Girocho: A GI’s Story of Bataan and Beyond

After surviving the brutal Bataan Death March in spring 1942, Louisiana native John Henry Poncio spent the remainder of World War II as a Japanese prisoner. In those three and a half years, U.S. Army Air Corps sergeant Poncio suffered severe beatings, starvation, disease, and emotional and psychological abuse at the hands of his captors. In Girocho, he relates his experiences with touching honesty, vividly describing the harsh conditions he and his comrades enduted as well as the sometimes-funny clashes with Japanese culture. Girocho was a samurai who resembled Robin Hood. Early on, Poncio was given this name in jest by one of the prison guards, and it suited him perfectly. During his internment, he took part in a vast smuggling operation that brought food and other supplies into the POW camps, reported enemy troop movements to Filipino guerrillas, and committed acts of sabotage. Although he and his fellow captives were treated with cruelty by many, Poncio recalls the camaraderie of the prisoners and encounters with humane guards and kind civilians, proving his remarkable gift for finding the positive in the most dire of situations. Girocho is an inspiring memoir, transcribed verbatim by Poncio’s wife, Inez, from nine hours of cassettes Poncio recorded some years after the war. Marlin Young verified her uncle’s stories, placed them in chronological order, and set them within the greater context of the conflict, creating a compelling tale of one soldier’s courage, honor, and resolve to overcome life as a prisoner of war.