Fantastic WWII Marine Journal / Diary, OKINAWA LANDING & CAMPAIGN, Gift

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Fantastic WWII Marine Journal / Diary, OKINAWA LANDING & CAMPAIGN, Gift:
$12.95

WW II MARINE Journal: OKINAWALANDING/Campaign

DESCRIPTION: Original ABSOLUTELY FANTASTICtranscription of journal kept by an American GI during WWII, starting fromhis landing on Ie Shima (D+2), on to the Okinawa mainland, and through theend of this campaign and the war. Entries start on April 18 and end on Nov.2. This is not a diary with daily entries, but periodic updates (every fewdays to a couple of weeks) when he had the time. It is better than a diaryin many ways as he writes about events in much greater detail than a diarywould allow. It is obviously also much better than a letter, as it was NOTSUBJECT TO CENSOR, and it also contains stark details that he might not haveconveyed to the folks back home.

It is an incredible FIRST HAND ACCOUNT, in remarkabledetail, of the front line fighting, air raids, living conditions, and dailylife during the last terrible months of WWII in the Pacific theatre. I havenever seen anything written in such detail, or covering such a wide varietyof everyday activity, occurrances, and anecdotes.... literally written whileit was happening, vs. later, less accurate remininscences. Every page isdripping with description and detail.

As a very brief indication, starting on the first day:...\"went by caves and came across a Japanese. Head blown off and bugs andflies all over him. The stink is really something to remember\"...\"passedby sign that had ERNIE PYLE on it and date killed--just 4 daysearlier--(describes his death, picked off by snipers while riding in a jeep,etc....)\"...\"one of our guys got killed accidentally when he went to bedwith his rifle and accidentally pulled the trigger and shot himself throughthe head\"... \"Conners killed by land mine. Quite a few casualties from snipersand land mines....every day a few snipers killed and a few surrender\"...\"cameupon a JAPANESE OFFICER BLOWN APART; nearby was unblown Japanese grenadeand roll of bandages; he was apparently wounded, trying to help himself whenshot\"...\"hundreds of bodies (Japanese) in the village still unburied; yourclothes tend to have clinging smell of the dead\"...\"500 Japanese planes sentto bomb and strafe us. Our CORSAIRS met them, shooting down 80\"......duringone surprise bombing raid he \"dove into garbage pit as nearestprotection\"...\"drinking is plentiful here. SAKI A FAVORITE, availablein 55 gallon drums. Traded 2 canteens of it for a trench knife. A fellerfrom Co. B has become Section 8 for drinking saki\"...\"saw a fighter thatcame in pretty well damaged by shrapnel, pilot hit in leg\"...\"saw a fighterplane with score of 14 Japanese planes, and 2 other planes marked with Germanplanes shot down\"...\"9 enlisted men were found after (one of the) bombingraids on us, or rather what was left of them. 3 never located. Remnants foundover a 100\' area. A gruesome sight\"...\"news that 5000 B-29 bombers raidedJapan mainland\"...\"2 naked women emerged from one of the caves stark nakedand beckoned to one of the patrols. GIs who were experienced fighters shotboth. Both were found to have grenades underneath arm pits\"...\"30 and 45cal shells and even 31 cal Japanese shells and shell cases everywhere. Coralshows pock marks where battle took place\"...\"went swimming; water was disgustingand full of everything, but felt very good after not bathing for amonth\"...\"things moving fast, big three are in conference, possibly anotherinvasion soon\"...\"latest bomb is NAPON bomb, burns at 2000 degrees\"...\"LEAFLETSDROPPED BEFORE BOMBING MAINLAND Japan, 72 hour warning typical....droppingtinfoil to fool radar\"...\"boys on Ie Shima had plenty of chances to pickup souvenirs, now some of them are lying six feet under\".

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY SMALL SAMPLING of the content.He elaborates in great detail on each of the many air raids, occurring almostevery night (as many as 8 separate ones one night, 9 another); types anddescription of planes, AA, ships, etc. in the area; long description of anumber of casualties, including one of his best friends, and the circumstancesof his death (killed by group of Japanese soldiers hidden in a cave, whilehe was out \"HUNTING JAPANESE AND PICKING UP SOUVENIRS\"...\"shot 6 times inthe chest before he was unable to move\"); another guy removing shells fromthe runway when one went off (\"eyes blown out, and stomach ripped open...didn\'tdie until after reaching hospital\"); description of Japanese prisoners buryingdead GIs, including procedures and numbers; civilian prison camps, inspectionprocedures, and how a grenade on one killed a GI; talks a great deal aboutsouvenir hunting, their specific monetary and trading value, and other details;descriptions of many of the CAVES, including an entire typed page describinghis own exploration of one of them, finding dead Japs and more, details ofclothing and the bodies, etc.; arrival of nurses, implications, and logistics;methodical demolition of caves with explosives and burning oil; witnessingflak, strafing, KAMIKAZIS, seeing ZEROS shot down, and a Japanese dive bomberdirect hit on a fuel dump; burial customs of natives in caves and findingjugs w/bones and the skull on top; snakes in caves; a long description abouta wounded 16 year old native girl shot 6 times while lying in her hospitalbed during a fire fight (she survived, and talk of sending her to the USfor school); hearing TOKYO ROSE; discussion of various officers and theirabilities (you can imagine!!!); 1/2 page discussion of a particular bombingraid with 125# anti-personnel bombs and the various casualties and bomb hitlocations, shrapnel flying through his tent; Danny Kaye stage show and severalmovies after the end of the war and immediate hostilities, etc., etc.

You get the idea. This guy was there, and I mean THERE.He was very literate and accurate in his observations and recorded it allin fantastic detail. If you want to know what it was like and how these guyssuffered, here it is first hand.

Also includes 3 long, really NEAT POEMS made up bysoldiers, entitled \"On the Road to Tokyo\", Pacific Island Blues\", and \"Memoirsof Bennie\".

29 typed pages, single spaced. This is a typedtranscription of the journal that is a treasured part of my collection, notthe original journal itself. Buyer to add $3.85 for postage. Enjoy!

Please see my sale list for others!!

!!!

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