Fragments of war
Subtitle: a marine's personal journey
By: Bertram A. Yaffe.
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Published: 1999
Place of publication: Annaplois, Md
Language: eng
Number of pages: 157
Subjects: Yaffe, Bertram A., 1920-; United States. Marine Corps -- Biography.; World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Pacific Area.; World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American.; Soldiers -- United States -- Biography.
Description: A World War II marine officer who survived three major campaigns in the Pacific offers an authentic and compelling picture of tank warfare in this chronicle of his experiences. From the grueling combat in the rain forest of Bougainville to the fierce assault on Guam and the vicious struggle for Iwo Jima, Bertram Yaffe balances the realities of combat with personal reflections on the nature of humanity and courage under horrifying circumstances.

With wry humor he takes us inside the mind of a young tank officer wrestling with the concept of war and his own need to square rationalism with an intuitive, sometimes mystical, view of reality. As a result, Yaffe shares with us the meditations and avenues of contemplation that helped him survive the grotesque experience of war and cope with the stress that so often follows extreme battlefield ordeals.

Central to his ability to deal with these problems, we learn, were his deep feelings for his wife and the important family bonds their marriage helped restore - their Russian-Jewish grandfathers were brothers separated during the Russo-Japanese War.
Notes: Includes index