Errett Lujan served during World War II with the U.S. Army 200th/515th Coast Artillery (Anti-aircraft) Regiment in the Philippines, the largest regiment on the islands when the Japanese invaded just hours after Pearl Harbor. The regiment was credited as both the first and the last to fire on the enemy before surrendering. Lujan survived the invasion, the Bataan Death March and more than three years in POW camps.

After the war, he said little to his family about his harrowing experiences. Written by his daughter, this lovingly researched narrative pieces together the story of his service and his imprisonment, drawing on Lujan's diaries and letters, and original interviews with 200th/515th survivors and former POWs.