Personal accounts of U.S. marine Roy Elrod based on transcripts of oral histories about his experiences in the service, with particular emphasis on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Saipan. It includes editorial and historical notes and to provide context and clarification. Index starts on page 273.

David R. “Buff” Honodel was a cocky young man with an inflated self-image when he arrived in 1969 at his base in Udorn, Thailand. His war was not in Vietnam; it was a secret one in the skies of a neighboring country almost unknown in America, attacking the Ho Chi Minh Trail that fed soldiers and supplies from North Vietnam into the South. Stateside he learned the art of flying the F-4, but in combat, the bomb-loaded fighter handled differently, targets shot back, and people suffered. Inert training ordnance was replaced by lethal weapons. In the air, a routine day mission turned into an unexpected duel with a deadly adversary. Complacency during a long night mission escorting a gunship almost led to death. A best friend died just before New Year’s. A RF-4 crashed into the base late in Buff’s tour of duty. The reader will experience Buff’s war from the cockpit of a supersonic F-4D Phantom II, doing 5-G pullouts after dropping six 500-pound bombs on trucks hidden beneath triple jungle canopy. These were well defended by a skillful, elusive, determined enemy firing back with 37mm anti-aircraft fire and tracers in the sky. The man who left the States …

Memoir describing historical events and personal accounts of Gerald Andrew Howell based on his experiences during World War I, originally completed in 1946 : "His narrative was a study of a small group of American soldiers attempting to survive some of the most ferocious combat of the 'Great War.' He included information on the movements and activities of his 39th Infatry Regiment and the 4th Division, but Howell kept the focus of the story on his squad, a typical cross section of the A.E.F. {American Expeditionary Forces]" (p. 2) This edited version has some introductory and supplementary information and has made minor corrections to the original text. Index starts on page 338.