Interview with Thomas Spencer, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran and POW from Joplin, Texas. Spencer discusses his experiences with the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery, the "Lost Battalion" captured on Java in March 1942, including: joining the service; training; deployment to East Asia; diversion to Brisbane and Malang; the Japanese attack on Java; the American surrender; experiences in internment and labor at Tanjong Priok and Bicycle Camp in Batavia, several camps on the Burma Railway, and Saigon; liberation.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a proposed regional free trade agreement (FTA) currently under negotiation between Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. The negotiating partners have expressed an interest in allowing this proposed “living agreement” to cover new trade topics and to include new members that are willing to adopt the proposed agreement's high standards. This report provides a comparative economic analysis of the TPP countries and their economic relations with the United States. It suggests that the TPP negotiating partners encompass great diversity in population, economic development, and trade and investment patterns with the United States. This economic diversity and inclusion of fast-growing emerging markets presents both opportunities and challenges for the United States in achieving a comprehensive and high standard regional FTA among TPP countries.