Phantom warrior

About this book

This is the story of an extraordinary man. John McKinney was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery, but his story has never been told. The son of a Georgia sharecropper, he learned to hunt and survive in the wilderness while helping to feed his family in the Depression. Then came World War II, and he was sent to the Pacific. Before dawn, May 11, 1945, his unit, camped in the Philippines, was attacked by the Japanese. Alone in his foxhole, McKinney returned fire. Out of bullets, he swung his rifle as a club. Then he switched to his knife, then his fists. At the end of the battle, his uniform cut to ribbons, McKinney was alive--with over one hundred Japanese bodies before him. His courage and fortitude in battle saved many American lives, but his legacy has been sadly forgotten by all but a few.--From publisher description.