Island Victory: The Battle of Kwajalein Atoll (World War II) - Softcover

Marshall, S. L.A

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0803282729 ISBN 13: 9780803282728

Publisher: Bison Books, 2001

Synopsis

An on-the-spot history of a fight in the Pacific during World War II, Island Victory was the first battle history written by then Lieutenant Colonel S. L. A. Marshall, a veteran of World War I who would serve in Korea and Vietnam and become a brigadier general in the process. After the Seventh Infantry Division drove across Kwajalein Atoll in the first days of February 1944, successfully wresting control of the strategic southern tip from the Japanese, Marshall was charged with producing an accurate and comprehensive account of the fight. His solution: bring the front-line soldiers together at once and interview them as a group, tapping the collective memory of a platoon fresh from battle. In this book, readers get a rare, firsthand sense of all the emotions that soldiers in combat experience. Numerous maps and photographs help us visualize precisely what took place. A compelling work of military history, and the first book of its kind, Island Victory is itself an important chapter in the history of how military exploits are described and recorded.

About this title

About the Author

Brigadier General S. L. A. Marshall (1900–1977) served as an enlisted man in World War I, an official historian in World War II, an Army historian in Korea, and an advisor and observer in Vietnam. He wrote more than fifty books.  Joseph G. Dawson III's most recent book is Doniphan's Epic March: The 1st Missouri Volunteers in the Mexican War. He is a professor of history at Texas A&M University.

Review

"Written accounts of war simply do not get any closer to the actions and feelings of those [who] were there. Island Victory is a highly recommended, 'must read' book."—The Midwest Book Review (The Midwest Book Review)

"Island Victory presents Marshall at his best, unobtrusively weaving together the testimonies of several hundred infantrymen of the 7th Division during the battle for Kwajalein Atoll. . . . The Kwajalein victors interviewed so painstakingly by Sam Marshall provide a priceless candor and authenticity, the emotional testimonies of young men still flushed with adrenalin, guilt, and relief."—Joseph H. Alexander, Journal of Military History (Joseph H. Alexander Journal of Military History)

About this edition

• Publisher: Bison Books
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0803282729
• ISBN 13: 9780803282728
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 118