Peter Margaritis
In the late spring of 2015, I decided to enter a U.S. Naval Institute 3,000-word-essay contest. The subject was to be any noteworthy U.S. Marine Corps event that had significantly changed American history. This would be a challenge for me, because for over 30 years, although my research specialty has been World War II, I had mainly studied and written about the European Theater. So I was getting into somewhat unfamiliar ground.
I talked to a couple of American Legion cohorts that were Marine veterans, and their consensus was that I do the essay contest about the controversial invasion of Peleliu in September, 1944. A navy buddy of mine suggested that I should consult with an old World War II Marine veteran who lived here in Central Ohio, a fellow named George Peto. He was one of what they called the “Old Breed” and had actually been on the Peleliu operation.
I first met with George on June 24, 2015 in a Bob Evans restaurant, not too far from his home on the north side of Columbus. George and I quickly struck up a friendship, and I invited him to co-write the essay with me. We thought that we would make a good team, since I was an experienced writer and researcher, and George had not only actually been there in the thick of it, but had a remarkable memory about his experiences. And as everyone who met him knows, he enjoyed retelling them.
Our essay unfortunately did not win the contest, so George and I decided to expand our work and turn what we had written into a book. As we continued our research though, and as he told me more about his past, I listened, fascinated, marveling at his consistent, detailed memory of remarkable things that had happened to him many decades ago. I finally realized that a much better book to write would be about his life. I wanted to—I had to write about him, to preserve his memories for everyone, especially his daughter Nancy, his son George Lee, and his friends. He good-naturedly agreed, and so we were off.
One thing I found amazing was that despite the fact that he was 92 years old when I began interviewing him, George’s stories did not vary much from one telling to the next (except perhaps for some added detail), and sometimes certain phrases were almost word for word. Another reassuring item was that his accounts on certain events were nearly always backed up by subsequent research on my part.
This book is the result. It includes George’s exploits as a young boy, growing up in a very interesting, long-past period in American history. It follows him in his early career in the Marines, his intensive Pacific campaigns, and his interesting life after the war. I definitely have never met a man who has had as exciting a life as his. And I learned so much from him and our research about war in the Pacific.
There are points in the narrative where I have slightly dramatized his memories to give them more depth and to help give his story continuity. They are, however, all backed up by extensive research. And the stories are all absolutely true, written as he told them.
I would like to thank a couple people for helping us in our endeavor. To Steve Ebersole for his encouragement, and for putting me in touch with this amazing Marine. My heartfelt appreciation to son George Lee Peto, for encouraging his father to undertake this project, and to daughter Nancy Peto for her wonderful support. Last, my deep gratitude to my loving wife Mindy, who put up with my weird, idiosyncratic behavior during this time.
Peter Margaritis