Preparing for the Rain on Iwo Jima Isle follows the life and military service of Marion Frank Walker, who was born and raised in a peaceful small town in southern Indiana during the Depression years. Frank was just 16 years old when America received that now legendary "wake-up call" on December 7th, 1941, as planes from Japanese aircraft carriers bombed and torpedoed the U.S. naval fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. In Frank's words, "The world as we knew it changed overnight." Thus began the U.S. military involvement in World War II. Eager to serve his country, Frank managed to graduate from high school mid-term of his senior year, and at 17 years old became a proud member of the U.S. Marine Corps. The desire to serve and protect his beloved country would soon send him to the bloody battlefield of Iwo Jima. At 19 years old, he crawled through the volcanic ash that had turned purple from the blood of his fallen comrades, and saw gruesome sights that no person should ever have to witness. Frank is in the posed picture of the flag raising at Iwo Jima as photographed by Joe Rosenthal. He went on from there to become a part of the occupation force at Fukuoka, Japan. After reading of his experiences during this deeply troubling time in history, Frank and his surviving comrades only ask that the people of America remember the sacrifices that have been made for their freedom and that their fallen comrades be remembered.

In the grand tradition of John Keegan’s enduring classic The Face of Battle comes a searing, unforgettable chronicle of war through the eyes of the American soldiers who fought in three of our most iconic battles: Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, and Iwo Jima. This is not a book about how great generals won their battles, nor is it a study in grand strategy. Men of War is instead a riveting, visceral, and astonishingly original look at ordinary soldiers under fire. Drawing on an immense range of firsthand sources from the battlefield, Alexander Rose begins by re-creating the lost and alien world of eighteenth-century warfare at Bunker Hill, the bloodiest clash of the War of Independence—and reveals why the American militiamen were so lethally effective against the oncoming waves of British troops. Then, focusing on Gettysburg, Rose describes a typical Civil War infantry action, vividly explaining what Union and Confederate soldiers experienced before, during, and after combat. Finally, he shows how in 1945 the Marine Corps hurled itself with the greatest possible violence at the island of Iwo Jima, where nearly a third of all Marines killed in World War II would die. As Rose demonstrates, the most important factor in any battle is the human one: At Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, and Iwo Jima, the American soldier, as much as any general, proved decisive. To an unprecedented degree, Men of War brings home the reality of combat and, just as important, its aftermath in the form of the psychological and medical effects on veterans. As such, the book makes a critical contribution to military history by narrowing the colossal gulf between the popular understanding of wars and the experiences of the soldiers who fight them. Praise for Men of War “A tour de force . . . strikingly vivid, well-observed, and compulsively readable.”—The Daily Beast “Military history at its best . . . This is indeed war up-close, as those who fought it lived it—and survived it if they could. Men of War is deeply researched, beautifully written.”—The Wall Street Journal “A brilliant, riveting, unique book . . . Men of War will be a classic.”—General David H. Petraeus, U.S. Army (Retired) “The fact is that Men of War moves and educates, with the reader finding something interesting and intriguing on virtually every page.”—National Review “This is a book that has broad value to a wide audience. Whether the reader aims to learn what actually happens in battle, draw on the military lessons within, or wrestle with what actually defines combat, Men of War is a valuable addition to our understanding of this all-too-human experience.”—The New Criterion “A highly recommended addition to the literature of military history . . . [Rose] writes vividly and memorably, with a good eye for the telling detail or anecdote.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Using the firsthand accounts of brave soldiers who fought for freedom, Rose sheds new light on viewpoints we haven’t heard as widely before. It’s a welcome perspective in an era where most people have no military experience to speak of.”—The Washington Times “Rose poignantly captures the terror and confusion of hand-to-hand combat during the battle.”—The Dallas Morning News “If you want to know the meaning of war at the sharp end, this is the book to read.”—James McPherson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The War That Forged a Nation

Iwo Jima was the United States Marine Corps' toughest ever battle and a turning point in the Pacific War. In February 1945, three Marine Divisions stormed the island's shores in what was supposed to be a ten-day battle, but they had reckoned without General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the enemy commander.

Having come off vicious battles in Saipan and Peleliu, this volume continues the war with the invasion of the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. The battle for Iwo Jima, coming ever closer to Japan, caused many casualties, the most so far in the Pacific war. But it did not compare to the next battle, the one for Okinawa, where heavy casualties were incurred not only by the troops on the ground but by the sailors on ships, attacked by suicide bombers whose pilot’s sole mission was to crash his bomb-carrying plane into an American ship. With the death of President Roosevelt, Harry Truman faced the momentous decision of dropping the atomic bomb on Japan, wiping out tens of thousands of civilians, or instead invading Japan and face perhaps a million casualties among American forces, given what happened on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Truman drooped the bomb and the Japanese, after much soul searching, surrendered. Enter General Douglas MacArthur, appointed Supreme Commander for the occupation of Japan. He retained the emperor against the howling of those calling for revenge and retribution, ending up with a totally peaceful occupation up to the time the occupations forces left Japan.

A definitive account of the battle of Iwo Jima, from its origins to its hard-fought conclusion. One of the decisive battles of the Second World War in the Pacific, Iwo Jima was described by Lieutenant-General Holland Smith, Commander Fleet Marine Forces Pacific, as 'The most savage and most costly battle in the history of the Marine Corps' - a titanic struggle that eclipsed all that had gone before. Situated halfway along the B-29 Superfortress route to the Japanese mainland, the island was of major strategic importance to the US Air Force, but also to the Japanese, 20,000 of whom were deeply entrenched in the island.

In February 1945, some 80,000 U.S. Marines attacked the heavily defended fortress that the Japanese had constructed on the tiny Pacific island of Iwo Jima. Leaders of the Army Air Forces said they needed the airfields there to provide fighter escort for their B-29 bombers. At the cost of 28,000 American casualties, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions dutifully conquered this desolate piece of hell with a determination and sacrifice that have become legendary in the annals of war, immortalized in the photograph of six Marines raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi. But the Army Air Forces’ fighter operations on Iwo Jima subsequently proved both unproductive and unnecessary. After the fact, a number of other justifications were generated to rationalize this tragically expensive battle. Ultimately, misleading statistics were presented to contend that the number of lives saved by B-29 emergency landings on Iwo Jima outweighed the cost of its capture. In The Ghosts of Iwo Jima, Captain Robert S. Burrell masterfully reconsiders the costs of taking Iwo Jima and its role in the war effort. His thought-provoking analysis also highlights the greater contribution of Iwo Jima’s valiant dead: They inspired a reverence for the Marine Corps that proved critical to its institutional survival and its embodiment of American national spirit. From the 7th War Loan Campaign of 1945 through the flag-raising at Ground Zero in 2001, the immortal image of Iwo Jima has become a symbol of American patriotism itself. Burrell’s searching account of this fabled island conflict will advance our understanding of World War II and its continuing legacy for the twenty-first century. At last, the battle’s ghosts may unveil its ultimate, and most crucial, lessons.