The Trail Through Hell — J. Scott Payne

In this sequel to "The Green Hell," U.S. Army Master Sergeant Jim Mays is hospitalized in Australia to recover from jungle rot, malaria and shrapnel wounds sustained in New Guinea. By accident he meets a war industry worker grieving the loss of her fiancé. Mays, Suzanne and Suzanne's 9-year-old ward strike up a friendship, each helping the others cope with the sorrow of their wartime losses. Romance begins to flourish between the two adults, but must go on hold when an odd-ball hero recruits Jim and two of his comrades. Their mission is to train and lead volunteers in a secret reconnaissance unit operating behind Japanese lines. Their captain, a German by birth and a decorated U.S. Army hero, teaches them how to survive the jungle during long-term reconnaissance operations. They also learn to defeat Japanese tactics.They put their training to use first in the continuing New Guinea campaign. They probe behind Japanese supply lines, ambushing outposts and disrupting enemy communications and logistics. They move on to employ those same tactics in the even more hostile environments of Leyte and Luzon as the Army goes head-to-head against the Japanese to liberate the Philippine Islands.Though the recon unit usually outmaneuvers the enemy, combat sometimes is unavoidable. Thus must cope with the the steady loss of buddies and eventually even his commander. He and the survivors carry on through the final â€" and most brutal and costly -- stages of the conflict which continues for weeks even after Japan officially surrenders.