The Leper Spy

The Story of an Unlikely Hero of World War II

By: Ben Montgomery

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

The GIs called her Joey. Hundreds owed their lives to the tiny Filipina who stashed explosives in spare tires, tracked Japanese troop movements, and smuggled maps of fortifications across enemy lines. As the Battle of Manila raged, Josefina Guerrero walked through gunfire to bandage wounds and close the eyes of the dead. Her valor earned her the Medal of Freedom, but what made her a good spy was also destroying her: leprosy, which so horrified the Japanese they refused to search her. After the war, army chaplains found her in a nightmarish leper colony and fought for the US government to do something it had never done: welcome a foreigner with leprosy. This brought her celebrity, which she used to publicly speak for other sufferers. However, the notoriety haunted her and she sought a way to disappear. Ben Montgomery now brings Guerrero's heroic accomplishments to light.

©2016 Ben Montgomery (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Written with grace and elegance, The Leper Spy tells a surprising - and affecting - espionage story." (Howard Blum, author of The Last Goodnight)

Strong lady

Interesting to hear about the history of the Philippines. Most WW2 historians seem to focus on the history Pearl Harbor had during that period

Remarkable

A glimpse into the seldom heard story of heroism and lifelong faith that God would provide.

A plucky Filipina

It’s too bad that were Americans. Don’t know the story of Josefina Guerrero. She had to live with Hanson‘s disease, but that didn’t stop her from spying on the Japanese and providing valuable intelligence to Filipino resistance, as well as United States military Japanese Philippines the narration of this book is first class. I really enjoyed it.