WORLD WAR II PHILIPPINES

About the Book

This book is largely a tale of survival from the viewpoint of a ten-year-old boy during World War II in the Philippines. It relates the painful ordeal and suffering of his family in their struggle for survival against hunger and disease; how they managed to rise from the ashes of financial defeat to dramatic recovery; the atrocities and brutalities inflicted against the Filipinos; the benevolence of a GI acquaintance during liberation; his faith in the power of prayer and God; and his gratitude for being given the rare privilege and opportunity, as a successful surgeon and medical practitioner in the Philippines and the United States to help alleviate suffering, correct deformities, and make a difference in the lives of his poor patients.

About the Author

The author was born in the Philippines on April 10, 1931, of Filipino-Chinese parentage. The fifth of seven siblings, he graduated valedictorian in a Catholic high school in his hometown and obtained his MD from the University of the Philippines in 1958. He finished his training in general surgery at the Cambridge City Hospital, Cambridge, Massachusetts; St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, New York; and Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri in 1965. He practiced medicine and surgery in the Philippines for six years and in America for thirty-three years until his retirement in 1996. He is married to Concepcion C. Castro, BSE, MA in Special Education, and has two children: Ampy L. Cogswell, BS Finance, MBA; and Ernesto Jr., MD, MPH.