Tanker: Boys, Men and Cowards

"With prayer, sufficient toilet paper and a lump in our throats, we proceeded with our assignment. . . to dig out, blast and bury: kill the Japs, and mop up the hell hole called the Umberbrogol." Peleliu Island in 1944 was no picnic; neither was Angaur, and the whole Palau operation cost nearly 10,000 American casualties. Startegically, it might have been optional. But for Corporal Ed Luzinas, Gunner on "Champagne", his M4 Sherman tank with the 710th Tank Battalion, there was no option. To him, going from training into action sorted out the men from the boys, and the cowards from both. . . This account pulls no punches-indeed, the author verbally hit several NCOs and ossicers. But his honest, forthright style and terse recall stir the spirit and serve as a true reminder of the stench and sounds of war. Need it happen again? memoirs like "Tanker" tell us the answer.