About the Book
A firsthand account of the First Battalion, 24th Marines' harrowing Pacific War campaigns and personal experiences. From the land that God forgot to Hell with the fire out, the men of First Battalion, 24th Marines saw the worst of the Pacific war. They endured four major Pacific campaigns in thirteen months-from their baptism of fire at Namur, through the bloody hills of Saipan and the burning cane fields of Tinian, to the hell of Iwo Jima where more than half their number became casualties. If not for the atomic bomb, they would have been fated to lead the assault to recapture Wake Island. Their history is more than deployment dates and casualty figures: it is the experiences of individual Marines, both before and after the war, that bring the battalion to life. College students and high school dropouts, lawyers and CCC workers, football stars and teenage runaways served side by side: some developed into Marine Corps legends, some betrayed their comrades, and some died before having a chance to truly live. They were photographed by W. Eugene Smith for LIFE Magazine, filmed by Hollywood for Guadalcanal Diary, and profiled in newspapers. After the war they became career Marines, doctors, professors, politicians, family men, alcoholics, recluses, and criminals; their legacies encompass heroism, perseverance, loss, anger, and acceptance-the full spectrum of human experience. This immersive account of their experiences pairs previously unpublished personal accounts with meticulous research in an intensely detailed, foxhole-eye view of the Pacific War from a new perspective. AUTHOR: Geoffrey W. Roecker is the author of the critically acclaimed book Leaving Mac Behind: The Lost Marines of Guadalcanal. He began writing about the First Battalion, 24th Marines in 2011, creating Missing Marines, a project inspired by the fates of three men from 1/24th Marines. A vocal advocate for the return of unidentified World War II service members, Roecker has contributed to several successful USMC repatriations. His work has appeared in Leatherneck Magazine, Marine Corps History, and online at www.1-24thMarines.com and www.missingmarines.com. 80 photographs and maps
Table of Contents:
Prologue: He Was A Marine
The End Of The World That We Knew: From Civilians to Volunteers
The Land That God Forgot: Parris Island
Difficult As The Devil: Officer Training, 1941–1942
Spanish Moss and Black Water: New River, North Carolina
This Really Is A Rugged Life: Camp Pendleton, California
Not Afraid Of Pain Or Death: Operation FLINTLOCK—Roi-Namur
The Wrong Ballgame: Namur, February 1–2, 1944
Touched By War: Occupation Duty, February 3–11, 1944
Prizefighter's Training Camp: Camp Maui, February–May 1944
No One Thought Of Failure: Operation FORAGER—Saipan
War At Its Grimmest: Saipan, June 16–July 1, 1944
The Marpi Point Marathon: Saipan, July 2–13, 1944
Here We Go Again: Operation FORAGER—Tinian
A Very Simple Formula: Preparing for 1945
Another Rock To Be Taken: Operation DETACHMENT—Iwo Jima
Hell With The Fire Out: Iwo Jima—February 20–28
Meat Grinder: Iwo Jima—March 1–8
The End Of The Rope: Iwo Jima—March 9–18
The Last Summer April—October 1945
The Grand Stream of History: Life After War
Epilogue: MuMu
Appendix A: Narrators
Appendix B: Gyrene Speak
Appendix C: Decorations
Appendix D: Taps
About the Author :
Geoffrey W. Roecker is the author of the critically acclaimed book Leaving Mac Behind: The Lost Marines of Guadalcanal. He began writing about the First Battalion, 24th Marines in 2011, creating Missing Marines, a project inspired by the fates of three men from 1/24th Marines. A vocal advocate for the return of unidentified World War II service members, Roecker has contributed to several successful USMC repatriations. His work has appeared in Leatherneck Magazine, Marine Corps History, and online at www.1-24thMarines.com and www.missingmarines.com.
Review :
"Geoff did a great job researching and compiling the stories of the men who fought in the 4th Marine Division, 1st Battalion, 24th Regiment, during WWII. Many of the accounts are from actual interviews and writings from those who served. The battles covered are Roi-Namur, Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima. My father (PFC Alva Perry) served in A Company. For about 50 years, my dad rarely mentioned what happened in the war. Then, once he started attending reunions in his 70s, he began to open up about it. Like most of those who served, he experienced PTSD. The book is well written and preserves those memories of those men, so they are not forgotten. If you enjoyed the writings of Stephen Ambrose, you should enjoy this book."--Mitch Perry, son of Alva R. Perry, A/1/24
"Geoff Roecker paints a picture like no other of times gone by and people and places remembered. There are storied first-hand accounts of the Pacific War by prolific writers ... but rarely does an author come along, many generations later, who captures the action and the authenticity of that global conflict the way that Geoff does in all of his writings. Geoff puts readers on the beaches and in the living rooms. On the ships and in the tanks. You can feel the heat radiating from a flamethrower as he recounts the personal life of the man at the trigger, intertwined with the motivations and recollections that put him in that situation in the first place. This account of the 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, in World War II is a long-overdue and most welcome addition to the great writings of the war in the Pacific and now takes its rightful place in the illustrious battle line history of the Corps."--Justin Lehew, Sergeant Major, USMC
"This is the gripping epic of a battalion of 4th Division Marines that suffered 'the seeming randomness of death' at Namur, Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima. Using their words, Roecker provides insight into their lives before the war, through the battalion's formation, their fortitude under fire that decimated their companies, and their varied, sometimes tragic adjustments to post-war life. In compelling prose, the author reveals the price young men paid to preserve our nation's freedom."--Brad Logan, Research Associate Professor Emeritus, Kansas State University, son of William C. Logan, C/1/24
