What do you think?
Rate this book
Fighter Squadron at Guadalcanal
Presents the dramatic story of a pivotal World War II campaign, based on hundreds of hours of interviews with pilots and ground crew of the legendary 212th Marine Fighter Squadron. Reprint.
- GenresHistoryWorld War II
231 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1996
56 people want to read
About the author
Max Brand
1,817 books134 followersFrederick Schiller Faust (see also Frederick Faust), aka Frank Austin, George Owen Baxter, Walter C. Butler, George Challis, Evin Evan, Evan Evans, Frederick Faust, John Frederick, Frederick Frost, David Manning, Peter Henry Morland, Lee Bolt, Peter Dawson, Martin Dexter, Dennis Lawson, M.B., Hugh Owen, Nicholas Silver
Max Brand, one of America's most popular and prolific novelists and author of such enduring works as Destry Rides Again and the Doctor Kildare stories, died on the Italian front in 1944.
Max Brand, one of America's most popular and prolific novelists and author of such enduring works as Destry Rides Again and the Doctor Kildare stories, died on the Italian front in 1944.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 15, 2014
Interesting book from the prospective it was published near 40 years after the author's death. The author, a novelist, wrote his only non-fiction book based on first hand narratives of VMF 212, and they air war over Guadalcanal. A few months later the author was killed in Italy as a war correspondent. The manuscript was lost.
Fast forward, 40 years, a copy was found that had been given to one of the members of VMF 212. HE contacted the author's daughter and the book was published.
Interesting from the first-hand prospective of war in the Pacific, but lacking footnotes and side clarifications, at time it was like listening to a number of guys reminisce.
Fast forward, 40 years, a copy was found that had been given to one of the members of VMF 212. HE contacted the author's daughter and the book was published.
Interesting from the first-hand prospective of war in the Pacific, but lacking footnotes and side clarifications, at time it was like listening to a number of guys reminisce.
February 10, 2018
A very interesting read, decades in publishing. This book was written by Max Brand, his nom de plume, he was Fredrick Faust, a WWII war correspondent deployed with VMF 212 which was the 1st Marine fighter squadron on Guadacanal as the island was taken. It's a very personalized account which creates the true feel of the men of a Marine squadron and the events of the 1st step America would take to turn the tide of the war in the Pacific.
The leader of 212 was Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Lt Col Harold "Joe" Brauer, a Naval academy grad and football player who used his football experiance to build tactics to fight the Japanese flying superior aircraft. . .not surprisingly, his call sign was Coach.
This book would not be published till 1996 as Max Brand would be assigned to cover the Italian campaign and would lose his life covering those soliders. The manuscript and notes were lost to all but Major Mel Freeman of 212 who would share a copy with squadron mate Frank Dury which lead to the book being finished and published in the 90's.
A must read for fans of the War in the Pacific, Naval Aviation and Word War II history.
Max Brand would write over 200 books.
The leader of 212 was Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Lt Col Harold "Joe" Brauer, a Naval academy grad and football player who used his football experiance to build tactics to fight the Japanese flying superior aircraft. . .not surprisingly, his call sign was Coach.
This book would not be published till 1996 as Max Brand would be assigned to cover the Italian campaign and would lose his life covering those soliders. The manuscript and notes were lost to all but Major Mel Freeman of 212 who would share a copy with squadron mate Frank Dury which lead to the book being finished and published in the 90's.
A must read for fans of the War in the Pacific, Naval Aviation and Word War II history.
Max Brand would write over 200 books.
October 16, 2022
So real. The WW2 experiences of VMF-212, a USMC fighter squadron. Unfiltered truth.
December 19, 2025
Fighter Squadron at Guadalcanal by Max Brand
Most readers know Max Brand as one of America’s great Western storytellers. What many don’t realize is that he also turned his gift for vivid, human storytelling toward the real heroes of World War II. Fighter Squadron at Guadalcanal is a fine example of that shift — a heartfelt, clear-eyed tribute to the Marines who fought and flew in one of the Pacific’s most brutal campaigns.
Brand never set foot on Guadalcanal himself. Instead, he listened — to the men who had. He interviewed returning pilots from Marine Fighter Squadron 212, young men who had faced overwhelming odds in the skies over the Solomons and somehow lived to tell about it. Through their voices, Brand built a picture of courage that feels honest and unvarnished. You can hear the fatigue in their words, the gallows humor, the unspoken grief. He didn’t romanticize them; he respected them.
This isn’t a dry military record or a technical breakdown of aerial tactics. It’s a window into the hearts of the men who fought those early, desperate battles in the Pacific. The pages are filled with heat, exhaustion, and fear — but also camaraderie, pride, and a deep sense of duty. Brand’s writing brings all of that to life with a simplicity that never tries to show off. He lets the men speak for themselves, and that restraint gives the book its quiet strength.
It’s worth remembering that Max Brand himself later died in action while covering the war in Italy as a correspondent. That gives this book a haunting resonance — a man who sought to understand bravery ended up sharing its ultimate risk.
Fighter Squadron at Guadalcanal isn’t just history; it’s remembrance. It honors the pilots who fought and the writer who listened to them. For readers who value authenticity, humility, and humanity in war writing, this book delivers all three.
Most readers know Max Brand as one of America’s great Western storytellers. What many don’t realize is that he also turned his gift for vivid, human storytelling toward the real heroes of World War II. Fighter Squadron at Guadalcanal is a fine example of that shift — a heartfelt, clear-eyed tribute to the Marines who fought and flew in one of the Pacific’s most brutal campaigns.
Brand never set foot on Guadalcanal himself. Instead, he listened — to the men who had. He interviewed returning pilots from Marine Fighter Squadron 212, young men who had faced overwhelming odds in the skies over the Solomons and somehow lived to tell about it. Through their voices, Brand built a picture of courage that feels honest and unvarnished. You can hear the fatigue in their words, the gallows humor, the unspoken grief. He didn’t romanticize them; he respected them.
This isn’t a dry military record or a technical breakdown of aerial tactics. It’s a window into the hearts of the men who fought those early, desperate battles in the Pacific. The pages are filled with heat, exhaustion, and fear — but also camaraderie, pride, and a deep sense of duty. Brand’s writing brings all of that to life with a simplicity that never tries to show off. He lets the men speak for themselves, and that restraint gives the book its quiet strength.
It’s worth remembering that Max Brand himself later died in action while covering the war in Italy as a correspondent. That gives this book a haunting resonance — a man who sought to understand bravery ended up sharing its ultimate risk.
Fighter Squadron at Guadalcanal isn’t just history; it’s remembrance. It honors the pilots who fought and the writer who listened to them. For readers who value authenticity, humility, and humanity in war writing, this book delivers all three.
February 1, 2016
Introductions make a big deal of the racism in this text begun in 1943 and published near 40 years after the author's death. I counted many "Japs" and one "Nip", hardly extreme considering the blatant racism o WWII. I find the racism in "Gran Turino" disturbing, but that language of these veterans strikes me as rather tame, even reserved. This is 1st-person narratives of survivors of 212 stationed stationed on Efate Island, enduring hardships to build Bauer Field, and valiantly stopping the "Japs" from retaking Henderson field, a military airfield on Guadalcanal Island. The "gooks", etc. of Colder Than Hell: A Marine Rifle Company at Chosin Reservoir strikes me as more in need of a preface. The preface here may have more to do with when it was published than with the content.
Stories of a pilot's first kill in a dogfight stand out, as well as interacting with natives in tracking down a survivor and a pilot who rammed into a Zero later finding the pilot bobbing in the sea. Stern stuff.
Stories of a pilot's first kill in a dogfight stand out, as well as interacting with natives in tracking down a survivor and a pilot who rammed into a Zero later finding the pilot bobbing in the sea. Stern stuff.
September 25, 2010
Somewhat rabid account of the Cactus Air Force in action.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews