This Hemisphere of Hell

The 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, in the Pacific War

Geoffrey W. Roecker

• Publisher: Casemate
• Year: 2026
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781636246642
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

"This account of the 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, in World War II is a long-overdue and most welcome addition to the great writings of the war in the Pacific and now takes its rightful place in the illustrious battle line history of the Corps." — Justin Lehew, Sergeant Major, USMC

From “the land that God forgot” to “Hell with the fire out,” the men of First Battalion, 24th Marines saw the worst of the Pacific war. They endured four major Pacific campaigns in thirteen months—from their baptism of fire at Namur, through the bloody hills of Saipan and the burning cane fields of Tinian, to the hell of Iwo Jima where more than half their number became casualties. If not for the atomic bomb, they would have been fated to lead the assault to recapture Wake Island.

Their history is more than deployment dates and casualty figures: it is the experiences of individual Marines, both before and after the war, that bring the battalion to life. College students and high school dropouts, lawyers and CCC workers, football stars and teenage runaways served side by side: some developed into Marine Corps legends, some betrayed their comrades, and some died before having a chance to truly live. They were photographed by W. Eugene Smith for LIFE Magazine, filmed by Hollywood for Guadalcanal Diary, and profiled in newspapers. After the war they became career Marines, doctors, professors, politicians, family men, alcoholics, recluses, and criminals; their legacies encompass heroism, perseverance, loss, anger, and acceptance—the full spectrum of human experience.

This immersive account of their experiences pairs previously unpublished personal accounts with meticulous research in an intensely detailed, foxhole-eye view of the Pacific War from a new perspective.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half-Title Page
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Prologue: He Was a Marine
• Author’s Note
• 1 The End of the World That We Knew: From Civilians to Volunteers
• 2 The Land That God Forgot: Parris Island
• 3 Difficult as the Devil: Officer Training, 1941–1942
• 4 Spanish Moss and Black Water: New River, North Carolina
• 5 This Really Is a Rugged Life: Camp Pendleton, California
• 6 Not Afraid of Pain or Death: Operation Flintlock—Roi-Namur
• 7 The Wrong Ballgame: Namur, February 1–2, 1944
• 8 Touched by War: Occupation Duty, February 3–11, 1944
• 9 Prizefighter’s Training Camp: Camp Maui, February–May 1944
• 10 No One Thought of Failure: Operation Forager—Saipan
• 11 War at Its Grimmest: Saipan, June 16–July 1, 1944
• 12 The Marpi Point Marathon: Saipan, July 2–July 13, 1944
• 13 Here We Go Again: Operation Forager—Tinian
• 14 A Very Simple Formula: Preparing for 1945
• 15 Another Rock to Be Taken: Operation Detachment—Iwo Jima
• 16 Hell with the Fire Out: Iwo Jima—February 20–28, 1945
• 17 Meat Grinder: Iwo Jima—March 1–8, 1945
• 18 The End of the Rope: Iwo Jima—March 9–18, 1945
• 19 The Last Summer: April–October 1945
• 20 The Grand Stream of History: Life After War
• Epilogue: MuMu
• Appendix A: Narrators
• Appendix B: Gyrene Speak
• Appendix C: Decorations
• Appendix D: Taps
• Endnotes
• Bibliography
• Index