Jack really wanted to be a Marine. He left home at 14 and worked his way into combat. Most of the time, it wasn't through normal channels. He ended up on the volcanic island of Iwo Jima, where he jumped on two grenades, saving three of his fellow Marines. This earned him a Medal of Honor and fame. While that initially went to his head a little, he took the responsibility of representing his fallen brothers seriously.
Jack is very honest about his life. He isn't super proud of everything that happened, but he doesn't shy away from it either. I was surprised he received his Medal of Honor around halfway through the book. But this man's life was filled with soap opera levels of drama at times.
The writing style is easy to read, and Jack's life was one I admire. He mentioned his cousin, Sam, a lot, but there wasn't really an update on him in the later parts of the book. I saw Sam in the photos, though. The other thing I felt was missing was some kind of reference to the men who were saved by Jack. They left him in the trench thinking he was dead. Did they ever check on him? Talk to him after the event?
The section of photos are after the index. I'm not sure why they were placed there, but make sure to check them out. There's a fair number of them, and they're pretty interesting. Good Book!
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