Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific

A remarkable eyewitness account of the most brutal combat of the Pacific War, from Peleliu to Okinawa, this is the true story of R.V. Burgin, the real-life World War II Marine Corps hero featured in HBO(R)'s The Pacific.

"Read his story and marvel at the man...and those like him."--Tom Hanks

When a young Texan named R.V. Burgin joined the Marines 1942, he never imagined what was waiting for him a world away in the Pacific. There, amid steamy jungles, he encountered a ferocious and desperate enemy in the Japanese, engaging them in some of the most grueling and deadly fights of the war.

In this remarkable memoir, Burgin reveals his life as a special breed of Marine. Schooled by veterans who had endured the cauldron of Guadalcanal, Burgin's company soon confronted snipers, repulsed jungle ambushes, encountered abandoned corpses of hara-kiri victims, and warded off howling banzai attacks as they island-hopped from one bloody battle to the next. In his two years at war, Burgin rose from a green private to a seasoned sergeant, fighting from New Britain through Peleliu and on to Okinawa, where he earned a Bronze Star for valor.

With unforgettable drama and an understated elegance, Burgin's gripping narrative stands alongside those of classic Pacific chroniclers like Robert Leckie and Eugene Sledge--indeed, Burgin was even Sledge's platoon sergeant. Here is a deeply moving account of World War II, bringing to life the hell that was the Pacific War.