Iwo Jima's Battlefield Promise: Two University of North Carolina "Tar Heel" Marines Meet on Iwo JIma in 1945 - Paperback

by Charles A. Jones (Author)

In this meticulously and exhaustively researched definitive book about the Battle of Iwo Jima, Colonel Charles A. Jones, US Marine Corps Reserve (Retired), honors the men fighting one of history's most brutal battles. Jones provides a new perspective of the battle while focusing throughout on a personal encounter: two "Tar Heel" Marines meeting on Iwo by chance and making a solemn "battlefield promise" to meet after the war for a drink to celebrate their survival.

Like Jones himself, both Major James Scales and Captain Edward Stephenson were "Tar Heels," meaning natives of North Carolina. Scales and Stephenson were from different small towns in North Carolina but had much in common. Each had survived different Pacific battles before meeting, but neither could be sure he would survive combat on Iwo, where so many officers died. If they survived, the two could honor the promise they made to meet after the war for a drink. Would Fate allow them to keep their "solemn vow" or would it kill one or both Marines, making their vow meaningless?

Jones uses the story of Scales, Stephenson, and their fellow Marines as background for a unique account of the battle and its devastating impact on combatants and their families alike.

Author Biography

Colonel Charles A. Jones, US Marine Corps Reserve (Retired), has been researching the Battle of Iwo Jima since 1995, when he visited Iwo for the fiftieth anniversary of the battle. That trip inspired him to explore the battle and the men who fought it.

Jones spent thirty years as a Marine, retiring in 2011 as a colonel. While a Marine, he served as a military lawyer and continues to maintain his North Carolina law license. He is also the author of two books: one about Hawaii's World War II military sites and the other about the Medals of Honor awarded for actions in the Hawaiian Islands during World War II. His articles have been featured in many publications, including AIR FORCE Magazine and the Marine Corps Times.

Jones is a Third Degree Mason in Greensboro Masonic Lodge 76 and lives in his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina.