D-Days in the Pacific

by Donald L. Miller

Although most people associate the term D-Day with the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, it is military code for the beginning of any offensive operation. In the Pacific theater during World War II there were more than one hundred D-Days. The largest—and last—was the invasion of Okinawa on April 1, 1945, which brought together the biggest invasion fleet ever assembled, far larger than that engaged in the Normandy invasion.

D-Days in the Pacific tells the epic story of the campaign waged by American forces to win back the Pacific islands from Japan. Based on eyewitness accounts by the combatants, it covers the entire Pacific struggle from the attack on Pearl Harbor to the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Pacific war was largely a seaborne offensive fought over immense distances. Many of the amphibious assaults on Japanese-held islands were among the most savagely fought battles in American history: Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, New Guinea, Peleliu, Leyte Gulf, Iwo Jima, Okinawa.

Generously illustrated with photographs and maps, D-Days in the Pacific is the finest one-volume account of this titanic struggle.

Genres: History, Military Fiction, World War II, Audiobook, War, Nonfiction, American History

448 pages, Paperback

First published March 22, 2005

About the author

Dr. Miller is the John Henry MacCracken Professor of History at Lafayette College and an expert on World War II, among other topics in American history. Three of his eight books are on WWII: D-Days in the Pacific (2005), the story of the American re-conquest of the Pacific from Imperial Japan; Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany (2006); and The Story of World War II (2001), all published by Simon & Schuster.

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel that many or most people think of World War II primarily in terms of the war in Europe and consider D-Day to be specifically the allied invasion of Normandy, France, on 6 June, 1944. But the term D-Day is actually military code for the launch of any major military operation and, as such, there were more than one hundred D-Days in the Pacific Theater alone. In fact the invasion of Okinawa in the last stages of the war involved the largest invasion force of the war and dwarfed the Normandy invasion. D-Days in the Pacific by Donald L. Miller chronicles the major D-Days conducted in the Pacific War from the initial Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. The individual actions are covered in detail island by island as the allied forced slowly fought their way towards an ever tightening encirclement of Japan's home islands as seen from the viewpoint of those on the front lines. Those who participated in these actions experienced some of the most savage fighting in American history as well as dealing with the many tropical diseases that killed or incapacitated more troops than were lost in actual combat. Highly recommended for those interested in the history of WWII.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, but very little about D-Day landings in the Pacific. More an overview of the Pacific War and there are better books about WWII in the Pacific. Very little new information and some of what is offered is incorrect. Good reading, but not for fans of WWII. More for someone wanting an overview.

[Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This non-fiction history book provides an excellent overview of the major amphibious invasions the U.S. Navy, Marines and Army made on Japanese held island in the Pacific during World War II. While the term D-Day has been made synonymous with the invasion of French Normandy in Europe in WWII, it was a military code word that applied to the starting date of any offensive operation. During the war in the Pacific against the Japanese, many such invasion occurred as the USA military went “island hopping” to set up for a potential invasion of Japan. The major invasions covered are Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Leyte, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. All of these battles were brutal, bloody encounters. Mr. Miller makes that point very clear with vivid descriptions of these invasions as provided by the infantry soldiers who were there. In addition, Mr. Miller goes beyond these invasion stories to provide much detail to explain the how and why of the atomic bomb missions that made the invasion of Japan unnecessary. Overall, an excellent book about the war in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covered The Pacific Theater of the war from the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 to the Japanese surrender in August 1945.  Before reading this book, I knew very little about this aspect of WWII. I think the biggest thing that I gained from it was to get a clearer picture of the 2 pronged attack scheme used by the Allies.  General McArthur was in charge of mostly Army forces in the South Pacific while Admiral Nimitz headed up the Navy and Marine offensives in the Central Pacific.  The overall Allied plan was to attack the Japanese forces from two fronts and work their way closer and closer to the Japanese mainland.  This strategy forced the Japanese military to leave one field of battle in a weakened state in order to defend another.  Some of the major engagements that were covered thoroughly were Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.  Also, the section covering the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing runs was quite enlightening.  The place where I thought the book fell short was on the stories from common soldiers.  Some of the quotes ran several pages long, and seemed to just ramble on without conveying much.  It would have been better to cut back on this and only use some of the more relevant quotes.  All in all, it was a good, but not great book about the Pacific Theater of Operations. 

[Simon Mallett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating insight into the Pacific war. An easy read, always interesting and as much a page turner as a good bit of fiction. Read alongside other books on the subject, fills in many gaps, especially the human side.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my word! This book will make you rejoice for the men and women of the armed forces. The trials and adversities they overcame. A lot of what they sacrificed is overshadowed but the war in Europe, but this was savage warfare. This makes some of the suicide bombers and extremists in the Iraq and the middle east look tame.Be prepared this book will make you cry and wonder if todays generation of soldier would do the same.

[Red · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read. Gives a general overview of the war in the Pacific. Lots of first hand accounts which was great. Clears up a lot of racism against the Japanese and how the war was perceived in context. Overall a great read.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comprehensive account of the pacific war, mainly from the US perspective, and particularly the experiences of the army/marines. It doesn't hold back on telling the more gruesome experiences. Historians may challenge the accuracy of some details, but I felt it held together as a compelling and succeeds very well in conveying a good understanding of the complete arc of the campaign.

The author does tend to veer into hyperbole in parts, making it feel a bit like a History Channel special. For some, this may make the story more engaging, but for me, it damages my faith in the veracity of the account.

My main issue was however the narrator's incorrect pronunciation of so many place names. I almost lost if when it came to Peleliu, which the narrator insisted on pronouncing something like "peh-LAY-lee-you". Narrators don't have to have perfect knowledge, but when a new and important word starts to appear in every second sentence for a big chunk of the book .. it's not good enough to just wing it, especially when checking correct pronunciation is a quick google search away.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when the narrator read a line that went something like "who could image such events happening in a place with a name as beautifully sounding as ... peh-LAY-lee-you"!

[Richard Klueg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title might lead one to think that the book focuses on the various Pacific D-Day assaults in WW2, but it is actually an account of the entire Pacific war. That is not to say that I was at all disappointed in the book. I particularly appreciated all of the primary source/first hand quotes from participants in the events related.

Although I was previously aware of the brutal, savage nature of the combat in this theater of war, this book impressed me all the more with how terrible it was. This increased my admiration and gratitude toward those who served and sacrificed. It also confirmed the necessity of using the atomic bomb to hasten the end of this terrible war.

[Trilby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book hoping to read about the landings at Bougainville and Guam, which my father-in-law had participated in. Although I was disappointed that these landings were not described in the book, I nevertheless was impressed at the range of research that went into its making. I've read many books on the war in Europe, but knew only the basics about the war in the Pacific. Miller provides great detail of the horrors of fighting in the Pacific theater, from Pearl Harbor to Nagasaki. I learned a lot.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is pretty good, providing excellent summaries of the many "D-Days" in the Pacific Theatre. The audio performance was not very good. The reader used cheesy accents when quoting any Japanese person. He mispronounced several place names I know - Ver-dun, not Ver-dune. Which ones that I don't know did he mispronounce? I don't know. A great performance can't fix a bad book but a bad performance certainly makes it harder to enjoy a good book.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so few histories that focus on the Pacific Theater relative to the European Theater. This history phenomenally combined minute, fascinating details with overarching narrative to provide a more complete picture of the entire theater. I wanted to learn about more of the D-Days of the Pacific, but I felt satisfied. I also appreciated the balanced analysis of various policies and leaders’ abilities rather than the sycophancy of some other histories.

[norcalgal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, graphic, heartbreaking, inspiring. A tour-de-force book, including first hand accounts from the heroes who endured the War in the Pacific. Donald Miller has done a great service shining light on the theater of war, which has not received as much attention as the European theater. Kudos Miller, and kudos The Greatest Generation.

[Brian R · Rating 5 out of 5]

provides a good overview of what really happened

Excellent research that has been well constructed to provide the reader areal sense of what was happening. May we never need another book like this.

[AnnieM · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent look at the other side of WWII. I know very little on the Asian part of the war and this helped a lot.

[Darren Sapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Military history fans will love this telling of that Pacific campaign with plenty of anecdotal personal stories. Miller's work isn't some dry textbook but reads much like Ambrose and McCullough.

[Kevin Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely well documented and thorough.. A really good read.

[William Malcom · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most comprehensive accounts of the Pacific theater of the second world war that I have encountered. The quotes from participants of both sides really make this book special

[Paul Ancona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too many typos

Good book but too many typos detract from the message and it makes it difficult to read and enjoy fully.

[Arthuro Molenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, with vivid description. The author does go off track a lot, I think maybe half the book is not about amphibious landing at all.

[Jeff Or]

Good information, Terrible presentation.

I kept reading this book because I was learning from it. If I were grading the whole project, I would fail it because this electronic edition of the book is so loaded with inexcusable errors that I wanted to quit reading entirely. I kept reading partly so I could state with confidence that blatant errors occur from beginning until the end. No publisher of a print edition would accept such utter "I Don't Give A Shit" carelessness in their shop. Clearly, no one proofread the text, and presumably somebody got paid for this abomination. Shame on whoever signed off on this piece of crap and worse yet, paid for it.

[Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kindle book is FULL of typo's.
The book itself is really very good; however, I had the kindle version and it appears it was scanned from a physical book and it was by far the worst conversion I have ever seen.
As an example, where an "r" and "n" was next to each other it might have converted to an "m". Another example is page 196 "Kwajalein Atoll was secured at a cost of MOO American lives" -- clearly "MOO" is not correct in this context! In other cases dates were obviously wrong -- like some battle in 1946. This is just a few examples, but it is amazing that there was not quality check on the conversion of this book.
Regardless, the book itself is very good.

[Daren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A synopsis of World War II excellently written. I wanted to have a glimpse of the reality of World War II in the Pacific and I was not disappointed. This account renders the historical record a little more accurately than previous accounts and corroborates accounts retold by my father, Arden R Rasmussen, as a gunner on the flagship aircraft carrier Suwanee (on which correspondent Ernie Pyle spent much of his Pacific time). As a side note, my father indicated they were given shore leave into Nagasaki if they would count the dead and give a general description of conditions there 5 days after the bomb was dropped, even though all knew entry there, such a short time after detonation, was not advised. He recounted horrible human conditions and incredible physical destruction on this leave into Nagasaki. -Daren R Rasmussen

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

A $4.00 purchase unsurprisingly derived from a History Channel series.

[Andy Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book about island battles in the Pacific during WW2.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This actually a narrative of WW II in the Pacific, with several rabbits chased. I was expecting accounts of each of the amphibious landings.

[Jack Tayloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. A lot of detail concerning people.