Talmadge Smithey was serving as a member of the US Navy on the USS Canopus in the Philippine Islands when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. When Japanese attacks on US forces in the Philippines followed in 1942, the USS Canopus was severely damaged and Smithey and his comrades scuttled the ship to prevent it from getting into enemy hands. Smithey and his fellow shipmates then joined US and Filipino ground forces in defense of Bataan and Corregidor. Waiting for help that never arrived, Smithey and his fellow soldiers were outmanned and outnumbered. They finally succumbed to Japanese forces in May, 1942, and were taken prisoner. Smithey spent the next three years and four months as prisoners of war in the Philippines and then in Japan.This book is Smithey?s personal account of his capture and his captivity. Sweet Land of Liberty is one man?s story of courage, bravery, endurance, and perseverance. It?s a story of sacrifices Smithey and his fellow soldiers made in return for the freedom Americans enjoy today.