Red Blood, Black Sand: Fighting Alongside John Basilone from Boot Camp to Iwo Jima Paperback – Illustrated, May 7, 2013

Very good first hand accounts of actual battles. The first half of the book was dialogue between the soldiers while at boot camp and first getting to know each other, and once you get through that, the accounts of the battles started. I couldn’t put this book down. The writing is such that you can picture everything in your mind as if watching the battles first hand. If you like WWII history, i highly recommend this book.

This book was pretty great. I've been reading Pacific WWII memoirs for years, my Uncle served in the Pacific (he was a Seabee) and I'd put this one in the same league as "With the Old Breed" which I thought set the standard for Pacific Marines in WWII.Chuck does a great job of pulling you into the story, it's like you're bought back to 1940s America, and the stories of boot camp and training (which I normally find redundant and often tedious) are instead very entertaining. Chuck shares pranks that will make you wonder how he wasn't killed by one of the old combat veterans in his unit (one actually tries) and you find yourself so engrossed in the characters that you want to flip to the end to see who survives the war because you can't imagine these wonderful men not making it.The book starts to get serious when Chuck is designated to a machine gun squad and he meets his idol John Basilone. John becomes Chuck's sergeant and mentor and when they get separated (John's transferred to another unit) they reunite again, of all places, on the beaches of Iwo Jima where they lead the first breakout from the beach. Chuck's memories of John aren't from hearsay or observation; they're first hand experiences he shares of his time with one of America's greatest heroes.The battle of Iwo isn't described by Chuck in casualty numbers or generalities; it's a second by second play back by a man who must have it permanently inscribed in his memory. I won't say more about Iwo but after reading it I went to bed that night wondering how any human can live through what they did that day. Watching their buddies get cut down, one, by one, by one. You keep expecting it to stop, but it just keeps going.I give thanks to Chuck Tatum for reliving the war and writing this book. He says he's telling the story to honor his buddies and I think this book is an incredible tribute to them. I'm going to buy another copy (mine is kindle) and donate it to our local high school and I found some autographed copies through Valor Studios (a legit looking site I found that sells signed ones) and will get one to pass down to my kids. Men like Chuck Tatum are a dying breed and maybe if America's youth are exposed more to books like this one, rather then video games, I'll have better faith in my country's future.

This is a great book for anyone who is interested in the Second World War fought in the pacific.He has done an outstanding job of telling his story from the time he joined the marines to the end of the battle of iwo jima.His description of boot camp, the use of marine jargon brought back my memories of my boot camp days although it was in the navy and not the marines.Reading the book I could almost feel as if I was with him on Iwo as his descriptions were so vivid. I.e. the dead japanese soldier being run over by a tank, bursting and spraying disgusting body fluids on his pants leg.As I have noticed with a number of books such as this one there seems to be a lack of good editing as I noticed a few grammatical errors and incorrect information. One that really stood out for me was the mention of navy boot camp in Farragut and the reference to how cold it was in North Dakota! Farragut is in Idaho!

A first hand account from one of our greatest generations finest. Well written and easily read. I found the details of life and the exploits during boot camp to be enlightening, and it really sets the stage for the battle to come. The day-by-day account of one marine's life during one of WWII's bloodiest and hard fought battles is a testament to the resiliency of our past heroes. The struggle that was WWII is sadly being forgotten by time as those heroes' numbers dwindle. This book is a story that needs to be told and we should be thankful that it is. It should be required reading for all those interested in WWII and the life of those that lived and fought it. Unfortunately, Mr. Tatum is no longer with us. But he was thoughtful enough to leave us his story and his legacy. Sir, well done and I salute you. Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

This book is about the lives and the fight in the Pacific in wwII. It follows the U.S. Marines and It is a true look into history. Most of the men that are in this book are dead. This story was written by them, not some Hollywood dreamer. This is fact. And can be backed up by other books written by these men and the closest movie to reality, the Pacific.

This a great read. It gave an in depth background especially on boot camp and some intricacies on the Marine Corps tradition that I haven't read about in the many other similar books.One minor quibble I have-and it is minor-is that references to John Basilone are pretty sparse considering that John is in the title; however, every mention made is reverent and rightly so. It was difficult to read about John's death but the circumstances just prior makes a person wonder in awe about John's incredible leadership.It's hard for this book to measure up to Eugene Sledge's brutally realistic memoir which I just finished; indeed, that book set the benchmark. But this memoir gives a really in depth personal look at combat on Iwo at least as much as it is possible to describe it. The wonderful relationships between his platoon mates and him is described eloquently and it is so hard to read about some of their combat deaths.I recommend this book highly. It reinforces the magnificent tradition of the Marine Corps and how these men did their duty to the utmost during horrible circumstances. I read a lot of military history because it shows men at their best and their love for the man fighting beside them.

Like many who come to read this book, I had watched the HBO miniseries: "The Pacific". Having read Eugene Sledge's "With the Old Breed" and Robert Leckie's "A Helmet for my Pillow" I was looking for further reading. I had been impressed by the interviews with Chuck Tatum in the bonus features part of the DVD and thought his book was worth a look. It definitely was.The battle of Iwo Jima deserves to be better known and understood. It is mind-boggling that a small volcanic island just 8 square miles in size (21 square kms) could be the location for a major battle involved 21,000 Japanese troops and some 70,000 marines.Tatum's style is very easy to read throughout but one of the things I liked about it was the amount of time he spent at the beginning going through the process of training and preparation (about half the book). He covered that aspect, including all the practice landings and battles, a lot better than many other books. He also addressed a lot of issues that other authors don't cover, like how soldiers coped with taking care of their basic needs under combat conditions.I really appreciated his honesty in sharing his fears and feelings and, at times, owning up to some of the pranks he pulled on other soldiers which provided humour throughout the tragic tale of the book. Iwo Jima is known as the first battle fought on Japanese home soil in WW2. Claiming its airstrip was crucial for providing landings for over 2000 landings of B29 bombers. A couple intriguing facts not in the book was that America held the island until 1968. Also the last two Japanese soldiers (on this miniscule island) did not give themselves up until the beginning of 1949!A great read and really important telling of the battle which gave us the iconic image of the flag flying over Mt Suribachi.

If you have read With the old breed by E.B Sledge and Helmet for my pillow by Robert Leckie then this is a must ! it completes the trilogy of the story told by the HBO mini series The Pacific .It picks up the baton where the other books have almost finished and takes you through one of the last great battles of the pacific campaign - Iwo jima .Chuck Tatum writes from the heart and leaves no detail out, from when he first enlisted ,to hitting the beach at Iwo jima ,although he covers quite a lot about the hero John Basilone the book is a testament to all the ordinary men who did an extraodinary job - the job of heros,who then returned to the USA and tried to pick up life where they left off .This book tells their story ,by a man who has been there and done that ,and survived - Chuck Tatum ( bronze star)Well written and hard to put down !

This is a great read for anyone who has read any of the other titles by the men who fought in the pacific islands

Excellent narrative by a marine who was there.

A true story of one marine's experience of the gruesome war in the pacific theatre..Chuck went to war as an eager 17 year old and lived to tell the tale..It's hard to imagine how these young men could get through a hell on earth. Books such as this should be compulsory reading for our kids at school to appreciate the price of freedom.