Ebook: They Never Surrendered: A True Story of Resistance in World War II

Villamor was the top Filipino fighter pilot before and during the war. He commanded the 6th Pursuit Squadron of the Philippine Army Air Corps, equipped with obsolete P-26 fighters. Despite the suicidal odds, he led his squadron against modern Japanese fighters and bombers over the skies of Quezon City, Marikina and Batangas and even claimed at least one shot down. He went on to fight at Bataan and Corregidor.

This memoir, ghost-written by an American writer, documents Villamor’s life and career, not only as a pilot but also as an intelligence operative who is evacuated from the Philippines before the fall of Corregidor and then returned to occupied Visayas by submarine in 1943. Intensely personal, this book reads like a thriller. But fate was not kind to Villamor as he was not allowed to carry out his plans to organize the Filipino guerrillas; he was recalled to Australia and sent to the US, where he sat out the rest of the war.

Villamor airs his disappointments and criticizes American decision makers for cutting his career short; he cites records he had declassified after the war to discover the reason for his recall. A bibliography provides a list of related works which provide further background on Villamor and his activities.

The book was published posthumously, for Villamor died in Washington DC, at the age of 56 before the book could be published. An important work in providing the personal account of a pioneer Filipino fighter pilot, reconnaissance pilot, and also guerrilla intelligence leader.