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With the 41st Division in the Southwest Pacific: A Foot Soldier's Story
"[W]e began our advance toward the Mokmer Airstrip.... The road climbed a ridge 15 or 20 feet high and we found ourselves on a flat coral plateau sparsely covered by small trees and scrub growth.... As we moved westward along the road, two of our destroyers were sailing abreast of the lead elements of the advancing column. The first indication of trouble was the roar of heavy artillery shells sailing over our heads... aimed at our destroyers.... Shortly after that our forward movement stopped, and we heard heavy firing from the head of the column.... As we waited, we began to hear heavy fire from the rear.... We were cut off and surrounded!"
In the enormous literature of the Second World War, there are surprisingly few accounts of fighting in the southwest Pacific, fewer still by common infantrymen. This memoir, written with a simple and direct honesty that is rare indeed, follows a foot soldier's career from basic training to mustering out. It takes the reader into the jungles and caves of New Guinea and the Philippines during the long campaign to win the war against Japan. From basic training at Camp Roberts through combat, occupation, and the long journey home, Francis Catanzaro's account tells of the excitement, misery, cruelty, and terror of combat, and of the uneasy boredom of jungle camp life. A member of the famed 41st Infantry Brigade, the "Jungleers," Catanzaro saw combat at Hollandia, Biak, Zamboanga, and Mindanao. He was a part of the U.S. occupation force in Japan and writes with feeling about living among his former enemies and of the decision to drop the atom bomb. With the 41st Division in the Southwest Pacific is a powerful, gritty, and moving narrative of the life of a soldier during some of the most difficult fighting of World War II.
In the enormous literature of the Second World War, there are surprisingly few accounts of fighting in the southwest Pacific, fewer still by common infantrymen. This memoir, written with a simple and direct honesty that is rare indeed, follows a foot soldier's career from basic training to mustering out. It takes the reader into the jungles and caves of New Guinea and the Philippines during the long campaign to win the war against Japan. From basic training at Camp Roberts through combat, occupation, and the long journey home, Francis Catanzaro's account tells of the excitement, misery, cruelty, and terror of combat, and of the uneasy boredom of jungle camp life. A member of the famed 41st Infantry Brigade, the "Jungleers," Catanzaro saw combat at Hollandia, Biak, Zamboanga, and Mindanao. He was a part of the U.S. occupation force in Japan and writes with feeling about living among his former enemies and of the decision to drop the atom bomb. With the 41st Division in the Southwest Pacific is a powerful, gritty, and moving narrative of the life of a soldier during some of the most difficult fighting of World War II.
- GenresWarNonfictionHistory
224 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 1, 2012
I got this book because my grandfather served with the 41st, and I wanted a glimpse into the life he must have led while a supply sergeant in WWII. The book is simple memoir with no bells and whistles, but you have to love the author's sincerity (and sweetness of spirit) in the way he tells his unvarnished tale. I can't say I gained any great insights, but I was excited to find reference to an incident that my grandfather talked about many times: taking friendly fire from a B-25.
December 25, 2016
My Uncle Lou was in this outfit. I have heard him verbally comment on much of what is detailed in this book. Unbelievable men, unbelievable history. Truly the greatest generation the world has seen.
November 5, 2018
I always appreciate first hand accounts from soldiers so I picked this book up to learn more about the campaigns in the South Pacific. This book is serene compared to others I have read but the author, Mr. Catanzaro, didn't want this to be another story about blood and guts. Instead, he took us through his career, and yes the fighting to, but kept it respectful and engaging without being grotesque. I thought this book was well written and gave me exactly what I hoped for; another glimpse into a ground soldiers war and the things they thought, felt, & were concerned about.
July 20, 2021
Good: great narrative of a relatively forgotten aspect of the pacific war
Well written and enjoyable
Easy read
Gives insight into day to day life
Bad: gets monotonous at times and not as descriptive as some other memoirs
Well written and enjoyable
Easy read
Gives insight into day to day life
Bad: gets monotonous at times and not as descriptive as some other memoirs
October 27, 2018
Excellent short read of the service of one draftee in World War II. Especially interesting since his service was in far outposts of the Pacific war by an Army enlisted man.
November 7, 2013
Written from memory 50 years later. Still good. Things I never knew before. One of my best friends' dad was in New Guinnea during WWII. Now I know a little of what he went through.
March 6, 2016
You will learn everything you need to know about what it was like to be an infantry man in the South Pacific.
April 13, 2016
For military historians, this is a wonderful history of many a forgotten foot soldier!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews