Strong Men Armed: The United States Marines Against Japan [Paperback]

Robert Leckie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 1997

Strong Men Armed relates the U.S. Marines' unprecedented, relentless drive across the Pacific during World War II, from Guadalcanal to Okinawa, detailing their struggle to dislodge from heavily fortified islands an entrenched enemy who had vowed to fight to extinction—and did. (All but three of the Marines' victories required the complete annihilation of the Japanese defending force.) As scout and machine-gunner for the First Marine Division, the author fought in all its engagements till his wounding at Peleliu. Here he uses firsthand experience and impeccable research to re-create the nightmarish battles. The result is both an exciting chronicle and a moving tribute to the thousands of men who died in reeking jungles and on palm-studded beaches, thousands of miles from home and fifty years before their time, of whom Admiral Chester W. Nimitz once said, "Uncommon valor was a common virtue."Strong Men Armed includes over a dozen maps, a chronology of the war in the Pacific, the Marine Medal of Honor Winners in World War II, and Marine Corps aces in World War II.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

"This is a carefully researched history of the Marines from Guadalcanal to Okinawa," said LJ's reviewer of this title, which incorporates information from both American and Japanese sources. Offering the points of view of enlisted men and officers alike for a balanced look at the battles, the text is bolstered with numerous photos and maps. For public and academic military collections.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Robert Leckie's many books include Conflict: The History of the Korean War, 1950–1953,Okinawa, George Washington’s War, From Sea to Shining Sea, None Died in Vain and Delivered from Evil. He lives in Andover, New Jersey.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (August 22, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306807858
• ISBN-13: 978-0306807855
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,196,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

180 of 180 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chronicles of Courage, August 29, 2000

By 

George R Dekle "Bob Dekle" (Lake City, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Strong Men Armed: The United States Marines Against Japan (Paperback)

Three veterans of the First Marine Division have written accounts of WWII. E.B. Sledge in "With the Old Breed," William Manchester in "Goodbye Darkness," and Robert Leckie in "Strong Men Armed."

"With the Old Breed" and "Goodbye Darkness" are personal reminiscences, but "Strong Men Armed" is a scholarly study. It doesn't dwell on personal experiences, but gives the vast panorama of the Navy/Marine Corps island hopping campaign, and helps to put Sledge's and Manchester's personal memoirs into the context of the whole war in the Pacific. Leckie does give his chronicle a personal touch by occasionally stopping to pay tribute to some of the matchless individual deeds heroism and sacrifice. One arresting theme is his account of each and every Medal of Honor awarded to Marines who threw themselves onto live hand grenades to save their comrades. ("Greater love hath no man than this: that he lay down his life for his friends.")

Sledge's book ("With the Old Breed") is a plain spoken account of one man's view of the horrors of the war in the Pacific. Manchester's book ("Goodbye Darkness") reads something like the out-loud ruminations of a mental patient working through unresolved issues on the psychiatrist's couch. Leckie's book is an epic account of a titanic struggle.

For the Big Picture of the war in the Pacific, "Strong Men Armed" can't be beaten. For a more personal look at the war, read "With the Old Breed."

73 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary...., January 3, 2006

By 

nto62 (Corona, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Strong Men Armed: The United States Marines Against Japan (Paperback)

To my knowledge, no other comprehensive presentation of the Pacific theater brings home the chilling reality of the US Marine Corps island campaign as Strong Men Armed by Robert Leckie. It's all here: the frenzied horror of amphibious assault under massed fire, the slogging through sodden, malarial jungles, the hand-to-hand slugfest required to rid each island of an entrenched and implacable foe, and the truly uncommon selflessness that led to a multitude of Medal of Honor recipients.

Gaudalcanal, Bougainville, New Britain, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and other Pacific assaults are presented in detail from the perspective of enlisted and commissioned marines. Both infantry and air wing receive their due as Leckie is equally skilled at describing the Marine Corps aerial domination of the Japanese fighter and bomber.

I've read my fair share of WWII history and it is in awe and suspense that I ripped through this gritty, sometimes ghastly, yet ultimately inspirational book. Leckie's Strong Men Armed is a military masterpiece. I cannot offer a stronger recommendation. 5+ stars.

63 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read. A tribute to our Marines!, November 28, 1999

By 

Roger Lemus (San Martin, CA. U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strong Men Armed: The United States Marines Against Japan (Paperback)

Robert Leckie's vivid account of WWll Marine Corps history is a must read for any military enthusiast. Reading this gripping tale of Leathernecks fighting their way through the steamy jungles of the far east isles with such distant names as; Guadacanal, Saipan, and Iwo Jima, will leave you with an unequvical respect for the valient men who sacrificed their lives for our country. As a former Marine I have a greater appreciation for the price that was paid in the Pacific Theater. This book will never let me forget the cost in blood and lives my beloved countrymen paid, so that we may have our freedom. Leckie's book memorializes our fighting Marines: Men like, Manila John Bastilone, Chesty Puller, Red Mike Edson, and countless others who,"went above and beyond the call of duty", for the love of our country, God, and Corps. STRONG MEN ARMED, should be read by every boot, NCO, and Commissioned Officer of the United States Marine Corps as a reminder of the heroic and gallant sacrifice our Marines paid for our way of life. May the Marine Corps live forever!

Semper Fidelis, Roger Lemus (Cpl.USMC)