Book Thoughts: "The Last Lieutenant," by John C. Shively

What a great book, and refreshing in a way. First off, I have no military experience and very little knowledge of such things outside of the Civil War, which I've read a ton about. World War II and the War in the Pacific are fairly recent interests of mine, and I'd really recommend this book for someone like me who is just starting or who wants to get a look at day to day life for a soldier in one of these island battles.

The book is an account of one man's experience on Iwo Jima. That man, Jim Craig was a platoon commander in the US Marine Corps. Craig and his platoon spent much of the first 27 days of the battle right in thick of things, ferreting out Japanese defensive positions well established in caves and underground. Indeed, of the 60 men under Lt. Craig's command on Iwo Jima, only 10 walked off the island with him. 20 of them had been killed and 30 had been wounded and evacuated. In fact over a third of the Marines killed in WWII died on Iwo Jima.

The story itself is presented as various accounts from Craig to his nephew, John Shively. Some are long, some are shorter, all of them have something to say about the overall battle and the life the Marines experienced during the "36 days of hell." The book is not an overview of the entire battle. It is not a military text or an evaluation of the tactics used in the battle. It very much is exactly what it claims to be, "A foxhole view of the epic battle for Iwo Jima." Anyone who is interested in the subject matter would be better for reading it.

Lt. Craig survived the battle and was awarded the Purple Heart. After rehabilitation in Maui, he participated in the US Occupation of Okinawa as an MP. He was discharged from the Marine Corps in 1946.

Book Thoughts: "Guadalcanal Diary" by Richard Tregaskis

I haven't read a ton about WW II, and most of what I have read to this point has been about the war in Europe. I'd recommend this book as a good starting place for folks interested in the Pacific war, though I suppose some that are more well read on the subject might disagree.

Richard Tregaskis was a war correspondent for INS when he landed on Guadalcanal with the US Marines in August, 1942. He stayed on "That f*cking Island," as the Marines called it, for the next seven weeks and witnessed most of the pivotal action in the battle to secure Guadalcanal and it's strategically important airfield.

Tregaskis explores many episodes of the Guadalcanal Campaign in great detail, including the initial landing, securing the airfield, expeditions to villages on Guadal and the neighboring islands where Japanese forces were holed up, a Japanese counter invasion that attempted to push the lines back across the Tenaru River, and the climactic Battle of Bloody Ridge. It's all there, and it puts you right in the middle of the action.

Tregaskis was an historian as well as a journalist, and this lends not only a very well written and detailed account of his time on the island, but one gets the feeling that Tregaskis knew he was in the middle of history unfolding and was documenting it as best as he could. The narrative is both emotional at times, and at other times very clinical. One thing is sure however, when you're done reading this book, you'll feel like you were right alongside him witnessing the Marines in action on Guadalcanal.