[E1E]∎ [PDF] Brotherhood of Heroes The Marines at Peleliu 1944 The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War Bill Sloan 9780743260091 Books

Brotherhood of Heroes The Marines at Peleliu 1944 The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War Bill Sloan 9780743260091 Books

Download As PDF : Brotherhood of Heroes The Marines at Peleliu 1944 The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War Bill Sloan 9780743260091 Books

Brotherhood of Heroes The Marines at Peleliu 1944 The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War Bill Sloan 9780743260091 Books

This book brought tears to my eyes on several occasions. Thinking about the loss of life on both sides of the war - all the boys who never got the chance to live, love and hold a child - makes you sad.

My dad fought in the Pacific but would never talk about it much. As a youngster when he told me where he was I didn't even realize that the war was fought in several theatres - never much out there on the Pacific - mostly just the war in Europe.

This book makes you think and wonder about the leaders we have. D-day at Normandy, Picketts Charge, the Little Bighorn. Throwing men into the face of a well fortified enemy doesn't seem the brightest thing in the world to do. George Patton's plan was to bypass their strength and attack their weakness but other thought it more heroic to run head on into machinegun fire and hope that some of the men would survive. I guess Patton learned from history while others did not.

At any rate, this is one well written book and describes the battle so well you'll find yourself thinking your on the front lines with these kids. I also like the wrap up where he tells you about what happened to these kids when they got home. Sad in a way that we are losing so many so fast. Dad left us years ago but he lives on in these history books for me and I thank Mr. Sloan for his work.


Tags : Brotherhood of Heroes: The Marines at Peleliu, 1944 -- The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War [Bill Sloan] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Documents the experiences of the First Marine Division at Peleliu between September 15 and October 15, 1944,Bill Sloan,Brotherhood of Heroes: The Marines at Peleliu, 1944 -- The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War,Simon & Schuster,0743260090,General,Peleliu, Battle of, Palau, 1944.,General Adult,HISTORY General,History,History - Military War,History Military United States,History Military World War II,History United States General,HistoryWorld,History: World,Marine Corps,Military - United States,Military - World War II,Non-Fiction,Peleliu, Battle of, Palau, 1944,United States,United States.,Warfare & defence,World War, 1939-1945,World history: Second World War,Peleliu, Battle of, Palau, 194

Brotherhood of Heroes The Marines at Peleliu 1944 The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War Bill Sloan 9780743260091 Books Reviews

I bought this book for my stepdad, who is 89 and loves books about WWII. He was one of the men of his time who was not allowed to enlist because his Stateside job was required for the war effort. My mother hates it when I get him a book as good as this one, as he is NO use around the house until he finishes it - and that was indeed the case with this book.

He read every chance he got, and was completely engrossed in it; he said it was very readable and well organized, following the main characters through their experiences both in and 'around' the war. Dishes didn't get done, projects didn't get finished - even dinner didn't get cooked, until he'd read every page of it.

He said to definitely give it 5 stars, as it was a great account of a situation he had followed on the news back here at the time.
This book gives you an idea of what these Marines, these hero's went through during the 30 days of fighting. I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn't a fictional book, that this happened. It was hard to let yourself believe that a hell on earth as this actually existed. Reading this book gives you a strong feeling of pride but also anger as well. Pride to know that in our worst of times men will rise up and sacrifice everything they have to fight for our country. These men gave so much more than that, more than any solider ever should have to. It angers me to think that so many of these men died so one man could leave a legacy,that man being Gen Rupertus.

It should be required for us to read stories such as these. We should never allow the memory of these soldiers nor any other and the service they gave to their country to be forgotten. This book told thier story well. To write a book as this one is a pretty hard task, to narrate it is much harder. I think Sloan did a great job narrating it. This book puts you in the battle. Its well written and a rewarding read.

I strongly recommend reading this book. I recommend reading up on the Island itself and looking at actual pictures of it on-line before you begin this story. This will help you better understand the island and the battles fought by different units.
The subtitle of this book is "The Marines at Peleliu, 1944 - The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War" and as such it focuses almost entirely of the Marines who did the bulk of the fighting and suffered the most in the conquest of Peleliu. However, they were not alone - the US Army's 81st division, the US Navy and a US Marine air wing also fought for the island. I was a bit disappointed because more was not provided concerning the contributions of these forces. Nonetheless this is a superb narrative history of the Marines on Peleliu, and I recommend this book to anyone interested in US history, military history and gripping narrative history.

The book tells the personal stories of the individuals fighting in one of the most horrific battles of WWII. Narrative histories bring the reader into the battle and this one surely does. I became involved with the individuals fighting under the most horrific conditions - Lieutenant Edward "Hillbilly" Jones who entertained one and all with his singing and guitar, PCF Seymour Levy who seems to have memorized most of Kipling's poems and would quote them at appropriate times, and most of all Captain Andrew A. "Ack Ack" Haldane a much beloved commander who led from the front and did his utmost to complete the mission and to protect his men. I was profoundly saddened by the deaths of these three, as well as to all of those killed in this horrendous battle. The book provides a good sense of the Umurbrogol coral mountains that dominated Peleliu. Mountain is a relative term since it was a series of steep cliffs and ravines, about 100-250 feet high, but as much as 550 feet at its highest point. What the Umurbrogol might have lacked in height was more than made up for by the complexity of the terrain and the hundreds of fortified caves, fire positions and one man spider holes that the 11,000 Japanese garrison had constructed - most almost invisible, all supporting one another and all extremely difficult to destroy. Thus, what was expected to be a three day battle became a 30 day ordeal resulting in over 6500 casualties (including over 1200 deaths) in the First Marine Division, as well as more than an additional 3,200 casualties of the US Army's 81st Division, and almost all of the 11,000 island's Japanese defenders.

More about what is in this book -
The book begins before the battle and discusses the men of the First Marine Division, its regimental structure and how it became the "Old Breed". The book also continues the story of the division after Peleliu and the survivors of Peleliu in their next campaign on Okinawa. The book discusses some of the overall planning and rational for capturing Peleliu and the question of whether it was necessary. Questions about this were raised at the time and the consensus of most postwar historians is that this battle was unnecessary and was a mistake, although the hard lessons that were learned were helpful in subsequent fighting on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The overall command of the First Marine Division by General Rupertus is also discussed, especially the extent to which his orders for frontal attacks to speed victory led to unnecessary casualties. Colonel Harold "Bucky" Harris, commander of the Fifth Regiment, refused to be rushed into frontal assaults, preferring a more coordinated attack with tanks, artillery and a reorientation to attack from the north of the Umurbrogol, instead of infantry attacks from the south. Most other books that I have read provide the details of a confrontation between Harris and Rupertus (and Chesty Puller, commander of the First Regiment, who supported Rupertus in his frontal attack plans), which almost cost Harris his regimental command. He was saved by the timely arrival of the overall ground commander General Roy Geiger, who agreed with the approach being espoused by Harris. While this book alludes to this event it is not as clearly sketched out as it is in many of the other books that I have read.

The book contains three maps, an index, and sources and end notes. It also contains 30 black and white photographs on glossy paper. Most of these photos are of the men mentioned in the text and they greatly add to the poignancy of the narrative. There are a few photographs of the Umurbrogol that illustrate what the Marines had to contend with, but I would have liked more of them as I feel that they are indispensable in illustrating the difficulties of the terrain.

As I have already noted, this is not the complete story of the battle for Peleliu. Most importantly, it almost entirely neglects the fighting of the US Army's 81st division who continued the attack on the Umurbrogol when the First Marine Division was withdrawn because its casualties and the exhaustion of its survivors after a month of almost continuous fighting had rendered it an ineffective fighting force. The naval shelling preceding the battle and support during it, as well as the actions of Marine flyers who took off from the captured airfields of Peleliu to drop bombs of the Umurbrogol, which was less than 2 miles away, are also only mentioned and not discussed in detail. The book, focusing as it does on the individuals doing the fighting, is also somewhat episodic.
This book brought tears to my eyes on several occasions. Thinking about the loss of life on both sides of the war - all the boys who never got the chance to live, love and hold a child - makes you sad.

My dad fought in the Pacific but would never talk about it much. As a youngster when he told me where he was I didn't even realize that the war was fought in several theatres - never much out there on the Pacific - mostly just the war in Europe.

This book makes you think and wonder about the leaders we have. D-day at Normandy, Picketts Charge, the Little Bighorn. Throwing men into the face of a well fortified enemy doesn't seem the brightest thing in the world to do. George Patton's plan was to bypass their strength and attack their weakness but other thought it more heroic to run head on into machinegun fire and hope that some of the men would survive. I guess Patton learned from history while others did not.

At any rate, this is one well written book and describes the battle so well you'll find yourself thinking your on the front lines with these kids. I also like the wrap up where he tells you about what happened to these kids when they got home. Sad in a way that we are losing so many so fast. Dad left us years ago but he lives on in these history books for me and I thank Mr. Sloan for his work.