Battleground Pacific - by Sterling Mace (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Battleground Pacific is a powerfully wrought military memoir by a member of World War II's fabled 1st Marine division.

Sterling Mace's unit was the legendary "K-3-5" (for Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment of the 1st Marine Division) and his story takes readers through some of the most intense action of the Pacific War, from the seldom-seen perspective of a rifleman at the point of attack.

Battleground Pacific is filled with indelible moments that begin with his childhood growing up in Queens, New York, and his run-in with the law that eventually led to his enlistment. But this is ultimately a combat tale--as violent and harrowing as any that has come before. From fighting through the fiery hell that was Peleliu to the deadly battleground of Okinawa, Mace traces his path from the fear of combat to understanding that killing another human comes just as easily as staying alive. He learns that bravery often equates to stupidity, leading to the death of close friends, but also that life goes on, with death on its heels.

Battleground Pacific is one of the most important and entertaining memoirs about the Pacific theater in WWII.

Review Quotes

"Engrossing account of the vicious combat encountered by U.S. Marines in the Pacific theater of World War II . . .Will appeal to fans of The Pacific or Band of Brothers." --Kirkus

"Two years after enlisting in 1942, he's in the Pacific -- invading the island of Peleliu with his K Company, 3rd Batallion, 5th Marines. You see the word 'hero' tossed around a lot these days, but Mace and his comrades were the real deal." --New York Post

"Battleground Pacific is another great tribute to 'The Greatest Generation.' Mace's tale is written in the language of a grunt speaking for all the unsung heroes who lived and died in the Pacific. A good read from this Marine's perspective." --Jerry Cutter, former Marine, nephew of Sgt. John Basilone, USMC, and author of the authorized biography of Basilone, I'm Staying with My Boys

About the Author

STERLING MACE enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1942 and was stationed at Parris Island, Camp Lejeune, the Brooklyn Naval Yard, and then finally Pavuvu, before experiencing the toughest fighting the Pacific war had to offer, as a rifleman in K/3/5, at Peleliu and later on Okinawa. He was a consultant on E.B. Sledge's book, With the Old Breed. He lives in St. Pete Beach, Florida.

NICK ALLEN is the son of a combat rifleman who served in Vietnam and has been interviewing combat veterans for most of his life. He lives in Bellaire, Texas.