Into the Rising Sun

World War II's Pacific Veterans Reveal the Heart of Combat

By: Patrick K. O'Donnell

Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach

Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Patrick K. O'Donnell has made a career of uncovering the hidden history of World War II by tracking down and interviewing its most elite troops: the Rangers, Airborne, Marines, and First Special Service Force, forerunners to Americas's Special Forces.

These veterans were often the first in and the last out of every conflict, from Guadalcanal and Burma to the Philippines and the black sands of Iwo Jima. They faced a cruel enemy willing to try anything, including kamikaze flights and human-guided torpedoes. As O'Donnell explains in the introduction, most of the men in this book were at first reticent to talk. Over the course of the war, they had spearheaded D-Day-sized beach assaults, encountered cannibalism, suffered friendly-fire incidents, and endured torture as prisoners of war. Heroes among heroes, they include many recipients of the Navy Cross, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, and other medals of battlefield valor, but none bragged about it. As one soldier put it, "When somebody gets decorated, it's because a lot of other men died."

By telling their stories, these men present an unvarnished look at the war on the ground, a final gift from aging warriors who have already given so much. Only with such accounts can the true horror of the war in the Pacific be fully known.

©2002 Patrick K. O'Donnell (P)2002 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Those seeking the uncensored truth and a dose of military history will not be disappointed." (AudioFile)
"A superior addition to World War II oral archives." (Booklist)
"Succinct historical narratives help set the stage for these eyewitness accounts....This important work preserves these veterans' shocking and moving stories for generations to come." (Library Journal)

Good book, consistent mispronunciations by reader

Stories in book from those who went through hell, moving and shows they were the great generation.

Excellent collection of first person ww2 stories

This book has a collection of impressive ww2 stories, as told by soldiers who lived it in the Pacific theatre. The author provides context for the chapters, so that the reader/listener understands where the story took place.
My only issue is that there is no way to make sense of who is talking, author or storyteller because there are no breaks in the pace of the narrative. Too bad, this made the experience confusing.
Otherwise, great book!

The mouse clicks were annoying.

Mouse clicks can be heard as the reader “turns pages,” and it is very annoying.

Tough story to hear but masterfully done

I am so glad I added this to my queue, but I can’t say it was easy to listen to. So many war time accounts are tempered down to make it appropriate for a wider audience. This is definitely not a book for children or even for a casual reader. The book includes graphic descriptions of war-time injuries, cannibalism, mercy killings and torture. The book describes war with a very different culture with different values, ethics and practices. It also describes the effect of war on normal people put in impossible situations.

The book is intended for someone wanting or needing to get the unvarnished truth about the cost and effect of war on the men (and now women) fighting it during and after the war.

This should be required reading (or listening) for anyone considering
serving in the military and especially anyone that may send young men and women into combat. The cost goes much deeper than dollars and lives (injuries and deaths) because war changes people permanently and the government has an obligation to those affected by serving in combat.

I’m glad I listened to the book. I had to stop listening before meals and bedtime because of the graphic nature of the book. This was the most difficult book for me to read (listen), but I’m glad I took the time.

Thank you for making it available.

Great book, grating mispronunciations

It’s a great book and I actually like the overall story method of Overview-> firsthand accounts. What hurts is the narrator saying things like:
Bougain-veeo instead of Bougainville
K A B A R instead of KABAR
Aelite instead of Elite

There are some others but those are the most annoying. Anyways it’s well worth the listen, just prepare to cringe every half hour

Amazing

Gritty detail and incredible stories. The man reading out the stories has a great delivery providing some very hard tales.

A lot of repetition in storylines but that is to be expected

I think the only complaint I have with this book is no one bothered to instruct the narrator that a Navy medical person is not titled a “corpse-man”. Barry Huessan Obama had the had the same lacking of preparation. The proper pronunciation is a “corman”. The p and s are silent. Should have had a military advisor in the publishing company.

Unbelievable

My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the civilians and military personnel that experienced war. I agree with many of the reviewers with the critiques of the narrator; however, the personal stories are well worth listening to 🙏🏽

Awesome

Great insight of the Pacific Theatre. If you are interested in WW2, especially the PTO, this is a must read for you!

Great stories from the heros directly

Corpsman is pronounced"core-man" not corZ-man. A little research before you read. Otherwise it was a great story told by the heros who fought in the Pacific.