One Marine’s War A Combat Interpreter’s Quest of Humanity in the Pacific

One Marine’s War A Combat Interpreter’s Quest of Humanity in the Pacific

By Gerald A Meehl 9781612510927 Naval Institute Press 2012

Growing up in Shanghai in the 1930s, Mr Sheeks had an opportunity to develop a familiarity with Asiatic languages. Studying at Harvard at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, Sheeks was quickly recruited by the US Navy for language translation duty in the Pacific for the US Marine Corps. Extensive training in the Japanese language followed in California and Colorado before leading to active duty in the invasions of Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian.

The book certainly educates the reader on the heretofore little known work of the translators during combat operations and behind the front lines.  A worthy addition to the historical record of the war against Japan in the Pacific and is recommended.