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  No moment in American military history is more deeply stamped into our national memory than the flag-raising that marked the capture by U.S. Marines of Mount Suribachi, on the tiny Pacific island of Iwo Jima, in February 1945. The famous photograph of that moment, widely reproduced in magazines, books, films, and statuary, has for nearly two-thirds of a century stood as the quintessential symbol of American patriotism and Marine valor. This is as it should be. The gallantry of the small band of Marines who first made it to the top and raised the flag was undeniably crucial to the success of the invasion.

  But that moment, which took place on the fourth day after the initial landing, was far from the end of the battle. It would take another month of fierce fighting, covering 5,000 rocky acres and claiming the lives of 17,000 more Japanese soldiers and 6,000 more Marines, before full victory was achieved. The capture of Suribachi, militarily and psychologically important as it was, was only the end of the beginning.

  This book combines narratives by two Marines who landed on the beaches on the first day of the invasion and took part in the grinding combat to the bitter end. These two men lived through the most intense weeks of their lives within a mile of each other, but never knew of each other's existence until this book began to take shape. Each writes vividly and memorably about achievements they can be proud of and traumatic experiences that made them into different men than they would have been without the war.

Book: Softbound

Copyright: 2011

ISBN-13: 9780982795545

Number of pages: 338

Published: February 2011

About the Authors:

Review in the Marine Corps Gazette January 2012; written by Andrew Lubin, distinguished journalist and author of Charlie Battery: A Marine Artillery Battery in Iraq (L&R Publishing, 2004)

Click here to read

  "From the Volcano to the Gorge” presents two very different memories -- and their aftermath -- in one gripping volume.  The contrast between the injuries, both emotional and physical, that this gruesome battle inflicted on both McLaughlin and Miller is striking:  both emerged as changed men, and each graphically reminds us, in his own unique way, of the horrors we so readily inflict on one another.  These men, and their many fallen friends, truly got the job done on Iwo Jima, just as others today are getting it done in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.  Can it ever end?

~ Nils Peter Mickelson  (USN Vietnam veteran)

  Some years ago there was a radio program that presented dramatic recreations of historic events designed to put the listener in the middle of the action. The announcer would open with a date and brief description of the event to set the stage. The introduction to the program would end with the words, “It is (enter the date) and you are there.” That is exactly the feeling I had reading “From the Volcano to the Gorge”. It seemed that I was there with the two marines whose memoirs of their time in hell fill the pages of this book. This is not a polished, novel-like work or a detailed study of unit positions and movements throughout the campaign. It is a down-to-earth, this is the way it was for me book that puts you in the sand on the beach and behind your own protective rock wall as you work your way from the landing site to the gorge, the enemy’s final redoubt. This is what it was like; this is what these young men and thousands like them saw, and how they felt as they just “did their job” on Iwo Jima.

~ Lawrence H. Douglas, PhD

   Captain, USN (ret)

  A fascinating journey into the minds of two obscure U.S Marines who showed unbelievable courage as they suddenly found themselves immersed in unthinkable battle conditions that lasted well beyond the raising of the U.S. flag on the island of Iwo Jima. These two Marines vividly recount, with candor, the horrors of war that are indelibly etched forever in their individual memories. They tell their stories, with language and details that shock the senses but enable the reader to appreciate what these two heroes, and their many fallen comrades, sacrificed to keep our country free.

 ~ Ernie Gray (former Navy Seabee)

  It was a most interesting book to read and share the experience of two Marines at the battle for Iwo Jima. An experience they would not want to repeat and making me grateful that I was not there. Their experiences were so similar, but separate. One can but envy how they re-adjusted to occupation duty and the return to civilian life.

~Hal Edwin (Retired US Army Corps of Engineers; Civilian Mining Engineer)

  This is an important book and relevant for our time. The memoirs are well-written accounts of the two fighters on Iwo Jima. They are gripping and absorbing in their tales of personal combat, endurance, Marine training, organization, and policy, fear, courage, and the practicalities of battle. We look into emotions and day-to-day life as these are caught-up in a horrific and interminable battle. Here's a look at war, which we civilians can only imagine, while sending our youth to America's two present-day wars. As personal accounts of the training, fighting, and surviving, the book is a page-turner, even for a non-veteran.
  The book answers the question: why should we be interested in a battle that occurred sixty-six years ago; one among hundreds that demanded courage, resourcefulness, and sacrifice? The answer: for many combatants the war is not over. This was a seminal battle, not just any battle. We get a priceless look at the necessity of training, of brotherhood, of esprit de corps, of teamwork, and individual perseverance that makes American fighters exceptional.
   What does this book add to the many that have already been published about Iwo Jima, the fiercest battle of WW II? I have read many books about the battle, and none is complete. Each account offers something new, including important details, but inevitably leaves something out that another story fills in. You don't know this until you read a few books and hope to gain insight into the minds, challenges and after-effects on men (and now women) in war.
   This book contributes immeasurably to that understanding. I recommend it highly.

~ Paul Selbst, Philadelphia, PA