Only the Brave

April 19, 2021
Historian and novelist Keith (The Indestructible Man) delivers a brisk and assured history of the fight for the Pacific island of Guam in WWII. Japanese forces began bombing Guam hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, and soon overran the 547 U.S. marines and sailors stationed there. During the 31-month occupation, Guamanian civilians endured forced labor, sexual assaults, and public executions as the Japanese built airfields; dug weapons emplacements, bunkers, and tunnels; and brought an estimated 20,000 combat troops to the island. By late 1943, Adm. Chester Nimitz had decided to launch major assaults on the Mariana Islands, including Guam, in order to secure a base of operations that would put the Japanese home islands within reach of U.S. bombers. American troops invaded the island in July 1944 and encountered fierce resistance from dug-in, “battle-hardened” Japanese soldiers before securing the crucial Orote Peninsula on the ninth day of fighting. Keith spotlights individual acts of bravery, including Capt. Geary Bundschu’s “desperate charge” against a fortified ridgetop bunker, and scenes of horror (Japanese soldiers committing ritual suicide), while keeping an eye on the bigger picture. This is an accessible and authoritative overview of a critical WWII campaign.