Leaving Mac Behind

This is only sort-of-new news, but I’ve gone and written a book.

Leaving Mac Behind: The Lost Marines of Guadalcanal is the product of almost three years of research. The stories of some non-recovered personnel, from incidents as infamous as the Goettge Patrol to anonymous attacks along the coast and through the jungles, are told here; so too is the simultaneous evolution of Marine Corps graves registration practices and the eventual establishment and administration of cemeteries in the Solomon Islands.

Pulitzer Prize finalist James M. Scott (author of Rampage and Target Tokyo) has this to say:

While death is the natural byproduct of war, few have ever explored the logistics of how we deal with it when the battle is over—until now. Geoffrey Roecker, in his powerful new book Leaving Mac Behind, shines an important spotlight on this grim yet vital task. Using Guadalcanal as his case point, he paints an unflinching portrait of the job faced by American mortuary teams, a job made all the more difficult by the island’s remote location, sweltering heat and swarms of insects. This book is a tribute to the herculean efforts made to bring home our heroes and give peace to their families.

For (way) more information – and, naturally, links to buy your own copy – just give a click on the cover image.