Alumna chronicles father’s WWII POW survival in new book, ‘868’

October 19, 2018 | Jim Townsend

Editor's Note: (Updated Nov. 1) Tina Farrell's Nov. 5 book-signing event has been postponed and will be rescheduled at a later date.

 

In honor of this year’s Veterans Day, University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Office of Veteran Services and Alfred R. Neumann Library will present author and alumna Tina Farrell and her recently published book “868 The Sharecropper’s Son: The Story of A WWII American POW’s Life of Miracles.”

The book chronicles the life of her father, Houston E. Lowe, from his rural Central Texas upbringing to the Great Depression, from the outbreak of war to his capture at Corregidor, the fetid prisoner-of-war camps and “hell ships” that tested his resolve. The number, “868” was etched into his Japanese POW dog tag.

“This story must be told,” Farrell says in the book’s preface. “Although this is his story, it is the unfortunate tale of thousands of men and women who fought so bravely for our country. He, like so many others of this generation, is a humble hero. He would never tell this story himself. He would not want to appear as if he did any more than anyone else.”

Farrell’s father’s reflects on his life’s triumphs and tragedies, from maladies and miracles to his life today at the age of 99.

Farrell, who received UHCL’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1998, earned her master’s in humanities in 1985 and her doctorate in education in 2009. She will present her work Monday, Nov. 5, 2:30-3:30 p.m. in UHCL’s Neumann Library. Fifteen percent of book sales at this event will be donated to the Office of Veteran Services.

Veterans Day is Sunday, Nov. 11. The federal holiday is observed Monday, Nov. 12.