I am back with another Marine book. Maybe I am attracted to them because my father-in-law and his sons were all Marines, oh wait, are Marines. SEMPER FI. This book is truly out standing! Dean Ladd writes like a seasoned writer, not a grunt in the thick of it, but here it is a real, close up account of what is was like in the Pacific campaigns major battles, like the horror of Beito. It is such a personal account of being a Marine. I can not praise it enough. Buy the book, share the book, treasure the sacrifice. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This book is superb! Ladd was with the 1/8th Marines of the 2nd Marine Division on Guadalcanal, Betio (Tarawa), Saipan and Tinian. He opens with his experience of the disastrous landing on Betio where the reef forced his battalion to wade 600 yards to the beach through curtains of heavy fire. He is lucky to survive and it is a gripping start to his story. Subsequently he covers his long stint on Guadalcanal in a very detailed and clear manner. His most searing experiences though are on Saipan and Tinian. While he just avoided the massive Banzai attack he was closely involved in the action the following day. He writes extremely vividly of the sights and of dealing with the surviving Japanese. This is followed by witnessing many of the cliff suicides and the general fanatical and at times diabolical resistance. It seemed like a war of extermination.

There is a 1993 version of this book, apparently this edition has been written to provide a more immediate and personal element. Ladd has a good understanding of the bigger picture too and there is a lot on units and general circumstances. Ladd writes on weapons, tactics, the failures of some men and the enthusiasm others had for killing Japanese. At times he is critical of various others and he sets the record straight in a few spots too. He gives a very clear picture of the challenges of being an officer and the attitude required to be a marine. There is some humour too in recounting the high-jinks of leave in New Zealand, some of which came back to haunt veterans at post-war conventions.

Ladd writes openly about his own actions, including on killing. He is an officer, initially of mortars, so he is usually directing the fighting though. He does go to some lengths to give the fill in gaps by including the experiences of his men and there is some exceedingly interesting material here. He particularly writes about his commanding officer John Murdock, who had some amazing encounters (including with the ladies on leave!). Through this Ladd has given a very full picture of the war as his unit saw it. It remains essentially his story though. It is also a story of an incredibly merciless war. Some sections are harrowing and it is later quite moving to read of Ladd's meetings with former Japanese soldiers and the friendships he established.

This is a very full story indeed. Ladd's central narrative is engrossing and is enhanced by his intelligent context and the inclusion of relevant experiences of others. The writing is very strong and there is an extremely detailed index, as well as maps and pictures. It is therefore broader in scope than a standard memoir and while this is a strength, I will rate it just under Sledge's book. Highly Recommended!

This is a tremendous book about the Marines in the Pacific during the Second World War. I bought this book and liked it so much that I bought another for my father in law, who was a Marine in the Pacific. The descriptions of the day to day life are as real as your backyard fence, and Col. Ladd brings that reality up close and personal in these pages. He not only tells you what happened, but brings it home to you in a natural and vivid way. He tells the tale with such candor and honesty that you come to feel like you know this humble man.

I had the pleasure of meeting Col. Ladd today, as he spoke to a civic group. He signed my book and signed the copy I bought for my father in law, "From one old Marine to another." Dad's going to love that.

Buy this book and settle in for a truly great read.

Kelly Vance

For those of us who have been in a military action and for those who wants to know and live the experience of what it means to be in a war, this book is a must read. The reality of being in a war zone, the pain,the madness and the courage can not be described any better than this. ...... A must read. Dan L.

I echo what the previous reviewer says. This 2009 release version is a fascinating book, it will draw you right in and won't let go. I read it cover to cover in less than two days. This book is written mostly from the perspective of what the author calls the "50 yard circle" from his foxhole. Interspersed with the bloody battle scenes from different islands are stories of the various antics of Marines on liberty, they had me laughing out loud and the other people in the auto dealership waiting room looking at me like I was crazy.

If you have spent any time at all on Guadalcanal, Betio, Saipan, or Tinian, you might want to also procure LtCol Ladd's 1993 release of the same title. While some of the battle scene narrative is identical between the two books, there are enough major differences to the point I consider the two releases as different books. The 1993 edition is written from a "memory lane" perspective and has more of a human interest emphasis. Having spent some time on Saipan myself (albeit during peacetime), I actually prefer the 1993 version. For a straight battlefield read, however, the 2009 release is better.

If you are fascinated by personal narratives from World War II, you had better put on the coffee pot, and settle down to one hell of read covering the Guadalcanal Campaign and landings at Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian islands in the battle for the Pacific Theater.

Dean Ladd was a young enlistee in the Marine Corps at the onset of .World War II. Commissioned on the battlefield, he fought as a junior officer though out the war. Ladd served in the Marine Corps Reserve following the war, rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel.

In a thoughtful 21 page retrospective, Ladd reports on visits to the former battlegrounds, often with old mates and old enemies. Like old veterans of the Iron Brigade at Gettysburg or the Doughboys in Mousse Argon in World War l, these veterans share one thing in common; they lived through the ordeal of war and remembered the battles all the days of their lives

What we have left from these adventures are the personal narratives which will live as long as the printed word survives. Long live Colonel Ladd, and long live the Naval Institute Press, massage carriers of long ago days.

Richard N. Larsen
Reviewer