"For the men who served in America's amphibious forces during World War II, the conflict was an unceasing series of D-Days. More than 200 landings were made across every theatre, most against well entrenched enemy positions. "Bloodstained sands" tells the story of these forgotten men for the first time, tracing their operational history from Guadacanal to Casablanca, Sicily, Normandy, Iwo Jima, and finally Okinawa. First-hand interviews, entries from personal diaries and after action reports tell timeless tales of determination, sacrifice and triumph of the human spirit -- tales of U.S. amphibious forces that for too long have gone untold." -- From the back cover.