Map on endpapers. Includes bibliographical references (pages 397-415) and index.
Contents:
You're in the Army now -- Bugs, breasts, and beer! -- "We can still win" -- The mud rats -- "All is useless!" -- The long nightmare -- Mopping up -- Task force shoestring -- "What bridge?" -- The Genko line -- "You're not Marines" -- "We're going to step in it today" -- Home alive in forty-five -- The ol' gray mare.
Summary:
"The Pacific theater of World War II pitted American fighting men against two merciless enemies: the relentless Japanese army and the combined forces of monsoons, swamps, mud, privation, and disease. General Joseph Swing's rowdy paratroopers of the 11th Airborne Division--nicknamed the 'Angels'--fought in some of the war's most dramatic campaigns, from bloody skirmishes in Leyte's unforgiving rainforests to the ferocious battles on Luzon, including the hellish urban combat of Manila. The Angels were trained as elite shock troops, but high American casualties often forced them into action as ground-pounding infantrymen. Surviving on airdropped supplies and reinforcements, the Angels fought their way across nearly impassable terrain, emerging as one of the most lethal units in the Pacific War. Their final task was the occupation of Japan, where they were the first American boots on the ground. Angels Against the Sun is an unforgettable account of the liberation of the Philippines. In the tradition of Band of Brothers, historian and former paratrooper James M. Fenelon offers a grunt's-eye view of the war."-- From book jacket.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.