Marine Combat Correspondent: World War II in the Pacific [Mass Market Paperback]

Samuel E. Stavisky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 1999

In 1942, Washington Post writer Sam Stavisky heard that the U.S. Marine Corps was creating a unique unit of rifle-toting writers, the Combat Correspondent Corps. After completing the rigors of boot camp every grunt must endure, a chosen few civilian reporters would be transformed into Marines, then be assigned to the Pacific to engage in and report on the war there.

Already rejected by all branches of the military because of his poor vision, Sam jumped at the chance to volunteer. Soon he found himself hacking his way across the coral atolls of the Pacific, engaging in some of the fiercest fighting of World War II. He and his fellow Marines took part in five Solomon Islands campaigns and a score of operations, including patrols with the legendary "Marine's Marine," Chesty Puller.

Culled from original sources and from stories filed fifty years ago, Sam Stavisky has written a heart-pounding eyewitness account of those hellish battles--and of the sacrifice and heroism of the American men who have immortalized the name of the U.S. Marines in the annals of war.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Apart from his thirty-four months as a World War II Marine Combat Correspondent, Sam E. Stavisky worked for The Washington Post as a reporter, editorial writer, or columnist, from 1938 to 1954. He also wrote for many magazines, including the Saturday Evening Post, Look, Life, and Collier's. In 1954, he started his own firm, a PR and lobbying organization, in Washington, New York, London, and Rio de Janeiro.  

Sam and his wife, Bernice, who lectures on France, reside in Washington, D.C., and Singer Island, Florida. They have two daughters and a grandson.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Ivy Books; 1 edition (August 3, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804118655
• ISBN-13: 978-0804118651
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,663,177 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Marine Combat Correspondent, February 5, 2000

By 

T. G Ream (Los Gatos, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marine Combat Correspondent: World War II in the Pacific (Mass Market Paperback)

Stavisky's book is a must read for those who care about WWII, providing the view of the enlisted man who folks back home would know and care about. It has the authentic ring of the writing and ethics of that time in history, and does more than hint at the actual horrors faced in jungle combat, yet still treating the war as a crusade.

While the tone is authentic and detailed, there are a few editorial lapses that knock the book down from 5 stars for me. For example, in one paragraph Stavisky states that Enterprise had been sunk a year earlier (which of course it had not been) and in another, states that Chesty Puller led the Marines into Korea in "1955". Presumably, he means actually during the Korean War, which ended in 1953. While these type of errors do not disqualify the book, they disfigure it and make one wonder what else the author has wrong.

Recommended with this reservation.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two Thumbs Up for Sam, April 7, 2000

By 

Bud DeVere - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marine Combat Correspondent: World War II in the Pacific (Mass Market Paperback)

As a member of Marine Corps Combat Correspondents for many years, and as a survivor of the battle for Guadalcanal, I can say that Sam's book is an authentic account of how it was. Over 50 years is a long time to remember details, but Sam is smart,and kept his notes which now jogs his memory. Considering the short time Stavisky was in the Marine Corps he had an opportunity to see just about every phase of combat during those months. I congratulate him on a well done effort in behalf of my beloved Corps.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A story of Marine Corps accomplishments in the Pacific, November 2, 1999

By 

Benis M. Frank "Chief Historian of he Marine ... (Bowie, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marine Combat Correspondent: World War II in the Pacific (Mass Market Paperback)

Sam Stavisky was one of the first professional reporters recruited for a new World War II Marine Corps program which enlisted professional reporters, put them through boot camp, promoted them to sergeant, and sent them out into the field as combat correspondents who would chronicle the on-the-scene experiences of Marines in combat. In writing this story, Stavisky based it for the most part on the carbon flimsies of all the stories he sent to Headquarters Marine Corps from the field. These combat correspondents, known as "Denig's Demons," in honor of BGen Robert L. Denig, who was head of Marine Corps Public Affairs in the war and the originator of the program, covered the activities of Marines on land, in the air, and on the seas. Stavisky's story is very evocative of the times many of us World War II Marines experienced in the Pacific War, and Sam tells it well. Benis M. Frank, Retired Chief Historian of the Marine Corps.