Islands of Death Islands of Victory - Hardcover

ISLANDS OF DEATH - ISLANDS OF VICTORY is a true-life account of military life by John W. Bailey Jr. as depicted through his character Ted Alexander.John is a 76 year-old World War II veteran, who spent four years in the United States Navy (two and a half of them with the Marines).He was attached to the 1st Marine Division as a Navy Hospital Corpsman and saw action with the Marine's while fighting the Japanese on New Guinea, New Britain, Peleliu and Okinawa.His novel is based primarily on personal knowledge, recollection and experience. As far as he knows, it is the only work that gives the story of troops 'in' and 'out' of action. It deals mostly with seventeen and eighteen-year-olds who thought war would be a 'great adventure'. Instead, the war turned out to be a 'never-ending nightmare' -- a struggle for survival.The tenacious Japanese took a tremendous toll; but; so did the incessant rain, mud, sweltering heat, and jungle diseases (such as typhus fever, malaria, dysentery and jungle rot.)There was elation and there was boredom as the emaciated, exhausted men recovered from combat and prepared for the next invasion. Mail call, sick call, rats and land crabs all played a major roll in the daily life of troops.John, like most veterans, feels frustration when trying to tell younger generations of his desperate battle plights in parts of the world they never heard of. It seems absolutely no one, who was not directly involved, has any knowledge of, or knows the names of the islands invaded in the South Pacific during World War II. Mention an island, and their first question is, 'Where is that?' Not one history book gives a hint of the fierce battles fought and the hundreds of thousands of lives lost in the Pacific war with the Japanese.Being only seventeen when he volunteered for service, John's formal education was put on hold. His high school education was garnered at Santa Paula Union High, Santa Paula, California. After the war, he attended Ventura College, in Vent

ISLANDS OF DEATH - Islands of Victory is a novel about life and survival in the First Marine Division during World War II. It is seen through the eyes of seventeen-year-old Navy Hospital Corpsman, Ted Alexander. Based on actual experiences, it tells the story of Ted and other young Marines, most not old enough to vote, who faced the indescribable horror of a brutal, bloody war. It is about the joys, fears, disappointments and comradship of those who went away to war as boys, and if they survived, came home as heroic, haunted men.The invasion of Peleliu, one of the most viscous battles in the pacific, is Ted's introduction to the realities of war. He faces mortar and machine-gun fire wading in blood red waters as he advances toward the slaughter on the beach. Falling behind a burning amtrac he feels a moment of complete safety. How did he come to be in this abominable place? His mind flashes back to the beginning of the conflict.A small-town country boy, Ted was afraid the war would end before he could become a part of the great adventure. Life in the training camps is portrayed. Shipping out, seasickness and the miserable conditions aboard the troop transports follow.Arriving in New Caledonia, the Marines are awed by the native villages and the exotic atmosphere of Noumea, the capitol. Waiting for action, idle hands seek excitement in many ways: fistfights, climbing coconut trees, and trysts with young native girls.Leaving New Caledonia the replacement troops make port in Brisbane, Australia to a rousing welcome. 'There will be no liberty granted,' the P.A. blares. 'Fill a combat pack and stow your gear in the warehouse,' it orders amid moans and groans. Against orders, Ted and Salty Schissler decide to visit Brisbane. Chased by MP's, they are befriended by two lovely Australian girls who know how to send young men off to war.Departing Australia, the atmosphere changes. Even the ocean seems angry. In New Guinea they see real live natives wearing bones in their noses