Pacific Legacy: Image and Memory from World War II in the Pacific

by Gerald A. Meehl

This fascinating, richly illustrated survey of all aspects of the Pacific war, from Pearl Harbor to Japan's surrender in Tokyo Bay, offers something unique among World War II an extensive color portfolio of dramatic wartime relics that have survived decades on most of the Pacific island battlefields. Rusting American landing craft and tanks still can be found on the treacherous reefs and beaches where they were tragically stopped by enemy fire so long ago; aircraft of both sides lie hidden in the jungles where they crashed; battle-scarred Japanese pillboxes and artillery emplacements still stand sentinel; and packed-coral landing strips remain as good as new.
Such evocative memento mori have been beautifully captured on film by Jerry Meehl, probably the only photographer to have sought out these far-flung battle sites, many of them still dangerous underfoot and now off-limits to travelers. The authors also searched official archives for pictures that show the real terrors of combat and often found images displaying the very tanks and amtracs now decomposing on distant invasion beaches. They also found captured prewar photos of newly built Japanese pillboxes and gun emplacements, which they contrast with images of their current war-torn condition.
But Pacific Legacy is far from just a "then" and "now" picture book. Each of the more than twenty photo essays of particular battles features a lively narrative that relies heavily on the firsthand accounts of men who were there, archival pictures shot during the actual fighting, and color photographs of the remaining Japanese bunkers and gun emplacements, all of which help the reader visualize what hand-to-hand combat in the Pacific war must have been like.

312 pages, Hardcover

First published April 26, 2002

Reviews

[Pet Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hyperfixated on this as a child. still have my 20+yo copy

[Phillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Purchased from History Book Club in early 2000's.

3.5 / 5.0

Kind of confusing organization. Picture selection is mediocre. Text is relatively well written.

[Candace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on WWII. Good stories & pictures. This book tells all the forgotten battles of the sea. I think the wars in the Pacific have been looked over or not recognized because when we think of WWII we think of Europe. There were many great battles in the Pacific and many soldiers lost. We need to remember them as much as we remember those in Europe.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible pictures of wrecks from Pacific battles in WWii.