Customer Reviews

The Long and the Short and the Tall: Marines in Combat on Guam and Iwo Jima (Classics of War)

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Mr. Josephy has written an outstanding account of the battles for Iwo Jima and Guam during WW II. The book was written shortly after the war and has an updated foreword. I learned a lot of facts about the campaigns that I didn't know. I also saw how the cultural prejudice of the time colored his writing and the attitudes of those involved in the conflict. It was a fast, compelling read. Literally, one of those "I can't put it down until I'm done" stories. I have loaned it to friends who said the same thing. Don't miss this one if you are a fan of WW II lore, especially personal accounts.

I recently order this book because it includes a first hand account of the war period here on Guam. Josephy describes the Chagui'an massacre site at Yigo where approximately 45 young Chamorro men, who were munitions carriers for the Japanese, were beheaded or shot by Japanese soldiers just days before the end of the war. We are certain they all believed they would have been let go, but no one survived. Josephy's descriptions of the site are all that the people of Guam have regarding the massacre at Chagui'an. Josephy's book memorializes the account and insures that it will not be forgotten. I recently ordered another copy because I cannot find my copy to reference his account in a massacre sites documentary I am now producing.