{"product_id":"fifty-three-days-on-starvation-island-the-world-war-ii-battle-that-saved-marine-corps-aviation-hardcover","title":"Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island: The World War II Battle That Saved Marine Corps Aviation - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJohn R. Bruning\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe pivotal true story of the first fifty-three days of the standoff between Imperial Japanese and a handful of Marine aviators defending the Americans dug in at Guadalcanal, from the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eIndestructible\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eRace of Aces\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e On August 20, 1942, twelve Marine dive-bombers and nineteen Marine fighters landed at Guadalcanal. Their mission: defeat the Japanese navy and prevent it from sending more men and supplies to \"Starvation Island,\" as Guadalcanal was nicknamed. The Japanese were turning the remote, jungle-covered mountain in the south Solomon Islands into an air base from which they could attack the supply lines between the U.S. and Australia. The night after the Marines landed and captured the partially completed airfield, the Imperial Navy launched a surprise night attack on the Allied fleet offshore, resulting in the worst defeat the U.S. Navy suffered in the 20th century, which prompted the abandonment of the Marines on Guadalcanal. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The Marines dug in, and waited for help, as those thirty-one pilots and twelve gunners flew against the Japanese, shooting down eighty-three planes in less than two months, while the dive bombers, carried out over thirty attacks on the Japanese fleet. \u003ci\u003eFifty-Three Days on Starvation Island\u003c\/i\u003e follows Major John L. Smith, a magnetic leader who became America's top fighter ace for the time; Captain Marion Carl, the Marine Corps' first ace, and one of the few survivors of his squadron at the Battle of Midway. He would be shot down and forced to make his way back to base through twenty-five miles of Japanese-held jungle. And Major Richard Mangrum, the lawyer-turned-dive-bomber commander whose inexperienced men wrought havoc on the Japanese Navy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author John R. Bruning depicts the desperate effort to stop the Japanese long enough for America to muster reinforcements and turn the tide at Guadalcanal. Not just the story of an incredible stand on a distant jungle island, \u003ci\u003eFifty-Three Days on Starvation Island\u003c\/i\u003e also explores the consequences of victory to the men who secured it at a time when America had been at war for less than a year and its public had yet to fully understand what that meant. The home front they returned to after their jungle ordeal was a surreal montage of football games, nightclubs, fine dining with America's elites, and inside looks at dysfunctional defense industries more interested in fleecing the government than properly equipping the military. Bruning tells the story of how one battle reshaped the Marine Corps and propelled its veterans into the highest positions of power just in time to lead the service into a new war in Southeast Asia.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn R. Bruning\u003c\/b\u003e is the author or collaborating writer of the national bestseller\u003ci\u003e Indestructible, \u003c\/i\u003eas well as \u003ci\u003eOutlaw Platoon\u003c\/i\u003e written with Sean Parnell, \u003ci\u003eShadow of the Sword\u003c\/i\u003e with Jeremiah Workman, \u003ci\u003eHow to Break a Terrorist\u003c\/i\u003e with Matthew Alexander, \u003ci\u003eHouse to House \u003c\/i\u003ewith David Bellavia, \u003ci\u003eThe Devil's Sandbox, \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent \u003c\/i\u003ewith Fred Burton. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBruning is well traveled as an embedded combat correspondent. For his reporting in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense presented him with the Thomas Jefferson Award in 2010. For his work with the Oregon National Guard, he was inducted into the 162nd Infantry Regiment in September 2011 as an honorary member. John lives in Independence, Oregon, and has two children.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 528\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.6 x 9.1 x 6.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 14, 2024\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44793033687142,"sku":"9780316508650","price":42.36,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0599\/7255\/0758\/files\/VNjGUJwpZU9780316508650.webp?v=1771109545","url":"https:\/\/infinitylightwa.com\/products\/fifty-three-days-on-starvation-island-the-world-war-ii-battle-that-saved-marine-corps-aviation-hardcover","provider":"Infinity Light","version":"1.0","type":"link"}