Review: Diary of a Boy who Becomes a Man While Witnessing the Horrors of War
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 23, 2013
In the last few years there have been a plethora of WWII memoirs.  A few of them are beautifully written, but most are just memories, simply told, significant in their own way for being uniquely personal.  Aldrich's book details his military service from January 1944 to his honorable discharge in February of 1946.  It is written in the form of a diary, giving the everyday details of life on a navy ship.  The action picks up considerably when he describes the battles fought over Iwo Jima.  This book is a short and fascinating read, but be aware that it is full of the racial slurs that were common at the time.