Short Synopsis
Drawing extensively on personal interviews, the Marine Corps History Division's vast oral history and photographic collection, and many never-before-published sources, this book gives us a new and harrowing vision of what really happened at Peleliu—and what it meant.

Full Synopsis
One of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history, Operation Stalemate, as Peleliu was called, was overshadowed by the Normandy landings. It was also, in time, judged by most historians to have been unnecessary; though it had been conceived to protect MacArthur's flank in the Philippines, the U. S. fleet's carrier raids had eliminated Japanese airpower, rendering Peleliu irrelevant. Nevertheless, the horrifying number of casualties sustained there foreshadowed for the rest of the war: rather than fight to the death on the beach, the Japanese would now defend in depth and bleed the Americans white.

Drawing extensively on personal interviews, the Marine Corps History Division's vast oral history and photographic collection, and many never-before-published sources, this book gives us a new and harrowing vision of what really happened at Peleliu—and what it meant. Working closely with two of the 1st Regiment's battalion commanders—Ray Davis and Russ Honsowetz—Marine Corps veteran and military historian Dick Camp recreates the battle as it was experienced by the men and their officers.

"The book overall is very easy to read, with plenty of personal accounts adding the human element to what could have been a book full of dry tactics and numbers. . . . If you enjoy this period of history, this book deserves a space on your library shelf." ---IPMS

"Hastily planned by the Marines – poorly supported by the Navy - savaged by horrific loss - yet the Marine infantrymen carried the day. Last Man Standing brings you their story!" ---Andrew Lubin, author of Charlie Battery; A Marine Artillery Battery in Iraq

“Dick Camp provides an in-depth account of what happened at Peleliu . . . A detailed and moving narrative.” ---The Register-Pajaronian

"Camp’s work is a richly detailed, deeply moving story of desperate combat and of valor among comrades joined against impossible odds.” ---WWII History