Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific, (Paperback)

from Dcameron

First hand account of marine fighting in the Pacific against the Japanese. The brutality and terrible conditions were a revelation.

from marshapetry

Easy to listen to (excellent narrator) book about WWII stories in the Pacific. I thought it was very similar to With the Old Breed (Eugene Sledge) in style and, of course, content (because Mr. Sledge was in the same outfit as Mr. Burgin). I found it funny that RV Burgin occasionally said "I didn'...

from jamespurcell

Blood Red Snow and Islands of the damned tell two tales worth reading. This will serve as a review for two WW2 memoirs that unrelated by distance and disparate cultures are inexorably bound by the profound similarities of their wartime experiences. One was a heavy machine gunner for the German We...

from lamour

Burgin joined the U.S. marines in November 1942 and served to the last battle on Okinawa. He served in Company K, Third Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment, First Marine Division battling his way across the Pacific Islands of New Britain, Peleliu, and Okinawa. He found the Marine rest area on the pa...

from Luftwaffe_Flak

Excellent and honest look at the battles of Peleliu and Okinawa as seen through the memory of R.V. Burgin. The prose is simple but engaging. He points out at various times when he doesnt agree with fellow vet and author Eugene Sledge's book 'With the Old Breed' which is fine but at the same time ...