Brotherhood of Heroes: The Marines at Peleliu, 1944 -- The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War

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  • Brotherhood of Heroes eBook by Bill Sloan | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster AU
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  • Brotherhood of Heroes: The Marines at Peleliu, 1944--The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War
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  • The Marines at Peleliu, 1944 -- The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War

    • Sloan's gripping narrative seamlessly weaves together the experiences of the men who were there, producing a vivid and unflinching tableau of the twenty-four-hour-a-day nightmare of Peleliu -- a melee of nonstop infantry attacks, ferocious hand-to-hand fighting, night assaults, and exhausting forced marches in temperatures that topped degrees. With casualties in some infantry units averaging more than sixty percent, Peleliu ranks with the bloodiest battles in the Corps' history.

    Surprisingly, Peleliu received little public notice back in the States even as it was being fought and was virtually forgotten after the war, despite elements of controversy that are still debated by military strategists today. The invasion was ordered by Army General Douglas MacArthur to protect his flank as he launched his campaign to recapture the Philippines.

    But many experts believed then -- and still maintain today -- that the bloodshed at Peleliu was needless and that the island could have been safely bypassed. In Brotherhood of Heroes, readers witness the brutal spectacle of Peleliu close-up through the eyes of the Marines who fought there. Their story will stand with Ghost Soldiers and Flags of Our Fathers as a modern classic in military history and a riveting read.

    The battle to take Peleliu, a scrubby island miles east of Mindanao, was something of an The intensive struggle for the Pacific island of Peleliu from September to October cost its Japanese defenders 11, soldiers and the attacking U. Marines over casualties.

    I literally got 10 pages in wen this is by far one of the best books on the pacific war and the Marines who fought there.

    Brotherhood of Heroes eBook by Bill Sloan | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster AU

    I literally got 10 pages in went to bed, got up the next day Sunday and read the rest of it straight through. I would recommend this book to anybody trying to get a taste or understand what it was like to fight in the Pacific in the later but bloodier battles of the island hopping campaign. Bill Sloan nailed it.

    May 05, Randall Decker rated it it was amazing Shelves: Well written and well researched. Probably because it was next to unnecessary to win the overall war, but that didn't make it any less real for those who fought there. There was so much honor in WWII, though they hated the Japanese for their atrocities yet they respected them as warriors and understood that the common Well written and well researched.

    There was so much honor in WWII, though they hated the Japanese for their atrocities yet they respected them as warriors and understood that the common foot solder was under command just as they were. Apr 27, Jasonwilkerson rated it liked it.

    Brotherhood of Heroes

    About half of the book consists of conversations that took place on Peleliu in While the overall gist was--I am sure--accurate, such an abundance of conversations in which the actual words are forever lost to history to me seemed contrived. Clearly the author interviewed a great number of veterans and that is easy to appreciate in the book, but I think the story would have been better told to have been left as simply third person narrative. Mar 26, Cullen rated it it was amazing. Wow, I knew the battle of Peleliu was terrible, but this book really shows just how terrible it was.

    Those guys endured extreme heat, no water, Japanese ambushes from all directions, and egotistical senior leadership that kept them in the fight longer than they needed to be. Brotherhood of Heroes is a fantastic book about the battle.

    Brotherhood of Heroes: The Marines at Peleliu, 1944--The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War

    You will come away with a greater appreciation for anyone who served in the Pacific War. Sep 05, Sandi rated it it was amazing. Vividly portrayed the massive loss of our military at Peleliu. Oct 13, Janet C. I appreciated being able to understand more of WWII history. Very descriptive, graphic, and quite detailed. The descriptions of the soldiers were sometimes heartbreaking because of their outcomes, especially after feeling like I knew them. May 22, Jay rated it really liked it.

    Sloan also lets you get to know a number of the Marines personally, with insights into their personalities and quirks, whether they survived the battle or not.

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    A decent enough job of reporting the stories of participants in the battle of Peleliu, but completely bereft of original ideas. But many experts believed then -- and still maintain today -- that the bloodshed at Peleliu was needless and that the island could have been safely bypassed. Griffin, author of the Brotherhood of War novels. Bill Sloan nailed it. Peleliu was a very tragic testing of the marines.

    In this way you get a much better feel for the eb and flow of the fighting, as well as the magnitude of the sacrifice America made by leaving some of these extraordinary men buried under the sand and coral of an insignificant atoll in the middle of the Pacific. I have two complaints about the book, one large and one small. The small one is that it focuses on the operations of the Marines on Peleliu, which admittedly was probably necessary in order to keep the book at a manageable pages.

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    It would have been nice to know a little more about the role of the Navy, air assets, and especially the Army, but I say that because I had an uncle in the Army in the Pacific and I'm sensitive to the fact that too often his unit was called on to mop up after the main fighting was over. My larger complaint--predictably, for those of you who know me--regards the scarcity of maps. In the edition I read, there is an opening map of the whole Pacific so that you can find Peleliu in relation to, say, the Philippines, whose invasion it was meant to support, and Pavuvu in the Solomons, which the 1st Marine Division called its home away from home.

    The only other map is one of the Umurbrogal Pocket, which was the site of the main fighting in the later stages of the campaign.

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    Brotherhood of Heroes: The Marines at Peleliu, The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War This Band of Brothers for the Pacific is the gut-wrenching and ultimately triumphant ." -- W. E. B. Griffin, author of the Brotherhood of War novels. Editorial Reviews. From Publishers Weekly. The battle of Peleliu, though certainly not the Brotherhood of Heroes: The Marines at Peleliu, -- The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War Kindle Edition. by.

    Amazingly, there was no map of Peleliu as a whole, showing the invasion beaches that are discussed at length in the text. The book would also benefit greatly from an organization chart showing the First, Fifth, and Seventh Marine Regiments, and where the men followed in the text fit into those organizations.

    Jun 30, Kevin rated it liked it Recommends it for: What I find interesting in this book one of several by Bill Sloan reviewed is the common thread with this and of Pacific memiors. All of these men appear in several histories of the Marines in the Pacific. Together their stories lay the foundation for endurance, courage and love for their "buddies" that to this day, just seems impossible to put into a modern context. The battle for Peleliu w What I find interesting in this book one of several by Bill Sloan reviewed is the common thread with this and of Pacific memiors.

    The battle for Peleliu was strategically unnecessary. We know that only from hindsight. At the time, it was the correct decision.

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    Would the war have changed or been lengthened if Nimitz had bypassed Peleliu? I do not believe so. Still, the narrative of what was projected to be a four day cake walk transforming into a month plus battle is harrowing on its most benign days. Through their own books with the exception of Haldane and Jones, who did not survive the Peleliu campaign and HBO's Pacific mini-series, these men are elevated beyond citizen soldiers to icons around which the story World War II in the Pacific is handed down to future generations. To me, that seems right.

    May 15, Brom Kim rated it really liked it Shelves: In the early s, I met an old US Marine who came in every day for coffee, and to flirt with the waitresses at the restaurant where I worked. He didn't talk about his service, but he had lots of faded Corps tattoos on his wrinkled, weathered arms, and he always wore an old fatigue cap. When I asked about his service one afternoon, he said in a low, gravelly voice, "yeah, I was on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Okinawa He then looked far away for a moment, and said quietly, "That was a bad war", trailing off.

    Those five words spoke volumes, and I knew better than to ask anything else, but for those interested, Sloan's book digs deep into the reasons the war in the Pacific was such "a bad war", and why we have much to be thankful for, as regards the service and sacrifices of our vets.

    The Marines at Peleliu, 1944 -- The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War

    This book is fascinating military history, and good storytelling, with a useful side commentary on leadership. The writing is good, and the book is well researched. If you ever think you're having a 'bad day' this gives perspective. Mar 19, Matthew rated it liked it Shelves: The coral island was honeycombed with caves and bunkers filled with Japanese unwilling to This book was read in conjunction with EB Sledge's memoir, With the Old Breed.

    The coral island was honeycombed with caves and bunkers filled with Japanese unwilling to cede an inch of ground and who stayed sheltered and harder to kill than they were at Guadalcanal where they charged in waves of banzai attacks.

    The Pacific Battle of Peleliu

    Mar 19, Chapronrin rated it really liked it. This was a remarkable book that provided details of a vicious battle for a needless island strategically for the USMC in Filled with all the horror of Iwo Jima, fought savagely for this rocky island and it took much longer than originally anticipated to defeat the Japanese forces there. Sloan gave some impressive details that on many factors that affected forces in this long battle.

    One of the most interesting was the cleaning of the oil drums Pavuvu that was done improperly and were later This was a remarkable book that provided details of a vicious battle for a needless island strategically for the USMC in One of the most interesting was the cleaning of the oil drums Pavuvu that was done improperly and were later filled with "drinking" water for Marines at Peleliu and ultimately made them very sick. A solid 4 star.

    Jun 29, Shannon rated it it was amazing. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Bill Sloan's book has the perfect tone which allows both casual readers and serious academics to engage in the stories and history of the Marines at Peleliu. Anyone who's watched HBO's The Pacific will known many of the subjects by name, but Sloan's book provides greater background in history not present in the memoirs of E.

    The book tells the story of the battle well from both an academic and human interest perspective. This book is one of the first I suggest to anyo Bill Sloan's book has the perfect tone which allows both casual readers and serious academics to engage in the stories and history of the Marines at Peleliu. Because the battle of Peleliu was so small it's told mainly from soldiers on the ground but also manages to give you an overall picture of the battle. Getting to know people and then having them die and their friends reactions is really sad.

    Made me tear up and realize how terrible war truly is.