Book Description

Sid Phillips knew he was a long way from his home in Mobile, AL, when he plunged into the jungles of Guadalcanal in August 1942. A mortarman with H-Company (the same company as Helmet For My Pillow author Robert Leckie), 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division, Sid was only a 17-year-old kid when he entered combat. Some two years later, when he returned home, the island fighting on Guadalcanal and Cape Gloucester had turned Sid into an "Old Timer" by Marine standards, and more; he came home a man. These are his memoirs, the humble and candid tales that Sid collected during a Pacific odyssey spanning half the globe, from the grueling boot camp at Parris Island to the coconut groves of Guadalcanal to the romantic respite of Australia. In this true story, Sid recalls his encounters with icons like Chesty Puller, Gen Vandergrift, Eleanor Roosevelt, and his boyhood friend, Eugene Sledge. He remembers a sense of helplessness as Japanese bombers and battleships rained steel on him, the brutality of the tropical elements, and the haunting notion of being expendable. This is the story of how Sid stood shoulder to shoulder with his Marine brothers to discover the inner strength and deep faith necessary to survive the dark, early days of World War II in the Pacific. Sid Phillips was born Sept 2, 1924, and enlisted in the USMC the day after Pearl Harbor because the Marines promised to put him "eyeball to eyeball" with the Japanese. He departed his land a nervous 17-year-old and, two years later, he would come home a hero. Together Sid and his brothers in the 1st Marine Division won the first epic victory of the war, saved Australia, and stopped the Japanese juggernaut in the Pacific. Today, Sid enjoys his golden years surrounded by his family. He and his sister, Katharine, have become internationally-known after their notable roles in Ken Burns' The War, and the Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg miniseries, The Pacific.