Only the Brave

July 1944--The Epic Battle for Guam

By: Don Keith

Narrated by: Steven Kearney

For Dutton Caliber's American War Heroes series, a World War II narrative on the American liberation of Guam in 1944, focusing on the twenty days of intense combat as the Marine Corps took the island back from the Japanese.

On July 21, 1944, a US Marine division landed on the beaches of Guam, a once sleepy island in the Pacific that had been seized from the Americans by the Japanese in the hours after Pearl Harbor. The Japanese would not be giving Guam up easily. The large enemy force defended the island viciously, punching holes through the American lines, attacking from the flanks, and eventually resorting to banzai suicide attacks. The fighting was bloody and brutal, every bit as deadly as Iwo Jima or Okinawa would be. Now, acclaimed author Don Keith offers up a compelling account of one of the toughest fights of the Pacific War, a battle that led to ten thousand American casualties and four Medals of Honor.

Only the Bravest

Wow. This book reads like a high impact thriller. It gives the backstory of the Japanese takeover of Guam starting after Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The people on Guam knew they would be rescued soon, but that rescue didn’t come until July 1944 and at a horrific cost.

The entire Pacific theatre was a long nightmare and the horror is hard to imagine even after hearing the stories over and over again. This is a must read and Steven Kearney’s narration is perfection. Thank you Audible for providing this series.