Gail Chatfield

Gail Chatfield is a native of Southern California and received her Bachelor's Degree from San Diego State University courtesy of the G.I. Bill. A degree in Anthropology, the study of man and the role that culture exerts on individuals or groups, thoroughly prepared her for working in the exotic, fertile fields of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. Positions at the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), the William Morris Agency and for nearly a decade as the personal assistant to Farrah Fawcett, confirmed the theory that nothing beats reality for a good story. She is a free lance writer and an award-winning journalist in San Diego. Her book BY DAMMIT, WE'RE MARINES! VETERANS' STORIES OF HEROISM, HORROR AND HUMOR IN WORLD WAR II ON THE PACIFIC FRONT has been honored with two national book awards.

Chatfield co-founded the Veterans Writing Group-San Diego County where she leads writing workshops for veterans in association with the Writers Guild Foundation. She is an associate member of the Third Marine Division Association, the Military Writer's Society of America,the San Diego Press Club and the Society of Professional Journalists and is on the Board of Directors of the Iwo Jima Reunion Committee, Camp Pendleton.

Her interest in the battles of the Pacific comes from her father who was a Marine on Bougainville, Guam and Iwo Jima and sadly never talked about his wartime experience before he died when she was 15 years old. More information can be found at the author's website www.gailchatfield.com including a PowerPoint presentation of excerpts from the book.