Given Up for Dead by Bill Sloan

Given Up for Dead by Bill Sloan

A gripping narrative of unprecedented valor and personal courage, here is the story of the first American battle of World War II: the battle for Wake Island. Based on firsthand accounts from long-lost survivors who have emerged to tell about it, this stirring tale of the "Alamo of the Pacific" will reverberate for generations to come.

On December 8, 1941, just five hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese planes attacked a remote U.S. outpost in the westernmost reaches of the Pacific. It was the beginning of an incredible sixteen-day fight for Wake Island, a tiny but strategically valuable dot in the ocean. Unprepared for the stunning assault, the small battalion was dangerously outnumbered and outgunned. But they compensated with a surplus of bravery and perseverance, waging an extraordinary battle against all odds.

When it was over, a few hundred American Marines, sailors, and soldiers, along with a small army of heroic civilian laborers, had repulsed enemy forces several thousand strong--but it was still not enough. Among the Marines was twenty-year-old PFC Wiley Sloman. By Christmas Day, he lay semiconscious in the sand, struck by enemy fire. Another day would pass before he was found--stripped of his rifle and his uniform. Shocked to realize he hadn't awakened to victory, Sloman wondered: Had he been given up for dead--and had the Marines simply given up?

In this riveting account, veteran journalist Bill Sloan re-creates this history-making battle, the crushing surrender, and the stories of the uncommonly gutsy men who fought it. From the civilians who served as gunmen, medics, and even preachers, to the daily grind of life on an isolated island--literally at the ends of the earth--to the agony of POW camps, here we meet our heroes and confront the enemy face-to-face, bayonet to bayonet.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780553585674
ISBN 10	0553585673
Title	Given Up for Dead
Author	Bill Sloan
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Presidio Press
Year published	2008-01-29
Number of pages	560
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.