Islands of the Damned cover art

Islands of the Damned

A Marine at War in the Pacific

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Islands of the Damned

By: R. V. Burgin, Bill Marvel
Narrated by: Sean Runnette
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About this listen

This is an eyewitness - and eye-opening - account of some of the most savage and brutal fighting in the war against Japan, told from the perspective of a young Texan who volunteered for the Marine Corps to escape a life as a traveling salesman.

R. V. Burgin enlisted at the age of 20 and, with his sharp intelligence and earnest work ethic, climbed the ranks from a green private to a seasoned sergeant. Along the way, he shouldered a rifle as a member of a mortar squad. He saw friends die and enemies killed. He saw scenes he wanted to forget but never did - from enemy snipers who tied themselves to branches in the highest trees, to ambushes along narrow jungle trails, to the abandoned corpses of hara kiri victims, to the final howling banzai attacks as the Japanese embraced their inevitable defeat.

An unforgettable narrative of a young Marine in combat, Islands of the Damned brings to life the hell that was the Pacific War.

©2010 R.V. Burgin and William Marvel (P)2010 Tantor Military Military & War World War II Veteran War Pacific War
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I loved this detailed account of horror & bravery in the furnaces of the pacific. Brilliant, enthralling, terrifying & fascinating.

Outstanding

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Though too short! Well worth the listen but would have liked it a bit longer, lots of things skimmed over

Regardless, fantastic listen

Great

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R. V Burgins account of his war in the pacific is a terrific read. It is really well written and very detailed in his recollections of the fighting, his fellow marines and of the enemy they faced. The pacific campaign was one of many horrors, brutal fighting, an unrelenting enemy and fighting in terrible conditions of heat, humidity, dense foliage and disease. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really liked reading Burgins perspective of some of the battles I have read about in other books. I think this is a really well captured personal account. I’ll definitely be coming back to listen to this one again. A great book!

A great personal account of a Marine in the Pacific.

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Great to hear a bit more about Peleliu. Also pleased he loved Australia and ended up happily married to an Aussie girl. Hard to believe what they survived and go back to a relatively normal life. Will listen to again.

Amazing

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