"Imagine strapping on a highly flammable 70-pound pack and entering combat as a surefire walking target - and you'd only begin to understand the job, and the horror, of [a] Marine Corps flamethrower man. That's precisely what Hershel "Woody" Williams did in World War II, most importantly in February 1945 on Iwo Jima, one of the Pacific War's toughest battles. A few days into the battle, Marines were fighting hard for an airfield, and his captain asked Woody if he could do anything. He responded, "I'll try" - and for the next four hours, he virtually singlehandedly took on and ultimately destroyed seven enemy pillboxes and helped secure the airfield. Accomplished military historian Bryan Mark Rigg reconstructs Williams' remarkable story, from his youth in West Virginia to his experiences on Guadalcanal, Saipan, Guam, and most significantly Iwo Jima. In Rigg's telling, Williams' Medal of Honor action is not "just" a brave deed, but one of only a few strategically significant brave deeds - one that secured a strategic objective during a major campaign. Rigg tells Williams' story vividly, and objectively, and places it in the context of the broader Pacific theater of World War II."-- Provided by publisher.

A nation rises up-events before and at the beginning of war --Growing up in West Virginia -- Outbreak of war -- Joining the Marine Corps -- Background on the Japanese military : brave soldiers and psychopathic rapists and killers -- Deployment-New Caledonia -- Guadalcanal -- The Marianas -- Japanese attack and occupation of Guam 1941-44 -- Battle for the Marianas : background and preparation -- Amphibious warfare : the Marine Corps' forte -- The attack at Saipan -- Philippine Sea Battle : "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" -- The attack at Saipan continues -- The attack at Tinian -- The liberation of Guam -- "Banzai" attacks on Guam -- Battle's end for Guam -- Events leading to Iwo Jima -- Iwo Jima landings begin -- Woody's landing on Iwo -- The pillboxes -- The attack on Iwo continues -- Battle on Iwo winds down -- Justification for Iwo Jima -- After Iwo Jima -- Receiving the Medal of Honor -- Observations about military awards and Woody's MOH -- Life after the war.