Murray Sneddon

Zero Ward: a Survivor's Nightmare Murray Sneddon

A soldiers courage brings him to his sweetheart. A wifes love brings his story to life. Zero Ward is the autobiographical account of Lt. Sneddons experiences in WWII, and contains his illustrations of the horrors he saw and lived through during his time as a POW. Army Air Corps pilot Second Lt. Murray Sneddon was stationed in Manila on the Phillipines Islands when the Japanese bombed the airfields at Pearl Harbor, marking the beginning of the U. S. involvement in World War II. With no relief available, the Air Corps units became infantry troops, sent to Bataan to defend the Phillipine coast. As supplies, food, and ammunition were depleted, Japanese troops invaded the island of Luzon and took thousands of U. S. prisoners. Thus began the infamous Bataan Death March. Under inhumane conditions, U. S. prisoners were forced to march to prison camps, only to endure even greater atrocities. In 1944, with American forces on their way, surviving prisoners were loaded in to "Hell Ships." On these unmarked ships, the conditions were even more deplorable than in the prison camps. Many were torpedoed by American submarines. More men died than lived. Completed and published after his death from leukemia by his wife, Fiona, Zero Ward is an incredible story of captivity, escape, courage, faith, and ultimately, of love.