On Hostile Shores

Despite the somber front cover and the very ominous title, the book, On Hostile Shores, turns out to be a collection of mostly light-hearted anecdotes by a young officer who saw more of WWII than many historians who have described that conflict form more traditional viewpoints. With proper respect for the more than 700 comrades who were killed in action, the book covers enough combat action to satisfy most readers, while also presenting many humorous episodes from the carefree life of soldiers awaiting their next assault landing "on hostile shores." Starting with an assignment in Washington, DC as a truly green "shavetail" second lieutenant soon after Pearl Harbor, to sophisticated life in the swank Mayfair section of poor, bomb-out out London in mid-1942, through five big invasions, to the muddy foxholes of Okinawa the story touches on many small adventures and several large ones. There are a few short lectures on the amphibious warfare of that era. To quote from the Introduction, "it's all true, except where I benignly misled you as to the reasons (but not the destinations) for some of my side trips." Many documents are presented in the Appendices to authentic the gems of On Hostile Shores.