Read more
Zusatztext “Vivid and powerful.”—Adam Makos! New York Times bestselling author of A Higher Call “A story of courage in the face of fear! intense fighting despite overwhelming odds! and brotherhood in the midst of horrific warfare.”—Marcus Brotherton! author of Voices of the Pacific “Epic yet excruciatingly personal! riveting! and authentic in every detail.”—Steven Pressfield! bestselling author of The Profession Informationen zum Autor Marlin Groft, Larry Alexander Klappentext On the island of Guadalcanal, a 2,000-yard-long ridge rose from the jungle canopy. Behind it lay the air base of Henderson Field. And if Henderson Field fell, it would mean the almost certain death or capture of all 12,500 Marines on the island . . . Positioned on the ridge were the hard-fighting men of Edson's Raiders of the 1st Marine Raider Battalion. They were the United States Marine Corps' best of the best, and they knew defeat and retreat were simply not options. For two hellish nights in September 1942, about 840 Marines—commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Merritt Austin "Red Mike” Edson—fought one of the most pivotal battles of World War II in the Pacific, clinging desperately to their position on what would soon be known as Bloody Ridge. Bloody Ridge and Beyond is the story of how these men showed courage and valor in the face of overwhelming numbers, as told by Marlin Groft, a man who was a member of this incredible fighting force. Includes photographs PREFACE QUANTICO, VIRGINIA AUGUST 6, 1989 On the warm, sunny Sunday morning of August 6, 1989, I and a number of my colleagues of the 1st Raider Battalion, the famed Edson’s Raiders, stood on the grounds of the Marine base at Quantico, Virginia, not to train for war as we had done forty-seven years prior, but to remember our departed brethren and our Raider legacy. We had returned to where it all began for the Raiders in order to dedicate a memorial as part of the Quantico National Cemetery. I am more than a little proud of the fact that the idea for the memorial had been first floated by me six years earlier during the funeral of Ben Howland, who had been something of a legend in the Raiders. A tenured professor of landscape architecture at the University of Virginia after the war, Ben had become both a teacher and mentor to my son Eric, who was studying at the university’s School of Architecture. At the reception following Ben’s death, several Raiders commented that Ben had not been buried at Arlington, but rather was interred at the Quantico cemetery, which, we noted, incorporated some of the very ground we had trained on in 1942. Would it not be appropriate, I mused, if a memorial to the Raiders would be erected on the site? Coincidentally that summer, Eric had an internship as a student landscape architect with the Veterans’ Administration’s National Cemetery Service. The Quantico National Cemetery had just recently been opened and was being viewed as a “replacement” cemetery for Arlington. In his capacity as a landscape architect, Eric embraced the idea of the memorial, which we envisioned as being placed alongside a memorial path through the woods. The idea took wing and over the following year, a memorial committee was formed. Eric donated his time to work on concepts and ideas that were presented at the annual Raider Reunion in February 1984. Since our reunions were held at Quantico, we walked the memorial trail. Getting the needed approvals proved somewhat frustrating, with government bureaucracy being notoriously slow. Plus we had to raise funds, although after all this time, I no longer recall how much we needed. Finally, it all came together. Eric’s plan called for the creation of a small parklike setting shaded by towering oak trees and partially enclosed by a low stone wall. A path weaves through a series of low gran...
