A Special Valor: The U.S. Marines and the Pacific War

by Richard Wheeler

If the U.S. Marines gave birth to a legend in the halls of Montezuma in the nineteenth century, they added glorious luster to it with their heroism and victories against the Japanese in World War II. For this vivid, foxhole view of the Marines' war, Richard Wheeler draws extensively on frontline eyewitness accounts of Marines and combat journalists and backs up their stories with official U.S. action reports and captured Japanese materials. First published in 1983, the book has earned praise as a popular, one-volume history of all the battles fought by the Marine Corps in the Pacific campaign. The book describes in fascinating and exciting detail the heroic defense of Wake Island against an overwhelming enemy assault force. It traces the long bloody battle for Guadalcanal that brought the Marines their first victory and gave America and its allies control of the strategically important Soloman Islands. It follows the painful, island-by-island counterattack toward the Japanese homeland when the Marines created new legends at such places as Bougainville, Saipan, Tarawa, Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Here are the remarkable exploits of the Marines holding off Japanese assault waves at Heartbreak Ridge, storming across coral reefs, and struggling up the slopes of Mount Suribachi to raise the Stars and Stripes. Some sixty-five photographs enhance the book, which is now available in paperback for the first time.

Genres: World War II, Nonfiction, Military History, History

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Richard "Dick" Wheeler was an accomplished military historian and served with the United States Marine Corp (Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division) during World War II. Wheeler participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima and was wounded there. He wrote seventeen military history books and served as a consultant on numerous movie and television productions. He passed away on October 21, 2008 at the age of 86.

Reviews

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book for those wanting to understand the American WWII Pacific Campaigns. This book follows the Navy and Marines island-hopping, rather than MacArthur's push up from Australia, that liberated the Philippines. From Guadalcanal to Okinawa, all the island invasions are covered here in strong detail. The author was a Marine himself, and the attention to the actual footsloggers on each island is illuminating. This book has sufficient maps and diagrams to help the reader understand the action as well. A good book to give any level reader a clear idea of the carnage in the Pacific

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Marines were restricted to the Pacific Theater during World War II by a World War I treaty. Wheeler explores their actions against the Japanese.

[Kendrick Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on marines in the pacific