Red Blood, Black Sand - by Chuck Tatum (Paperback)

About the Book

Originally penned for his Marine buddies, WWII veteran Tatum's coveted book is now available to audiences worldwide. This is his first-hand account of Iwo Jima, the Marine Corps' most savage battle and was the inspiration for the HBO mini-series, "The Pacific."

Book Synopsis

A story of heroism, friendship, and courage in World War 2--as seen in the award-winning HBO miniseries The Pacific.

In 1944, the U.S. Marines were building the 5th Marine Division--also known as "The Spearhead"--in preparation for the invasion of the small, Japanese-held island of Iwo Jima...

When Chuck Tatum began Marine boot camp, he was just a smart-aleck teenager eager to serve his country. Little did he know that he would be training under a living legend of the Corps--Medal of Honor recipient John Basilone, who had almost single-handedly fought off a Japanese force of three thousand on Guadalcanal.

It was from Basilone and other sergeants that Tatum would learn how to fight like a Marine and act like a man--skills he would need when he hit the black sand of Iwo Jima with thirty thousand other Marines.

Red Blood, Black Sand is the story of Chuck's two weeks in hell, where he would watch his hero, Basilone, fall, where the enemy stalked the night, where snipers haunted the day, and where Chuck would see his friends whittled away in an eardrum-shattering, earth-shaking, meat grinder of a battle. This is the island, the heroes, and the tragedy of Iwo Jima--through the eyes of one who survived it.

Review Quotes

Praise for Red Blood, Black Sand

"In my judgment, no combat veteran's memoir is better...and only a handful are equal."--Stephen E. Ambrose

"Chuck Tatum was there, a participant in and a witness to history. If it is possible to answer the question 'What was it like?', he tells you in this book."--Tom Hanks

About the Author

Chuck Tatum was a World War II Marine who trained under legendary Medal of Honor recipient Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone and fought with him on Iwo Jima. There, Chuck received the Bronze Star for firing a machine gun from the hip while single-handedly covering the retrieval of two wounded comrades. Red Blood, Black Sand is one of four credited sources upon which the HBO miniseries The Pacific is based. Chuck saw this book as his final act of service, so readers will never forget the heroes he watched fight, live, and die on "the island that God forgot and gave to the Devil." He passed away in 2014.