D-days in the Pacific: The US Coast Guard in World War II

The images of soldiers and marines coming ashore on hostile beaches are embedded in our collective memory of World War II. But what of the sailors who manned the landing craft, going back and forth under fire with nowhere to take cover? In this book, Ken Wiley, a coast guardsman on an attack-transport ship in the Pacific, relates the extraordinary story of how the United States projected its power across 6,000 miles of ocean, despite fierce Japanese resistance. The author describes each invasion, detailing a swirl of moving parts, from frogmen to fire support, transport mother ships to attack-transports, the smaller Higgins boats (LCVPs) and, during the last terrifying stage, the courageous men who stormed the beaches. The author participated in the campaigns for the Marshall Islands, the Marianas, the Philippines and Okinawa, and, with a precise eye for detail, he relates numerous aspects of landing-craft operations, such as ferrying wounded, that are often discounted. He conveys the terror and horror of war, without neglecting the humour and cameraderie of wartime life. D-Days in the Pacific is an exciting book, full of harrowing combat action, which also provides a valuable service in explaining exactly how World War II’s massive amphibious operations were undertaken.