Suppose a Child Goes to War

Coming of Age as a POW. Reviewing ‘A Bright and Blinding Sun’ by Marcus Brotherton

When Joseph Quitman Johnson rescued an underage prostitute while stationed in the Philippines, the fifteen-year-old Army recruit had no clue the girl’s angry pimp was the least of his worries.

Yes, I said fifteen.

Manila was 8,000 miles from his single mom’s home in Memphis, but Joe had already traveled plenty. He ran away at twelve to find his father in…