Jungle, sea, and Occupation

the long version

"Like many of his generation, Veatch came to manhood in the blink of an eye and the bark at a rifle. A soldier in the Pacific Theater, he fought the final battles in the Philippines, where his unit suffered enormous casualties in repeated assaults on Breakneck Ridge. Veatch also survived an air raid on an LST and a night awaiting rescue in the Sulu Sea. Later, serving occupation duty in Japan, he discovered grace and beauty in the former enemy nation - and a new man within himself."--BOOK JACKET.