During the course of his thirty-four year career in the Marine Corps Colonel Preston held a number of commanding officer billets, starting as a platoon and company commander in Vietnam. Later, he commanded the 4th Reconnaissance Battalion to and the 25th Marine Infantry Regiment Together they raised four sons, and they have six grandchildren. Would you like to tell us about a lower price? If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?
It was the first and only time during combat operations in the Pacific theater that an Army Air Force unit would land with U. Marine assault elements across a hostile beach. They possessed few of the combat skills Marine infantrymen would have had. They weren't trained to close with and destroy an enemy through close combat.
They were specialists, trained in skills totally alien to the Marine "grunts" swarming ashore. Their skills, however, were critical to the successful execution and completion of Operation Detachment code name for the island and battle destined to become legendary in the history of World War II.
Red beach was one of the black sand beaches on the eastern shore of the island named - Iwo Jima. Their story could have been lost to history except for the tenacity of a few of the units veterans and their descendants.
It's the account of a group of men who could accomplish almost anything asked of them. They were part of a generation of Americans whose self-sacrifice, courage, and love of country set them apart from every other generation. These men were members of the generation that saved civilization as we know it, "The Greatest Generation," and they are nearly all gone now. Fortunately, their story survives and should serve as an inspiration to those generations of Americans who follow after them.
