By 1944, as the Americans got closer to the Philippines, the Japanese accelerated their efforts to ship POWs held in the Philippines to other parts of their empire to work as forced laborers. POWs would be packed by the hundreds in the dark holds of transport ships. With little to no food or water, and no proper sanitation, the holds of these ships became another hellscape for the POWs. It is impossible to really explain the horror they faced. The transports were aptly named “hellships.” One...