The Last Battles of World War II: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima Via Iwo Jima

THE PERSONAL ACCOUNTS OF AMERICAN MILITARY MEN WHOSE LIVES WERE FORVER CHANGED BY THE CLIMACTIC BATTLE OF WORLD WAR IIPerched on the edge of the defeating the Japanese Empire, America had one final stepping stone to being within fighting reach of the Japanese mainland: Iwo Jima, a tiny desolate rock of sand, volcanic ash, and deeply carved bunkers bristling with 20,000 hidden fanatical Japanese defenders ready to die. The grueling clash would last over 35 days and cost the lives of 8000 Americans, every yard gained costing the life of one man. Yet this was the beginning of the end, as America strained to bring a resolute end to a war that had already claimed so many lives. The Last Battle of World War II is the story of this battle, events which surrounded it, and the lives of American military men directly affected by it from their own first person accounts. From the recesses of an old roll-top desk, Lt. Col. James "Red" Qualls withdraws a small, leather bound diary which has been misplaced for 60 years. He begins reading notes he made as a young officer on Iwo Jima, and he shares with us experiences flooding back into his memory which are almost too heartbreaking to believe.A conversation in a donut shop leads to the discovery of Dr. Jack Johnson's presence at the battle of Iwo Jima. He recounts in riveting detail how, as a young LCTV Boat Signalman, he assisted in landing marines on Iwo Jima and withdrawing the dead and wounded as bullets constantly riddled the deck of his landing craft.Lt. Gordon Bennett Robertson, Jr., B-29 Pilot, is the last surviving member of his B-29 bomber group and the B-29 bomber association. In page after page, Robertson shares compelling stories of emergency landings on Iwo Jima, camaraderie in the cramped corners of the largest aircraft of World War II, and his return with all crew members unscathed after 35 missions over Japan.A small town newspaper article leads to Major Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk, Navigator and last surviving member of the Enola Gay crew. Van Kirk reveals intimate details about the training to be a bomber pilot and the bizarre task of dropping the first atom bomb.Lt. (JG) Kenneth "Nitro" Glisson describes the excitement of training to be a Naval Pilot. Glisson, scheduled to deploy in the mainland invasion of Japan (which never occurred), flew missions cleaning up pockets of Japanese resistance after the surrender. "Nitro" reveals the origin of his nickname.These and countless other stories weave a more complete picture of the remarkable events which lead to the conclusion of the war - one perhaps undocumented ever before. The book illustrates the effects of the end of the war on the lives of the men involved, as well as those of their families, but it leads us to a watermark of another question: what would their lives have been like if the war had continued? How many more lives would have been changed, lost, never known? These and more fascinating questions are all faced in The Last Battles of World War II.