Combat Officer: A Memoir of War in the South Pacific

by Charles Walker

TO HELL AND BACK

For the U.S., Guadalcanal was a bloody seven-month struggle under brutal conditions against crack Japanese troops deeply entrenched and determined to fight to the death. For Charles Walker, this horrific jungle battle–one that claimed the lives of 1,600 Americans and more than 23,000 Japanese–was just the beginning. On the eve of battle, 2nd Lt. Walker was ordered back to the States for medical reasons. But there was a war to be won, and he had no intention of missing it.

In this devastatingly powerful memoir, Walker captures the conflict in all its horror, chaos, and the hunger, the heat, the deafening explosions and stench of death, the constant fear broken by moments of sheer terror. This is the gripping tale of the brave young American men who fought with tremendous courage in appalling conditions, willing to sacrifice everything for their country.


Look for these books about Americans who fought World War

VISIONS FROM A FOXHOLE
A Rifleman in Patton’s Ghost Corps
by William A. Foley Jr.

BEHIND HITLER’S LINES
The True Story of the Only Soldier to Fight for Both America and the Soviet Union in World War II
by Thomas H. Taylor

NO BENDED KNEE
The Battle for Guadalcanal
by Gen. Merrill B. Twining, USMC (Ret.)

ALL THE WAY TO BERLIN
A Paratrooper at War in Europe
by James Megellas

Genres: Memoir, World War II, Military Fiction, History

239 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[T. Fowler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would rank this book as one of the better memoirs of the war in the Pacific, covering quite different campaigns than the classics like Robert Leckie's "Helmet for my Pillow." Walker describes his experiences as an officer in the 164th Infantry Regiment, a National Guard unit from North Dakota, from October 1942 to the end of the war, succinctly but with enough information to give the reader a good idea of what the war was like for him. His regiment was the first army unit to land on Guadalcanal and, within a few days, saw action in defeating a major Japanese offensive in the Battle for Henderson Field. He takes us through his experiences in the final clearing of Guadalcanal, then in the fighting on Bougainville and, finally, against the Japanese on Leyte, Cebu and Negros in the Philippines. First as a platoon leader and then as a company commander, he shows himself as a fighting leader, not hesitating to participate in difficult long-range patrols or leading attacks against difficult prepared enemy positions.

[Steve Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Walker's book is an almost good "in the trenches" account of his Army experiences fighting on Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and in the Philippines. I say "almost good" because the narrative is choppy and doesn't give any "big picture" perspective to let the reader know when and where in the Pacific these actions took place. While I already had a firm grasp of that "big picture", others might not.

I write that he was "choppy" in that he repeatedly drops a bit of intriguing information, and then never resolves it for the reader. I kept asking myself in frustration, "And THEN what happened?" It's like starting a joke and never telling the punch line before moving on to another joke. For all that, though, there are some interesting anecdotes in the book. Walker saw heavy combat, personally shooting and knifing Japanese in an utterly ruthless manner. He had some extremely close calls. There are some fascinating accounts of various raids his unit made on Japanese encampments in Bougainville. The action sequences in the Philippines are stark and bloody.

The reader learns Walker and his men were ordered to take no surrendering prisoners, a war crime that didn't seem to bother him. He's candid about the sexual indiscretions and abuse of alcohol of his men and those officers under which he served. Walker absolutely hated West Point graduates and thought much of the officer corps corrupt and/or incompetent.

It's not a good book, but it's an okay book that's worth reading if one wants to get the "Grunts eye view" of World War II.

[Nathan Sferra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written and full of powerful and thought provoking language.

[Dan McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely excellent. No fluf.