Indeed. Just read about the Battle of Tarawa last evening.
Heroism beyond description.
Welcome home.
After one of the battles of the Pacific (can't recall which one) a Marine general,or Navy admiral (can't recall who),summed up the performance of the Marines involved by saying that during the battle "uncommon courage was a common commodity".
That sums it up pretty well,IMO.
I hope that you read Cl. J Alexander’s book “Utmost Savagery” the definitive history of the battle for Tarawa Atoll.
Interesting to note is that Gen. James Jones, USMC Commandant appointed by Bush 43, first USMC NATO commander, Nat’l Security Advisor to Obama, etc., etc., is the son of the Marine Officer that lead his battalion in a rubber boat assault on Betio’s “Green Beach” on the second day of the battle that turned the tide of the battle.....
The combat footage of Tarawa was turned into a documentary that won an Academy Award, and shocked the nation in it’s depiction of Marine bodies floating in the surf on Red Beach 1....... The film was purposely approved by the Roosevelt Administration in order to prepare the nation for the battles to come.....especially the looming landings on Europe’s Normandy beaches......n needless to say it provoked a huge uproar in the US.....
Note that Roosevelt’s son James served as a WWII Marine Raider officer...........