Islands of the Damned by R. V. Burgin

Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific by R. V. Burgin and Bill Marvel

Reviewed by PaleHorse

This book is a very fast read. I started out in a small Texas town, and before I knew it, I was in War-torn New Britain.

 

R.V. Burgin is the real deal. If you are looking for deep political discussions, strategy and boring statistics, this is not the book to read. If you want an unflinching, plain-spoken story of the Pacific war as told by a man who actually lived it, this is a great read.

 

I found the dichotomy of this story to be its real value.

 

It not only takes the reader along for the transition of a young Texas farm boy into a tough-as-nails Marine combat veteran, it also puts the reader in touch with the equally important chance encounter on a sidewalk in Australia with Florence, and how something like that can sustain a Marine's spirits through some of the fiercest combat of the war.

 

It is more than a great narrative of one Marine's odyssey of combat, it's also a touching reminder of how the crucible of war can forge lifelong bonds.

 

This story is not overdone with bravado and too much machismo, just a well written account. The reader will smell the rotten coconuts, feel the soaking rains and stinging mosquitoes, but also relate to missing someone special.

 

And for those born after the war, it makes us sit back and think, "God, I'm glad men like that were there."  It reaffirms that a "Decadent Democracy", as the axis nations referred to The United States, could produce "The Greatest Generation".

 

I give it an enthusiastic thumbs up.