"When 2d Lt. Patrick F. Caruso landed on Iwo Jima in February 1945, he was sixth in K Company's chain of command. Within an hour of their initial assault, with his senior officers and one-third of his company's 230 men dead or wounded, Caruso took command. Fourteen days later he too was wounded - one of only forty in his company to survive the campaign. Determined to record all he had observed, Caruso began writing his recollections on scraps of paper as he lay in a Guam hospital.

The result is this chronicle of the only battle in Marine Corps history that the Marines suffered more casualties than they inflicted, and yet emerged victorious.".

"Caruso's prose is concise and vivid as he describes the anxieties, humor, fear, resolve, and sacrifices of those who fought this nightmarish battle. He realistically portrays the terror of knowing that each step toward the enemy might be the last and the long nights listening to the agonized cries of wounded comrades, the air permeated with the stench of death.

But as Caruso conveys images as only one who is familiar with these unique experiences can, he also bears witness to extraordinary acts of heroism to capture the essence of the battle without the up-the-hill, down-the-hill recitation that mars many war memoirs."--BOOK JACKET.