Table of Contents Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Introduction CHAPTER - Guam, July 1944: Amphibious Combat Against a Self-Destructive Enemy CHAPTER - Peleliu, September 1944: Amphibious Combat Against a Clever, CHAPTER - Aachen, 1944: Knocking ’Em All Down on a Politically Unrestrained CHAPTER - Scenes from the Northern Shoulder of the Bulge: Men Against Tanks CHAPTER - Operation Masher/White Wing: Air Mobility, Attrition, and the CHAPTER - Counterinsurgency from the Barrel of a Gun: The Marine Combined CHAPTER - Attrition and the Tears of Autumn: Dak To, November 1967 CHAPTER - Eleven Mikes and Eleven Bravos: Infantry Moments in the Ultimate Techno-War CHAPTER - Grunts in the City: Urban Combat and Politics—Fallujah, 2004 CHAPTER 10 - “Watch Out for IEDs!” Twenty-First-Century Counterinsurgent EPILOGUE Acknowledgements BIBLIOGRAPHY ENDNOTES INDEX Also by John C McManus American Courage, American Carnage: The 7th Infantry Regiment’s Combat Experience, 1812 Through World War II The 7th Infantry Regiment: Combat in an Age of Terror, the Korean War Through the Present U.S Military History for Dummies Alamo in the Ardennes: The Untold Story of the American Soldiers Who Made the Defense of Bastogne Possible The Americans at Normandy: The Summer of 1944—The American War from the Normandy Beaches to Falaise The Americans at D-Day: The American Experience at the Normandy Invasion Deadly Sky: The American Combat Airman in World War II The Deadly Brotherhood: The American Combat Soldier in World War II NAL CALIBER Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England First published by NAL Caliber, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc First Printing, August 2010 Copyright © John C McManus, 2010 Maps on pages 105, 131, 179, 243, 314, 340, 411, and 426 copyright © Rick Britton, 2010 All rights reserved NAL CALIBER and the “C” logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA: McManus, John C., 1965Grunts: inside the American infantry combat experience, World War II through Iraq/John C McManus p cm Includes bibliographical references and index eISBN : 978-1-101-18917-7 United States Army Infantry—History—20th century United States Army Infantry—History—21st century United States Marine Corps—History—20th century United States Marine Corps—History—21st century Combat—History—20th century Combat—History—21st century I Title UA28.M39 2010 356’.1140973—dc22 2010009828 Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book PUBLISHER’S NOTE While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication Further, publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated http://us.penguingroup.com To Michael and Mary Jane McManus, who made all of this possible To Charles W Johnson, who taught and led like a great general To the infantry sergeants, lieutenants and captains of multiple generations who paid in blood, tears and anguish to teach us the lessons we all should heed ... circles Inside these planes, trained observers radioed target information back to the ships, enhancing the accuracy of the naval gunfire Watching this grand spectacle from their landing craft, the. .. flies crawling up the side of the living room wall [They] slowly pulled themselves up the cliff, clinging to scrub growth, resting in crevices, sweating profusely in the broiling tropical sun.”... Possible The Americans at Normandy: The Summer of 1944 The American War from the Normandy Beaches to Falaise The Americans at D-Day: The American Experience at the Normandy Invasion Deadly Sky: The American