Islands of the Damned

The big famous battles—Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, Okinawa. Everybody’s heard about them. Nobody’s heard of Peleliu. They don’t teach history anymore.

So I made up my mind to teach it. There’s only a few of us left who know anything about Peleliu. When we started our reunions we had 250 on our roster. Now we’re down to forty. We lost five since our last reunion. Only a few of us are left who remember. We have to tell the stories, so this and future generations will know what happened. So it doesn’t get forgotten.

* * *

What sticks with me now is not so much the pain and terror and sorrow of the war, though I remember that well enough. What really sticks with me is the honor I had of defending my country, and of serving in the company of these men. They were good Marines, the finest, every one of them. You can’t say anything better about a man.

Semper Fi!

Selected Bibliography

OVERVIEWS

Costello, John. The Pacific War 1941-1945. Perennial/HarperCollins, New York City, 1981.

Dear, I. C. B., general editor, and Foot, M. R. D., consultant editor. The Oxford Companion to World War II. Oxford University Press, Oxford, England, 1995.

Hammel, Eric. Pacific Warriors: The U.S. Marines in World War II, A Pictorial Tribute. Zenith Press/MBI Publishing Company, St. Paul, Minnesota, 2005.

McMillan, George. The Old Breed: A History of the First Marine Division in World War II. Zenger Publishing Company, Washington, D.C., 1949/1979.

Rottman, Gordon L. U.S. Marine Rifleman 1939-1945. Warrior Series #112. Osprey Publishing, Midway House, West Way, Botley, Oxford, England, 2006.

NEW BRITAIN AND CAPE GLOUCESTER

Bielakowski, Alexander M. “New Britain” in World War II in the Pacific: An Encyclopedia. Garland Publishing, Inc. New York City, 2001.

Hough, Major Frank O., USMCR, and Major John A. Crown, USMCR. The Campaign on New Britain. Historic Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., 1952.

Miller, John, Jr. Cartwheel: The Reduction of Rabaul. United States Army in World War II. Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, Washington, D.C., 1959.

Nalty, Bernard C. Cape Gloucester: The Green Inferno. Marines in World War II Commemorative Series. Marine Corps Historical Center, Washington, D.C., 1994.

PELELIU AND PAVUVU

A&E Television Networks. Our Century: The Bloody Hills of Peleliu. The History Channel, 1995 (DVD).

Camp, Dick. The Last Man Standing: The 1st Marine Regiment on Peleliu, September 15-21, 1944. Zenith Press/MBI Publishing Co. Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2008.

DeHart, Bruce. “Palau” in World War II in the Pacific: An Encyclopedia. Garland Publishing, Inc. New York City, 2001.

Faith, William Robert. Bob Hope: A Life in Comedy. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York City, 1982.

Hallas, James H. The Devil’s Anvil: The Assault on Peleliu. Praeger, Westport, Connecticut, 1994.

Hope, Bob, with Linda Hope. My Life in Jokes. Hyperion, New York City, 2003.

Hough, Major Frank O., USMCR. The Assault on Peleliu. Historic Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., 1950; reprint: The Battery Press, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee, 2000.

MacMillan, George. “They Called It a Rest Camp: The First Marine Division on Pavuvu.” Harper’s, October, 1949, pp. 36-45.

Moran, Jim, and Gordon L. Rottman. Peleliu 1944: The Forgotten Corner of Hell. Campaign Series #110. Osprey Publishing, New York City, 2002.

Phillips, Sidney C., M.D. “You’ll Be Sor-ree!” Artcraft Press, Mobile, Alabama, 2001.

Pollins, Perry. Tales of a Feather Merchant: The World War II Memoir of a Marine Radioman. Merriam Press, Bennington, Vermont, 2008.

Sledge, E. B. With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa. Ballantine Books, New York City, 2007.

Wright, Derrick. To the Far Side of Hell: The Battle for Peleliu, 1944. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 2005.

OKINAWA

Leckie, Robert. Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II. Viking Penguin, New York City, 1996.

Rottman, Gordon. Okinawa 1945: The Last Battle. Praeger Illustrated Military History Series, Praeger Publishers, Westport, Connecticut, 2002.

Sloan, Bill. The Ultimate Battle: Okinawa 1945—The Last Epic Struggle of World War II. Simon & Schuster, New York City, 2007.

Index

Air burst

Alsace-Lorraine

Amtracs

Angaur

Aogiri Ridge, New Britain

Armed Forces Radio service

Ash, Robert

Atabrine tablets

Atomic bomb

Atrocities

Australians

Avenger dive-bombers

Awa River, Okinawa

Awacha Pocket, Okinawa

Awacha Ridge, Okinawa

B-24s

Babelthuap

Bailey, Paul

Baldy, Peleliu

Banika

Banzai charges

BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle)