In the Trenches with the Mud Marines, 24 September 2005

Reviewer: David W. Rosenberg, WWI history buff (South Carolina)

In the trenches with the "mud marines"! — a novel about combat from the perspective of the enlisted men who actually fought and won the Pacific war against the Japanese. The book is particularly valuable in being a "common soldier/Marine" story of the horrors of war and the bonds that form among the participants. It is different from many books about World War II, many of which relate the command and planning from the highest levels, concentrating instead on those who carried out high-level orders and suffered and died as a consequence.

No greater responsibility exists to any man than having to order another person into a life-threatening situation, and the book accurately relates the feelings had by those so responsible. And at the same time, the Marine Corps' philosophy of never asking a subordinate to do something you yourself would not do also is well expressed. The pride of the Marine Corps — the attitude that "We are better than the other services" — also comes through.

The book is superbly researched, well-written with an excellent choice of words and in details that make it seem like the 85-year-old author was experiencing them yesterday. Any ex-soldier/Marine can easily relate to the basic training/boot camp and the similarity of experiences.

In short, the book clearly shows the role of the Marine as the citizen "bullet-stopper" in defending the Nation from its enemies and how these men — (Where do we always seem to find such men?) — willingly sacrifice themselves to whatever degree is required.

It is a book worth reading — and then re-reading in order to obtain the depth of its message.