By Patrick K. O’Donnell, Da Capo Press, $26.00, 261 pages
The Korean War couldn’t have come at a worse time. Not yet recovered from WWII, the exhausted United States military had mere weeks to transform boys who hadn’t even made it to boot camp into proper soldiers. In Give Me Tomorrow: The Korean War’s Greatest Untold Story – The Epic Stand of the Marines of George Company, military historian and author Patrick O’Donnell relates the personal recollections of the men who were there.
O’Donnell writes about the collective experiences of the men of George Company, while highlighting many of the key characters. This book brings to life the camaraderie shared between these men, and the gritty realities of combat that cemented their bond. Inexperienced, greatly outnumbered and fighting the enemy in sub-zero temperatures, these unsettling factors make their commitment to victory all the more outstanding.
The war in Korea is often called the Forgotten War. In honoring the boys who became men under the most harrowing conditions, the author chips away at that epithet and ensures that the valor of the men of George Company is preserved for the next generations.
Reviewed by Alicea Swett