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Summary:

"Dirty Eddie's War is the true account of the war-time experiences of Harry Andrew March, Jr., captured by way of diary entries addressed to his beloved wife, Elsa. Nicknamed 'Dirty Eddie' by his comrades, he served as a member of four squadrons operating in the South Pacific, frequently under difficult and perilous conditions. Flying initially from aircraft carriers covering the landings at Guadalcanal in August 1942, he was one of the first pilots in the air over the island and then later based at Henderson Field with the 'Cactus Air Force'. When he returned to combat at Bougainville and the 'Hot Box' of Rabaul, the exploits of the new Corsair squadron Fighting Seventeen became legendary. Disregarding official regulations, March kept an unauthorized diary recording life onboard aircraft carriers, the brutal campaign and primitive living conditions on Guadalcanal, and the shattering loss of close friends and comrades. He captures the intensity of combat operations over Rabaul and the stresses of overwhelming enemy aerial opposition. Lee Cook presents Dirty Eddie's story through genuine extracts from his diary supplemented with contextual narrative on the war effort. It reveals the personal account of a pilot's innermost thoughts, both of the action he saw, the effects of his harrowing experiences, and his longing to be reunited with the love of his life back home."-- [Provided by publisher]

Table of Contents:

• List of illustrations
• Foreword / by William "Country" Landreth
• Introduction
• Acknowledgments
• Timeline
• Prologue: Living the dash
• A date which will live in infamy
• I got one of 'em!
• Torpedoed!
• "Dirty Eddie"
• This war is really hell
• Never have so few been dumped on by so many
• A young man of action
• Unbearable, we just want to get the Hell out
• Fighting Seventeen
• The boys tasted blood
• He exploded right in my face
• I do not know what is in store for me
• Beards don't go so well down in Sydney!
• The rains came

• The hunters became the hunted
• Where are they?
• Coming home - I want to surprise you!
• Instructing the "nuggets"
• Epilogue
• Appendix 1: Harry March victory credits and citations
• Appendix 2: Biographies of "Dirty Eddie's" Guadalcanal buddies
• Endnotes
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index.

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Author/Creator:

Cook, Lee , author

Contributors:

Landreth, William , writer of foreword

University of North Texas Press

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

Dirty Eddie's war: based on the World War II diary of Harry "Dirty Eddie" March, Jr., Pacific fighter ace [by Cook, L.]

Related Series:

North Texas military biography and memoir series; no. 20

Subjects:

March, Harry Andrew, Jr., 1919-1946 — Diaries

United States Navy — Fighting Squadron VF-17 — Biography

Fighter pilots — United States — Diaries

World War, 1939-1945 — Campaigns — Pacific Ocean

World War, 1939-1945 — Aerial operations, American

Guadalcanal, Battle of, Solomon Islands, 1942-1943 — Personal narratives, American

United States Navy — Fighting Squadron VF-17

United States Navy

World War (1939-1945)

Battle of Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands : 1942-1943)

1939-1945

Fighter pilots

Military campaigns

United States

Solomon Islands

Pacific Ocean

Genres:

Biographies

Personal narratives — American

Diaries

General Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 303-304) and index.
Special Collection's copy: bound in publisher's white paper-covered boards with silver spine titles. Retains original illustrated dust jacket.

Physical Description:

xxx, 320 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Physical Characteristics:

map; illustration

Call Numbers:

D767.9 .C65 2021

ISBNs:

9781574418415 (cloth)
1574418416 (cloth)
9781574418514 (ebook) [Invalid]

Library of Congress Control Numbers:

2021017334

OCLC Numbers:

1246676086