H-Hour Plus Three: The Saga of the U.S. Army Amphibious Engineers in the Pacific During World War II

H-HOUR PLUS 3: The Saga of the U.S. Army Amphibian Engineers in the Pacific During World War II is about the adventures of the men of the 534th Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment from its inception in Fort Devens, Massachusetts, in January 1943 to the occupation of Japan in the fall of 1945 (to January 1946).

The men of the 534th were trained at Fort Devens, Camp Edwards, and Washburn Island in Massachusetts and at Camp Gordon Johnston in Carrabelle, Florida (where some of us, including the author) went through a form of "Ranger Training". Overseas, some of our regiment trained in Australia. The rest of us trained in New Guinea.

Some elements of the 534th "ranger" group were used to ferret out remaining elements of the Japanese army in New Guinea. We all participated in the invasion of Morotai Island and, later, the Philippine Islands. After the surrender of Japan in the fall of 1945, we were transported to Japan as part of America's first military occupation.