Download or read book Why Marines Fight written by James Brady and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2008-10-28 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Why Marines Fight is a candid collection of courage and esprit de corps that serves as a reminder that when America needs a real hero, it doesn't need to look beyond its military." --The San Antonio Express News United States Marines, for more than two centuries, have been among the world's fiercest and most admired of warriors. They have fought from the Revolutionary War to Afghanistan and Iraq, in famous battles that have become the bone and sinew of American lore. But why do Marines fight? Why do they fight so well? James Brady, to some an unofficial "poet laureate" of the Corps, interviews combat Marine veterans from World War II to Afghanistan, and their replies are in their own individual voices, unique and powerful. What results is an authentically American story of a country at war, as seen through the eyes of its warriors; a story of the motivations and emotions behind this compelling title question. Included are accounts from Senator James Webb and his Corporal son, Jim; New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly; Yankee second baseman (and Marine fighter pilot) Jerry Coleman, and of teachers, fireman, authors, cops, Harvard football players, and just plain grunts. Why Marines Fight is a ruthlessly candid book about professional killers not ashamed to recall their doubts as well as exult in their savagely triumphant battle cries. A book of weight and heft that Marines, and Americans everywhere, will want to read, and may find impossible to forget. "Brady explores both the emotions and motivations of the men who willingly run toward guns. Read this and you'll be steeled to stare down your own fears." --Men's Health "For anyone who wants to know how the U.S. Marine team works in war and peace, this book is indispensable." --Booklist (starred review) "Brady's book succeeds in delivering honest, front-row accounts of war--the gritty details and the hard realities--and provides a veritable smorgasbord of answers to the question of why Marines fight." --Chattanooga Times Free Press "These inspirational tales cover as many Marine experiences as Brady can pack in." --Kirkus Reviews

Download or read book First to Fight written by V H Krulak and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 1999-02-22 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this riveting insider's chronicle, legendary Marine General "Brute" Krulak submits an unprecedented examination of U.S. Marines—their fights on the battlefield and off, their extraordinary esprit de corps. Deftly blending history with autobiography, action with analysis, and separating fact from fable, General Krulak touches the very essence of the Corps: what it means to be a Marine and the reason behind its consistently outstanding performance and reputation. Krulak also addresses the most basic but challenging question of all about the Corps: how does it manage to survive—even to flourish—despite overwhelming political odds and, as the general writes, ""an extraordinary propensity for shooting itself in the foot?"" To answer this question Krulak examines the foundation on which the Corps is built, a system of intense loyalty to God, to country, and to other Marines. He also takes a close look at Marines in war, offering challenging accounts of their experiences in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. In addition, he describes the Corps's relationship to other services, especially during the unification battles following World War II, and offers new insights into the decision-making process in times of crisis. First published in hardcover in 1984, this book has remained popular ever since with Marines of every rank.

Download or read book The Marines Take Anbar written by Robert Shultz and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2013-03-15 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. Marine Corps’ four-year campaign against al Qaeda in Anbar is a fight certain to take its place next to such legendary clashes as Belleau Wood, Guadalcanal, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Chosin, and Khe Sanh. Its success, the author contends, constituted a major turning point in the Iraq War and helped alter the course of events and set the stage for the Surge in Baghdad a year later. This book brings to light all the decisive details of how the Marines, between 2004 and 2008, adapted and improvised as they applied the hard lessons of past mistakes. In March 2004, when part of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) was deployed to Anbar Province in the heart of the Sunni triangle, the Marines quickly found themselves locked in a bloody test of wills with al Qaeda, and a burgeoning violent insurgency. By the spring of 2006, according to all accounts, enemy violence was skyrocketing, while predictions for any U.S. success were plummeting. But at that same time new counterinsurgency initiatives were put in place when I MEF returned for its second tour in Anbar, and the Marines began to gain control. By September 2008 the fight was over. Richard Shultz, a well-known author and international security studies expert, has thoroughly researched this subject. His book effectively argues the case for the Marines changing the course of the war at Anbar, which is contrary to the conventional wisdom that the Surge was the turning point."

Download or read book Marines Under Armor written by Kenneth Estes and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2013-04-11 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this story of men, machines and missions, Kenneth Estes tells how the U.S. Marine Corps came to acquire the armored fighting vehicle and what it tried to do with it. The longtime Marine tank officer and noted military historian offers an insider's view of the Corps's acquisition and use of armored fighting vehicles over the course of several generations, a view that illustrates the characteristics of the Corps as a military institution and of the men who have guided its development. His book examines the planning, acquisition, and employment of tanks, amphibian tractors, and armored cars and explores the ideas that led to the fielding of these weapons systems along with the doctrines and tactics intended for them, and their actual use in combat. Drawing on archival resources previously untouched by researchers and interviews of both past and serving crewmen, Estes presents a unique and unheralded story that is filled with new information and analysis of the armored vehicles, their leaders, and the men who drove these steel chariots into battle. Such authoritative detail and documentation of the decisions to acquire, develop, and organize armored units in the U.S. Marine Corps assures the book's acknowledgement as a definitive reference.

Download or read book The Marines in World War II written by Michael E. Haskew and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2016-12-06 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2016 will mark the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor that pushed the United States into World War II and sent thousands of US Marines to fight and die on tiny islands half a world away. Today, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Tarawa are household names that hold legendary status on the Marines’ roll of honor. But in 1941, the Marine Corps was a small expeditionary force with outdated equipment and an unproven new mission—amphibious assault. Michael E. Haskew's The Marines in World War II charts the rapid development of this famous fighting force from two brigades, totaling fewer than 20,000 servicemen, to two full corps with six divisions, five air wings, 21 battalions and as many as 475,000 Marines. In addition to chronicling the hard fought battles at places like Midway, Guadalcanal and Guam, the book also addresses the important role played by Navajo code talkers during combat, as well as the changes that took place within the Marines during the war, such as the admission of its first black members and the gradual desegregation of the Corps.

Download or read book First to Fight written by Oscar E. Gilbert and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2017-09-19 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An amazingly detailed account of the American Expeditionary Force at Belleau Wood in 1918” from the authors of Tanks in Hell (Books Monthly). “Retreat, hell! We just got here!” The words of Capt. Lloyd Williams at Belleau Wood in June 1918 entered United States Marine Corps legend, and the Marine brigade’s actions there—along with the censor’s failure to take out the name of the brigade in the battle reports—made the Corps famous. The Marines went to war as part of the American Expeditionary Force, bitterly resented by the Army and Gen. Pershing. The Army tried to use them solely as labor troops and replacements, but the German spring offensive of 1918 forced the issue. The French begged Pershing to commit his partially trained men, and two untested American divisions, supported by British and French units, were thrown into the path of five German divisions. Three horrific weeks later, the Marines held the entirety of Belleau Wood. The Marines then fought in the almost-forgotten Blanc Mont Ridge Offensive in October, as well as in every well-known AEF action until the end of the war. This book looks at all the operations of the Marine Corps in World War I, covers the activities of both ground and air units, and considers the units that supported the Marine brigade. It examines how, during the war years, the Marine Corps changed from a small organization of naval security detachments to an elite land combat force. “The goal of revealing the thoughts and actions of individual soldiers in battle is achieved admirably here.” —The Journal of America’s Military Past

Download or read book Fight Like a Girl written by Kate Germano and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2018 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Marine Corps combat veteran with twenty years of service describes her professional battle against gender bias in the Marines and the lessons it holds for other arenas. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Kate Germano arrived at Parris Island convinced that if she expected more of the female recruits just coming into Corps, she could raise historically low standards for female performance and make women better Marines. One year after she took command of the Fourth Recruit Training Battalion, shooting qualifications of the women under her command equaled those of men, injuries had decreased, and unit morale had noticeably improved. Then the Marines fired her. This is the story of Germano's struggle to achieve equality of performance and opportunity for female Marines against an entrenched male-dominated status quo. Germano charges that the men above her in the chain of command were too invested in perpetuating the subordinate role of women in the Corps to allow her to prove that the female Marine can be equal to her male counterpart. She notes that the Marine Corps continues to be the only service where men and women train separately in boot camp or basic training. Meanwhile, in the U.S. Army, women have already become Army Rangers and applied to be infantry officers. Germano addresses the Marine Corps' $35-million gender-integration study, which shows that all-male squads perform at a higher level than mixed male-female squads. This study flies in the face of the results she demonstrated with the all-female Fourth Battalion and raises questions about the Marine Corps' willingness to let women succeed. At a time when women are fighting sexism in many sectors of society, Germano's story has wide-ranging implications and lessons not just for the military but for corporate America, the labor force, education, and government.

Download or read book Through the Wheat written by Edwin Howard Simmons and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2011-09-15 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: U.S. Marine participation in World War I is known as a defining moment in the Marine Corps' great history. It is a story of exceptional heroism and significant operational achievements, along with lessons learned the hard way. The Marines entered World War I as a small force of seagoing light infantry that had rarely faced a well-armed enemy. On a single June day, in their initial assault "through the wheat" on Belleau Wood against German machine-guns and poison gas shells, the Marines suffered more casualties than they had experienced in all their previous 142 years. Yet at Belleau Wood, Soissons, BlancMont, St. Mihiel, and the Meuse-Argonne the Marines proved themselves to be hard-nosed diehards with an affinity for close combat. Nearly a century later Belleau Wood still resonates as a touchstone battle of the Corps. Two retired Marines, well known for their achievements both in uniform and with the pen, have recorded this rich history in a way that only insiders can. Brig. Gen. Edwin H. Simmons and Col. Joseph H. Alexander recount events and colorful personalities in telling detail, capturing the spirit that earned the 4th Marine Brigade three awards of the French Croix de Guerre and launched the first pioneering detachments of "Flying Leathernecks." Here, hand-to-hand combat seen through the lenses of a gas mask is accompanied by thought-provoking assessments of the war's impact on the Marine Corps.

Download or read book Fighting for MacArthur written by John Gordon and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2011-10-15 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Fighting for MacArthur is a welcome addition to the scholarship on the Pacific War. Gordon makes extensive use of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps archives and interviews with veterans of the Philippine campaign. This is a well-written, engaging treatment of the steadily deteriorating position of the defenders in the Philippines.”—Michigan War Studies Review. For the first time the story of the Navy and Marine Corps in the 1941––42 Philippine campaign is told in a single volume. Drawing on a rich collection of both U.S. and recently discovered Japanese sources as well as official records and wartime diaries, Gordon chronicles the Americans’ desperate defense of the besieged islands. Gordon offers updated information about the campaign during which the Navy and Marines, fighting in what was largely an Army operation, performed some of their most unusual missions of the entire Pacific War. He also explains why the Navy's relationship with Gen. Douglas MacArthur became strained during this campaign, and remained so for the rest of the war. As a result of Gordon’s extensive primary source research, Fighting for MacArthur presents the most complete account of the dramatic efforts by elements of the Navy and Marine Corps to support the U.S. Army’s ill-fated defense of the Philippines.

Download or read book Pacific Warriors written by Eric M. Hammel and published by Zenith Imprint. This book was released on 2005 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, and more recently from the jungles of Vietnam to the killing fields of Iraq, America's "soldiers of the sea" have fought their country's battles with famed valor, skill, and perseverance in the face of long odds. But where did the U.S. Marines earn their reputation as being the "first to fight?" It was on the South Pacific Island of Guadalcanal. There, on August 7, 1942, the 1st Marine Division stormed ashore to begin one of the most difficult and brutal campaigns of military history, and an unbroken string of victories staged across the Pacific.

Download or read book The Marines written by Colin Colbourn and published by U.S. Armed Forces. This book was released on 2020-08-04 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the military's most celebrated branches, the United States Marine Corps participated in battles from the Civil War on. But the Corps came into its own during World War II, fighting the Japanese Army. Since then, Marines have played a central role in every conflict, including the war on terrorism. This riveting book moves from the Marines' origins up through modern operations. More than 200 action photographs capture recruitment and training today, along with Marines in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Download or read book Marines in Hue City written by Eric Hammel and published by Pacifica Military History. This book was released on 2015-09-10 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As Vietnam’s former imperial capital, Hue occupied a special place in the hearts of the Vietnamese people. Over decades of conflict, it had been spared the terrible effects of war. But that all changed on January 31, 1968, the eve of Tet—the lunar new year, Vietnam’s most important national holiday Tet had previously been marked by a mutual ceasefire, but this time the celebrations and hopes for a happy new year were shattered. All of South Vietnam erupted in a cataclysm of violence as the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong launched a massive military and political offensive. The American embassy in Saigon came under siege and Vietnam’s ancient capital city was captured nearly in its entirety. The only forces immediately available to counterattack into Hue were two Marine infantry companies based ten miles south of the city. For the next four weeks, as the world looked on, fewer than two thousand U.S. Marines fought street by street and building by building, with virtually no air support, to retake the symbols of Hue’s political and cultural importance. It was savage work. Ground gained was often measured in yards, with every alley, street corner, window, and garden adding to the butcher’s bill. In the end, the Marines retook the city, but scores of Americans and thousands of Vietnamese civilians died there. This pictorial is a testament to their will and their sacrifice. The Vietnam War is often pictured as a jungle conflict, punctuated by American troops fighting in rural hut-filled villages. But in the 1968 Tet Offensive, the war spilled out of the jungle into the streets of Hue City. The battle for Hue became one of the most important of the war, a month of grueling house-to-house fighting through buildings and around civilians. Marines In Hue City documents the intense urban combat in Hue with many never-before-published photographs, including more than one hundred in full color.

Download or read book Warfighting written by Department of the Navy and published by Vigeo Press. This book was released on 2018-10 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The manual describes the general strategy for the U.S. Marines but it is beneficial for not only every Marine to read but concepts on leadership can be gathered to lead a business to a family. If you want to see what make Marines so effective this book is a good place to start.

Download or read book Iwo Jima written by Eric M. Hammel and published by . This book was released on with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Once a Marine written by Nick Popaditch and published by Savas Beatie. This book was released on 2008-10-01 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Silver Star–awarded marine chronicles his service in Iraq in this “transcendent memoir of military service and its personal consequences” (Ralph Peters, Lt. Col., ret., author of Looking For Trouble). In April, 2003, an AP photographer captured a striking image seen around the world of Gunny Sergeant Nick Popaditch smoking a victory cigar in his tank, the haunting statue of Saddam Hussein hovering in the background. Though immortalized in that moment as “The Cigar Marine,” Popaditch’s fighting was far from over. The following year, he fought heroically in the battle for Fallujah and suffered grievous head wounds that left him legally blind and partially deaf. But he faced the toughest fight of his life when he returned home: the battle to remain the man and Marine he was. At first, Nick fights to get back to where he was in Iraq-in the cupola of an M1A1 main battle tank, leading Marines in combat. As the seriousness and permanence of his disabilities become more evident, Nick fights to remain in the Corps in any capacity and help his brothers in arms. Then, following a medical retirement, he battles for rightful recognition and compensation for his disabilities. Throughout his harrowing ordeal, Nick fights to maintain his honor and loyalty, waging all these battles the same way—the Marine way—because anything less would be a betrayal of all he holds dear.

Download or read book Operation Buffalo written by Keith William Nolan and published by Presidio Press. This book was released on 1991 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In his fifth book on the Vietnam War, Nolan presents the definitive account of one of the Marine Corps' most blood-soaked battles: a tale of snipers and ambushes in the blinding elephant grass.." -- Book jacket

Download or read book Three Block War written by Matt Zeigler and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2004 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: U.S. Marine Corps General Charles C. Krulak predicted in the 1990s that 21st Century Warfare would be a multi-faceted endeavor, fought primarily on urban terrain. He defined it as Three Block War. The former Commandant's foresight was proven correct in the spring of 2003 during Gulf War II against Iraq. Block I: Humanitarian Aid. After three decades of Saddam/Baath Party rule and three wars, the Iraqi people would need everything from food, water and medical aid to a new justice system...Block II: Peacekeeping Operations. Once Saddam was defeated, Marines would contend with infighting amongst various religious and ethnic groups...Block III: Combat. In small towns and big cities throughout Iraq, Marines engaged Iraqi Army/Republican Guard forces in full-scale battles, including tank and artillery duels, with F-18, Harrier and Super Cobra gunship close air support. They'd also confront asymmetrical guerilla forces. Iraq was also a Mecca for terrorists, foreign and domestic. Battles at Baghdad, Nasiriyah, Umm Qasr, Diwaniyah and elsewhere made Gulf War II a grunt's war.