A HELL OF A WAY TO DIE:
Tarawa Atoll,
20-23 November 1943

NEW copy. Windrow & Greene, 1996. Hardcover with dust jacket. Maps, drawings, photographs, appendices, index, 160 pages.

Tarawa Atoll in the Central Pacific was the testing ground for a new and uniquely challenging type of warfare. Before the US 2nd Marine Division’s assault landings in November 1943, America’s ability to take heavily defended Japanese-held islands was untested. How well these planned operations would work and at what cost, could only be discovered by trial and error. This compelling account of one of the most savage battles of World War II draws upon the vivid memories of Marine veterans of those 76 terrible hours of close-quarter fighting. It is supported by striking photographs, by the poignant drawings of a war artist who landed with the Marines, and by detailed maps and appendices

"I turn to the big red-headed Marine gunner who is standing beside me and say, What a hell of a way to die!” The gunner looks me in the eye and says, You can’t pick a better way." ~~Robert Sherrod, War Correspondent – Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, 21 November 1943

Originally published at $29, now OUT OF PRINT.

$35.00