Strong Men Armed relates the U.S. Marines' unprecedented, relentless drive across the Pacific during World War II, from Guadalcanal to Okinawa, detailing their struggle to dislodge from heavily fortified islands an entrenched enemy who had vowed to fight to extinction—and did. 

"Raw, heartbreaking, and superb." —Christian Science Monitor

A chronological account of the 1944 battle with more than 200 photographs, including graphic images of the fighting and the huge naval bombardment.

"A brief but unvarnished glimpse at the horrors of combat in the Pacific Theatre." —The Northern Mariner

From the New York Times–bestselling author of Sons and Soldiers comes the incredible true story of one of the greatest military rescues of all time.

"The luck of the draw" is a recurring theme in this powerful memoir filled with heartbreaking stories of how the smallest decisions made the difference between life and death for soldiers and sailors in World War II.