On Hostile Shores

<P ALIGN=JUSTIFY>Despite the somber front cover and the very ominous title the book <I>On Hostile Shores</I> 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 <I>reasons</I><B> </B>(but not the <I>destinations</I>) for some of my side trips. Many documents are presented in the Appendices to authentic the gems of <I>On Hostile Shores</I>.</P>