Hell in the Pacific: A Marine Rifleman's Journey From Guadalcanal to Peleliu

(Paperback)

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In what may be the last memoir to be published by a living veteran of the pivotal invasion of Guadalcanal, which occurred almost seventy years ago, Marine Jim McEnery has teamed up with author Bill Sloan to create an unforgettable chronicle of heroism and horror

McErerys Rifle Companythe legendary K/3/5 of the First Marine Division, made famous by the HBO miniseries The Pacificfought in some of the most ferocious battles of the war. In searing detail, the author takes us back to Guadalcanal, where American forces first turned the tide against the Japanese; Cape Gloucester, where 1,300 Marines were killed or wounded; and bloody Peleliu, where McEnery assumed command of the company and helped hasten the final defeat of the Japanese garrison after weeks of torturous cave-to-cave fighting.

McEnerys story is a no-holds-barred, grunts-eye view of the sacrifices, suffering, and raw courage of the men in the foxholes, locked in mortal combat with an implacable enemy sworn to fight to the death. From bayonet charges and hand-to-hand combat to midnight banzai attacks and the loss of close buddies, the rifle squad leader spares no details, chronicling his odyssey from boot camp through twenty-eight months of hellish combat until his eventual return home. He has given us an unforgettable portrait of men at war.

Reviews

"A thoroughly satisfying account of war in the South Pacific packed with fireworks, tragedy and horseplay."

"--Kirkus"

"One of [World War II's] eminent historians and storytellers."--John D. Lukacs, author of "Escape from Daveo"

"Sloan is a master of that narrative genre at least as old as the "Iliad", the combat narrative."

"--Bill Marvel, Dallas Morning News"

Author Bio

Jim McEnery served in the 1st Marine Divisions famed K-3-5 rifle company in World War II and fought in three major campaigns against the Japanese. After the war, he moved to New Jersey and worked at Rutgers University until retirement. He passed away in September 2012.

Bill Sloan is a respected military historian and author of more than a dozen books, including Brotherhood of Heroes: The Ultimate Battle. He lives in Dallas, Texas.