On the Canal
Subtitle: the Marines of L-3-5 on Guadalcanal, 1942
By: Ore J. Marion with Thomas Cuddihy and Edward Cuddihy.
Contributors: Cuddihy, Thomas.; Cuddihy, Edward.
Edition: 1st ed.
Series: Stackpole Military history series
Publisher: Stackpole Books
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Mechanicsburg, PA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 314
Subjects: Marion, Ore J.; United States. Marine Corps. Regiment, 5th. Battalion, 3rd. Company L.; Guadalcanal, Battle of, Solomon Islands, 1942-1943.; World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American.; World War, 1939-1945 -- Regimental histories -- United States.; Marines -- United States -- Biography.
Genres: Personal narratives, American.; Biography.
Description: A straightforward, gripping tale from the Marines that stormed ashore on Guadalcanal in World War II. Told with humor and honesty in a no-holds-barred approach that only a Marine who was there could tell. Excerpt on firing a rifle grenade: "I jammed the rifle stock tight against my shoulder, raised myself up off the ground to a kneeling position, and squeezed the trigger. The rifle went bang! And the recoil jarred it loose from my grip. The rifle smacked me hard in the jaw. With that, I went down on my face while the little bluebirds started going tweet, tweet, tweet around my head. 'Did I hit it?' I asked. 'Yeah, you hit it, ' Flash said. 'The thing just didn't work. 'We finally ran into somebody from another unit, a guy who really understood how the new style grenade was supposed to work. We explained our misfortune to him, and he asked us did you pull the firing pin out!"
Notes: Includes index.