American civilian’s book about his hiding in Leyte in WWII launched

Photo by Gerard Vincent Francisco

CEBU CITY, Philippines— A book about a civilian’s diary of his experience during World War II was launched on Friday, November 30, at the Casa Gorordo, Museum.

The book entitled “Hidden in Leyte: The Orville A. Babcock Diary of WWII 1941-1945” will open our minds about how this senior official at the Bureau of Education in Manila from the United States talks about his wartime experience in Macrohon, Southern Leyte.

Jose Eleazar Bersales, Ph.D. one of the book’s editors, welcomed guests during the launching by enticing them to grab a copy of the book.

“Despite the difficulties of the war at that time, Babcock adds a sense of humor on every page. It may talk about deaths, and all but he has this way of inserting humor, which was also his coping mechanism at the time,” says Bersales.

Aside from the struggles that Babcock faced during WWII, he also shared his observations about the guerrilla’s behavior.

“It was during his nights of hiding when he would just stare at the ceiling and stare outside his room’s windows where he learned about their behavior and wrote them down,” adds Bersales.

The launching of the “Hidden in Leyte: The Orville A. Babcock Diary of WWII 1941-1945” is RAFI’s way of ringing the bells and honoring those who died during the war.

The book, which is limited edition will be sold at Casa Gorordo for a price of P 1,500./dbs