Combat Officer

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 heroism: 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 II:

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

From the Paperback edition.