Armando Abad’s New Book, "Santo Tomas: A Miracle," is a Captivating Story of a Family's Fight for Survival Amidst the Harrowing Conditions Inside an Internment Camp
North Las Vegas, NV, July 27, 2023 --(PR.com)-- Fulton Books author Armando Abad, a retired Navy veteran and an educator, has completed his most recent book, “Santo Tomas: A Miracle”: a powerful and compelling historical fiction that follows a family imprisoned in an internment camp by the Japanese in Manila, and their determination to survive the horrors and abuse they face.
While attending University of Santo Tomas College of Education, author Armando Abad came to have a better understanding of Catholicism through theology classes and religious training the university offered. Abad enlisted in the United States Navy in 1972 and, while on active duty, earned his Associate of Arts in general studies from Los Angeles Community College in 1980 and his Bachelor of Science in business administration from Chapman University in 1983.
After his retirement from the navy in 1992, Abad pursued his passion for teaching and obtained his California teaching credential, and later taught fifth and sixth graders at Meadow Lane Elementary School in Lemoore, California. He retired in 2013 after sixteen years of public-school teaching and found himself teaching middle school at Mary Immaculate Queen Catholic School in the same town before retiring in 2019. Abad has been blessed with four children and two grandchildren.
“Established in 1611, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila, Philippines—one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the world—was transformed into the largest internment camp by the occupying Japanese forces during World War II,” writes Abad. “Over seven thousand civilian foreigners considered enemies by Japan, Italy, and Germany, their spouses, and their children, together with several American military medical personnel, were imprisoned, brutalized, and starved.
“Its campus, founded to promote knowledge and cultivate academic progress through Christian-based curriculum and instructions, became a silent witness to Japanese atrocities. Prisoners were subjected to constant harassments, endless abuses, physical attacks, and starvation, which resulted to severe injuries, diseases, long-term illnesses, and deaths. Meager help from other foreigners, the locals, and the Red Cross flowed over and through the fence but came to a halt after the Japanese sealed the entire perimeter. To survive, they clung to their faith on the US military, on one another, and in God. However, they never felt more helpless and more isolated than when the American forces surrendered to the Japanese after the fall of Bataan and Corregidor.
“Dr. Celeste Craig, her husband Adam, and their two young children were brutally arrested, and their home severely ravaged by the Japanese. Celeste and the children were interned at Santo Tomas; Adam was taken someplace else. As their lives intertwined with others, they experienced the most horrible, horrifying, and desperate circumstances that brought them into the brink of despair. On the other hand, countless acts of kindness and compassion from unexpected sources kept their hopes alive. Celeste made a promise to survive the war, reunite with Adam, and become a family again. Adam made a vow that he would not give up finding his family at all costs. However, wishing and praying were not enough. Survival became a challenge. Death was knocking on the door. They needed a miracle!”
Published by Fulton Books, Armando Abad’s book is a stirring tale that will capture the hearts of readers as they follow Celeste and Adam’s fight for their lives and to keep their family together. Expertly paced and heartfelt, Abad delivers an emotional experience that is sure to keep readers spellbound, desperate for more with each turn of the page.
Readers who wish to experience this enthralling work can purchase “Santo Tomas: A Miracle” at select bookstores, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.
Please direct all media inquiries to Author Support via email at support@fultonbooks.com or via telephone at 877-210-0816.
While attending University of Santo Tomas College of Education, author Armando Abad came to have a better understanding of Catholicism through theology classes and religious training the university offered. Abad enlisted in the United States Navy in 1972 and, while on active duty, earned his Associate of Arts in general studies from Los Angeles Community College in 1980 and his Bachelor of Science in business administration from Chapman University in 1983.
After his retirement from the navy in 1992, Abad pursued his passion for teaching and obtained his California teaching credential, and later taught fifth and sixth graders at Meadow Lane Elementary School in Lemoore, California. He retired in 2013 after sixteen years of public-school teaching and found himself teaching middle school at Mary Immaculate Queen Catholic School in the same town before retiring in 2019. Abad has been blessed with four children and two grandchildren.
“Established in 1611, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila, Philippines—one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the world—was transformed into the largest internment camp by the occupying Japanese forces during World War II,” writes Abad. “Over seven thousand civilian foreigners considered enemies by Japan, Italy, and Germany, their spouses, and their children, together with several American military medical personnel, were imprisoned, brutalized, and starved.
“Its campus, founded to promote knowledge and cultivate academic progress through Christian-based curriculum and instructions, became a silent witness to Japanese atrocities. Prisoners were subjected to constant harassments, endless abuses, physical attacks, and starvation, which resulted to severe injuries, diseases, long-term illnesses, and deaths. Meager help from other foreigners, the locals, and the Red Cross flowed over and through the fence but came to a halt after the Japanese sealed the entire perimeter. To survive, they clung to their faith on the US military, on one another, and in God. However, they never felt more helpless and more isolated than when the American forces surrendered to the Japanese after the fall of Bataan and Corregidor.
“Dr. Celeste Craig, her husband Adam, and their two young children were brutally arrested, and their home severely ravaged by the Japanese. Celeste and the children were interned at Santo Tomas; Adam was taken someplace else. As their lives intertwined with others, they experienced the most horrible, horrifying, and desperate circumstances that brought them into the brink of despair. On the other hand, countless acts of kindness and compassion from unexpected sources kept their hopes alive. Celeste made a promise to survive the war, reunite with Adam, and become a family again. Adam made a vow that he would not give up finding his family at all costs. However, wishing and praying were not enough. Survival became a challenge. Death was knocking on the door. They needed a miracle!”
Published by Fulton Books, Armando Abad’s book is a stirring tale that will capture the hearts of readers as they follow Celeste and Adam’s fight for their lives and to keep their family together. Expertly paced and heartfelt, Abad delivers an emotional experience that is sure to keep readers spellbound, desperate for more with each turn of the page.
Readers who wish to experience this enthralling work can purchase “Santo Tomas: A Miracle” at select bookstores, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.
Please direct all media inquiries to Author Support via email at support@fultonbooks.com or via telephone at 877-210-0816.
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