Richard Tregaskis

Reporting Under Fire from Guadalcanal to Vietnam

By: Ray E. Boomhower

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

In the late summer of 1942, more than 10,000 members of the First Marine Division held a tenuous toehold on the Pacific island of Guadalcanal. As American marines battled Japanese forces for control of the island, they were joined by war correspondent Richard Tregaskis. Only one of two civilian reporters to land and stay with the marines, Tregaskis’ notebook captured the daily and nightly terrors faced by American forces in one of World War II’s most legendary battles - and it served as the premise for his best-selling book Guadalcanal Diary.

One of the most distinguished combat reporters to cover World War II, Tregaskis later reported on Cold War conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. In 1964 the Overseas Press Club recognized his first-person reporting under hazardous circumstances by awarding him its George Polk Award for his book Vietnam Diary. Boomhower’s riveting book is the first to tell Tregaskis’ gripping life story, concentrating on his intrepid reporting experiences during World War II and his fascination with war and its effect on the men who fought it.

©2021 by Ray E. Boomhower (P)2021 by Blackstone Publishing

A Great Read

Great recap of the action during the South Pacific War. Tredraskis has to be one of the best story teller this nation has produced.

Amazing life

The life of Richard Tregaskis was one incredible roller coaster. His time as a war correspondent during WWII was like a soldier in combat. The injuries he sustained were horrific. But he went back out over an over again. Honestly the book would have been even better has it just accounted for this time. His shrapnel wound, combined with his secret diabetes battle, which was more than life threatening at the time, makes for seriously page turning material. Tregaskis was a of the greatest generation and it showed. What a great read. And Grover Gardner is the best narrator for the work.