Iwo Jima : World War II veterans remember the greatest battle of the Pacific

Iwo Jima World War II veterans remember the greatest battle of the Pacific

Larry Smith

Book - 2008

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Subjects
Iwo Jima, Battle of, Japan, 1945 > Personal narratives, American.
Published
New York, NY : W.W. Norton c2008.
Language
English
Main Author
Larry Smith (-)
Edition
1st ed
Physical Description
xxiv, 345 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 25 cm
ISBN
9780393062342
  • Maps
  • Introduction
  • Acknowledgments
  • Part 1. The Invasion
  • 1. Corporal Richard Nummer
  • 2. Seaman James Bush
  • 3. Corporal James "Salty" Hathaway
  • 4. Captain Fred Haynes
  • 5. Corporal Hershel Woodrow "Woody" Williams
  • Part 2. Iron Mike's Posse
  • 6. Corporal Glenn Buzzard
  • 7. Private First Class Pete Santoro
  • 8. Private First Class Domenick Tutalo
  • Part 3. Russell, Tso, Abbatiello, and Waterhouse
  • 9. Captain Gerald Russell
  • 10. Private First Class Samuel Tso
  • 11. Corporal Al Abbatiello
  • 12. Private First Class Charles Waterhouse
  • Part 4. The Flag Raisings
  • 13. Warrant Officer Norman Hatch
  • 14. Corporal Charles "Chuck" Lindberg
  • Part 5. The LST, Workhorse of the Invasion
  • 15. Machinist's Mate Third Class Perle "Dusty" Ward
  • 16. Pharmacist's Mate Third Class George Wahlen
  • 17. Sergeant Cyril O'Brien
  • 18. Sergeant Thomas Haywood McPhatter
  • Part 6. The Planes That Came
  • 19. Lieutenant Robert Merklein
  • 20. Staff Sergeant Valentine Chepeleff
  • 21. Lieutenant Phil True
  • Part 7. Aftermath
  • 22. The Japanese Commanders-Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi and Captain Tsunezo Wachi-and the Years Afterward
  • 23. Patrick Mooney and the Graves
  • 24. Colonel John W. Ripley, USMC (Ret.)
  • Appendix. Military Terminology
Review by Booklist Review

An experienced interviewer of veterans (Beyond Glory, 2003; The Few and the Proud, 2006) now turns to survivors of Iwo Jima. There is no shortage of material on that brutal battle, but this book has one virtue that sets it slightly apart. Smith has cast his net widely and generated interviews with a wide range of veterans, so his book affords a broader-than-usual view of the battle. Marine riflemen are well to the fore, and leading them is Medal of Honor winner Hershel Williams. But navy medics, leaders of heavy weapons units, Navajo talkers, sailors on the ships offshore especially men on those unglamorous but essential logistics mainstays, the LSTs and air-force pilots who flew missions from Iwo Jima's runways before the guns, and the Japanese, had cooled are all called to testify. Eminently readable and historiographically useful.--Green, Roland Copyright 2008 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

The story of the Battle of Iwo Jima is well known, especially with the attention it received on its 60th anniversary in 2005 and the publication then of several fine studies (e.g., James Bradley and Ron Powers's Flags of Our Fathers), not to mention Clint Eastwood's two recent films. Now best-selling author Smith (Beyond Glory) has amassed a superb collection of 22 oral histories from Iwo Jima veterans, including two Medal of Honor winners, a Navajo "Code-Talker," the last surviving flag raiser from the first flag raising on Mount Suribachi, a war correspondent, and an African American marine who served in an ammo company. These veterans make for a good mix of officers and enlisted men. In his introductions and follow-ups to their memories, Smith discusses the controversy surrounding the flag raisings (whether posed or genuine, etc.), the fate of Japanese commander Kuribayashi, and the ultimate fate of the island itself, among other topics. In spite of the extensive literature on Iwo Jima, this is a unique and compelling book; strongly recommended for all collections. (Photos not seen.)-David Lee Poremba. Keiser Univ., Orlando, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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