Fragments of War

Download or read book Fragments of War written by Bertram A. Yaffe and published by US Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A World War II marine officer who survived three major campaigns in the Pacific offers an authentic and compelling picture of tank warfare in this chronicle of his experiences. From the grueling combat in the rain forest of Bougainville to the fierce assault on Guam and the vicious struggle for Iwo Jima, Bertram Yaffe balances the realities of combat with personal reflections on the nature of humanity and courage under horrifying circumstances. With wry humor he takes us inside the mind of a young tank officer wrestling with the concept of war and his own need to square rationalism with an intuitive, sometimes mystical, view of reality. As a result, Yaffe shares with us the meditations and avenues of contemplation that helped him survive the grotesque experience of war and cope with the stress that so often follows extreme battlefield ordeals. Central to his ability to deal with these problems, we learn, were his deep feelings for his wife and the important family bonds their marriage helped restore - their Russian-Jewish grandfathers were brothers separated during the Russo-Japanese War.