Customer Reviews

Soldiers of the Sea: The United States Marine Corps, 1775-1962 (Great War Stories)

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Colonel Heinl's exhausting research has produced an absorbing account of the Marines history from its inception at Tun Tavern in 1775 through 1962. He has concentrated on the leadership of this elite force, its traditions and battleground experiences. The development of amphibious warfare during WWII is especially interesting as the author tells of the mistakes as well as the successes. There is an on-going theme regarding the plain survival of the Corps for the past 200 years as many critics felt the Marines were simply another "Army". I will keep and refer to this 900 page masterpiece forever.

Col. Heinl's book is one of the best histories of the Marine Corps up to 1962. It gives an in-depth analysis of how and why the Corps was formed, its battle history and what it has done to survive the constant sniping by many Army generals and politicians who did not see a use for another "army".

However, from 1775, Marines have shown time and again that they have earned the right to not only exist, but to be at the forefront of America's battles. With the Flag raising on Mount Suribachi, on Iwo Jima, James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy said, "The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next five hundred years."

And he was right.

This book was first published and read by me in 1962. I had the good fortune to have served, as a junior officer, with a number of individuals mentioned in this book. I also spent time with elderly Marines who could and did provide information dating back to the beginning of the 20th Century. Nothing written by Robert Debs Heinl, Jr. was ever contradicted by them. Samuel Eliot Morison, in his monumental "HISTORY OF UNITED STATES NAVAL OPERATIONS IN WORLD WAR II", Referred to Colonel Heinl, as his source for Marine Related information.

I have read, and own several other Marine History Books. None approach this book as a source of information.

James R.F. Chandler