The uniquely American features of the Second World War are unforgettably inscribed through the pen of Richard Tregaskis The Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy in 1943 were bloody and pivotal, securing the Mediterranean, capitalizing on the overthrow of Mussolini, and pinning down German troops that could have been used on the Russian Front or in France after D-Day. The men who made the Allied victories in Sicily and Italy possible - soldiers and officers, bombardiers and drivers, doctors and generals - are honored and remembered in these pages by fames war correspondent Richard Tregaskis. Fresh from his memorable days in the field on the Pacific island of Guadalcanal, Tregaskis shares an intimate and rousing diary of the Sicilian and Italian campaigns. hotels left standing in devastated Palermo, Sicily, to the chaotic front lines in Italy, where he nearly died from a shrapnel wound. The gleaming ivory grips of Gen. George Patton's pistol, the terrified face of a soldier engulfed by the hellfire of combat, the extraordinary skill of a military surgeon - the uniquely American features of the Second World War are unforgettably inscribed through the pen of Richard Tregaskis.

Using photos, maps, charts and extensive travel throughout Vietnam, Tregaskis covered every major port, airfield, bridge, building, hospital, & storage facility engineered & constructed in Vietnam by the United States Navy SEABEES and other military engineers and American civilian engineers (1962-1972). He weaves this story, of one of the largest war-time construction efforts in history, through the backdrop of the major battles of the war and its political intrigues.

From the bestselling author of Guadalcanal Diary: The thrilling true story of the future president’s astonishing act of heroism during World War II. In the early morning hours of August 2, 1943, US Navy motor torpedo boat PT-109 patrolled the still, black waters of Blackett Strait in the Solomon Islands. Suddenly, the Japanese destroyer Amagiri loomed out of the darkness, bearing directly down on the smaller ship. There was no time to get out of the way—the destroyer crashed into PT-109, slicing the mosquito boat in two and setting the shark-infested waters aflame with burning gasoline. Ten surviving crewmembers and their young skipper clung to the wreckage, their odds of survival growing slimmer by the instant.   Lt. John F. Kennedy’s first command was an unqualified disaster. Yet over the next three days, the privileged son of a Boston multimillionaire displayed extraordinary courage, stamina, and leadership as he risked his life to shepherd his crew to safety and coordinate a daring rescue mission deep in enemy territory. Lieutenant Kennedy earned a Navy and Marine Corps Medal and a Purple Heart, and the story of PT-109 captured the public’s imagination and helped propel the battle-tested veteran all the way to the White House.   Acclaimed war correspondent Richard Tregaskis—who once beat out the future president for a spot on the Harvard University swim team—brings this remarkable chapter in American history to vivid life in John F. Kennedy and PT-109. From the crucial role torpedo boats played in the fight for the Solomon Islands to Kennedy’s eager return to the front lines at the helm of PT-59, Tregaskis tells the full story of this legendary incident with the same riveting style and meticulous attention to detail he brought to Guadalcanal Diary and Invasion Diary.