The Leper Spy: The Story of an Unlikely Hero of World War II

by Ben Montgomery

Overview

The GIs called her Joey. Hundreds owed their lives to the tiny Filipina woman who was one of the top spies for the Allies during World War II, stashing explosives, tracking Japanese troop movements, and smuggling maps of fortifications across enemy lines for Gen. Douglas MacArthur. As the Battle of Manila raged, young Josefina Guerrero walked through gunfire to bandage wounds and close the eyes of the dead. Her valor earned her the Medal of Freedom, but the thing that made her an effective spy was a disease that was destroying her.

Guerrero suffered from leprosy, which so horrified the Japanese they refused to search her. After the war, army chaplains found her in a nightmarish leper colony and campaigned for the US government to do something it had never done: welcome a foreigner with leprosy. The fight brought her celebrity, which she used on radio and television to speak for other sufferers. However, the notoriety haunted her after the disease was arrested, and she had to find a way to disappear.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613734308
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	10/01/2016
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Ben Montgomery is the author of the New York Times bestseller Grandma Gatewood’s Walk, which won the 2014 National Outdoor Book Award for History/Biography. An award-winning staff writer at the Tampa Bay Times, Montgomery was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2010. 

Table of Contents

Introduction: The End 1

1 Everything Is in Readiness 5

2 Fools 15

3 Family 17

4 Sirens 21

5 Safeguards 24

6 Bombs 27

7 Envelope 33

8 Boys 35

9 Hobnailed Boots 39

10 Bastards 42

11 Volunteer 46

12 Leaflets 49

13 Gone 50

14 Espionage 53

15 Speedo 55

16 Spies 61

17 Promise 64

18 Beleaguered 66

19 Taken 72

20 Pledge 75

21 I'm a Leper 77

22 Vengeance 85

23 Landings 91

24 Advance 95

25 Map 102

26 Los Baños 112

27 Dispatched 114

28 Leper Camp 119

29 Loose Ends 129

30 Visits 139

31 In Sickness 142

32 Independence 148

33 Spotlight 153

34 Discovery 155

35 Return to the Rock 160

36 All That Is Changed 163

37 Medals 166

38 Friends of Friends 168

39 Carville 171

40 Old Fears 178

41 Crusader 184

42 Fallen 192

43 Controversy 193

44 Fences 201

45 Walk Alone 209

46 Praise 216

47 Bureaucracy 219

48 Sisters 228

49 Deportation 232

50 California 238

51 Sunset 243

52 Disappear 247

53 I Am Still Alive 249

54 Anonymous 253

Acknowledgments 256

Bibliography 257

Index 260

Editorial Reviews

"Some of the most poignant moments of war lie not in the savage atrocities but the quiet moments of valor risked by the smallest unsung heroes. With the eye of a historian and the soul of a storyteller, Ben Montgomery paints a tender portrait of an unlikely paladin, who turned the curse of her cruel disease into a shield and a sword. We can all learn from this.”—Kim Cross, New York Times best-selling author of What Stands in a Storm
 




"Written with grace and elegance, The Leper Spy tells a surprising—and affecting—espionage story." —Howard Blum, the author of The Last Goodnight: A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure, and Betrayal


"I love this story. I love it when a gap in history is filled in with such a riveting tale, and Montgomery does it here with deep reporting, and fluid, beautiful writing." —Alex Tizon, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Big Little Man


"Once again, Ben Montgomery has unearthed from history a gem of a forgotten story—about war and love, patriotism and sacrifice—and invites us all to gather round for his thrilling tale of an amazing woman." —Thomas Mullen, author of The Last Town on Earth


“Montgomery offers a fascinating tribute to the slight Filipina who courageously saved thousands and chose anonymity.” —Booklist


“The woman’s remarkable story is related with you-are-there lucidity by Ben Montgomery.” —Washington Times

From the Publisher

Narrator Joe Barrett gives a strong performance in narrating this story of WWII audacity and heroism. Josefina Guerrero, a young Filipina, became a spy for the United States following her country’s occupation by the Japanese. Her work for the resistance was helped by her affliction with leprosy. The Japanese were so repulsed by her condition that they would not search her, which allowed her to smuggle information and move with little interference. Barrett’s resonant baritone is deep and although it’s somewhat gravelly, is still pleasing to the ear. His affectation of individuals’ voices is better than he has done in the past but not as strong as his narrative portions. He easily moves through the text and gives a professional presentation throughout this fascinating story. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2017 - AudioFile