Throughout 1942, many young students left their high school classes to join the U.S. Marine Corps, hence the title: The Class of '42, Marines in WWII. Tucker Giblin was one of them, joining just after his seventeenth birthday. After boot camp, Giblin was fortunate to be assigned to a company commanded by Capt. Joseph Edward Buckley, former master gunnery sergeant and Marine gunner. They are the central characters of this non-fiction book of camaraderie, war, and death. Lt. Col. Joseph E. Buckley (Ret.) "Chesty" Puller considered him one of the three best gunnery sergeants of the peacetime marines. Joe Buckley received high favor from Colonels Amor L. Sims, Julian N. Frisbie, and Herman H. Hanneken who commanded the 7th Marines at Guadalcanal, Cape Cloucester, and Peleliu respectively. Along the route to Tokyo, Buckley was awarded a Navy Cross and Bronze Star. Corporal Tucker Giblin received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star with combat "V". As a runner and later scout for a 37mm gun platoon, Giblin carried messages for four outstanding lietuenants; one of who was killed and the three others were wounded in combat. This book runs the gamut of Regimental Weapons Company, 7th Marines, First Marine Division, from beach defense at British Samoa in early 1942, to defense of Bloody Ridge at Guadalcanal in the October battles 1942 with the superb 3/164th National Guard unit from the Dakotas; the Cape Gloucester amphibious landing in 1943; Peleliu Island 1944; and the Okinawa landing in 1945. It includes episodes from rest and training camps at Australia; Oro Bay, New Guinea; and Pavuvu Island, British Solomon Islands. Giblin joined the 7th Marines in Australia after the Guadalcanal landing. Consequently the Guadalcanal battles are told in flashback. There follows the day-to-day combat and the last grueling battle at Okinawa that ended with the dropping of the atomic bombs.
Soon after war's end in 1945, generals and admirals published their versions of WWII. Later, de
