Sarah. Have the reader get to know them as individuals before witnessing their fates. For instance, how much more dramatic would be the beheading of Americans by Japanese soldiers wielding swords while riding past in speeding jeeps if one of the Americans had been a buddy of Elton’s that we had gotten to like.These observations aside, I commend Joyce Shaughnessy for her ambitious accomplishment. Military veterans like Elton and Sarah should not be taken for granted.

[linsleo_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This really is a good historical romance. Ms. Shaughnessy did a wonderful job of creating a romance story during war times that will hold the reader's attention throughout the book. She is very descriptive of the treatment given to our prisoners by the enemy and finds a way to express disappointment in decisions that are made that affect the well being of our military personnel.

[avry15 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I’ve never been proud of my country..lol…and the people, both Americans and Filipinos who fought for freedom and peace at that time.Ms. Shaughnessy depicts what it looks like at that time, how war really is.. Through her words, I am transported to a world of bloodshed.. I cried at some of the episodes..I felt the fear everytime they heard gunshots.. I also felt how hopeless one can get.. I’m so into this book, since I always heard what happened at World War II from my history classes, but it’s never been as descriptive as this… Like disconnected parts of the bodies everywhere, and the doctor yelling for the nurses to find the missing parts in case they could connect it again…how gross ,,yet so true…It was a wonderful merging of fiction and history, the letters, poetry and military documents added up flavor to the book. This book is thoroughly thought of.. The author spent a lot of her time, for research and the dates are so accurate. So the resulting masterpiece, really counts as a really wonderful one.. This is truly better than my history book.. I get to relate with the characters, see and feel things in their own eyes. I could almost believe that the book is an autobiography of the war veteran.. Full of action, romance, hope and belief in God.It made me see how war didn’t bring any victory but loss and casualties at both sides.Blessed are the Merciful is a powerful historical romantic novel. “Love amidst war”… A heart-touching story of bravery, romance and hope…. A great read!...

[samantha100_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Christmas Eve, 1939, Elton Maxwell steals a piece of jewelry to give as a gift to his mother who is a widow with six children and lives in poverty. A year later he is caught during yet another theft. The judge presiding over his case gives him a choice- jail time or he can enlist in the Army. He chose the Army and after basic training he was stationed in the Philippines. Had he been able to see the future, he would have chosen differently. Susan Williams is the only child of parents who were educated and she herself is a nurse. With her mother’s approval she too enlists in the Army and was given orders for the Philippines. In 1941 she left for Manila. Joyce Shaughnessy’s historical novel , Blessed Are The Merciful, is the story of their meeting and of their love for each other. The novel covers the period of time prior to the Japanese attack of the Philippines and of the occupation that was to follow. Considerable detail of the political situation of this period of time and military strategies provides insight as to how unprepared Americans were for a war that they knew was coming. The brutality of the Japanese troops towards both the Americans and Philippine citizens is described graphically. Each of the characters tells of the unspeakable horrors and unimaginable living conditions. Even though they are separated for most of the duration of the war their love continues to grow and each one passionately wishes for the survival of the other one. Theirs is a story courage and survival. While they both express love for their country they question why no resources are sent to help them.This is a powerful historical romantic novel. The fictional characters are expertly developed. This period in time is one of the worst in history and there is much to be learned from reading this book. I highly recommend reading this book.I received this book at no charge from Library Thing.