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  • Published: 15 November 2004
  • ISBN: 9780345463890
  • Imprint: Ballantine
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 336
  • RRP: $17.99

Gunner's Glory

Untold Stories of Marine Machine Gunners



Decorated Marine veteran Clark captures true stories of front line action and valor in battles from the South Pacific in World War II to the jungles of Vietnam.

They were warriors, trained to fight,
dedicated to their country,
and determined to win.

At Guadalcanal, the Marine Corps’ machine gunners took everything the Japanese could throw at them in one of the bloodiest battles of World War II; their position was so hopeless that at one point they were given the go-ahead to surrender. Near the Chosin Reservoir in Korea, as the mercury dropped to twenty below, the 1st Marine Division found itself surrounded and cut off by the enemy. The outlook seemed so bleak that many in Washington had privately written off the men.

But surrender is not part of a Marine’s vocabulary. Gunner’s Glory contains true stories of these and other tough battles in the Pacific, in Korea, and in Vietnam, recounted by the machine gunners who fought them. Bloody, wounded, sometimes barely alive, they stayed with their guns, delivering a stream of firepower that often turned defeat into victory–and always made them the enemy’s first target.

  • Published: 15 November 2004
  • ISBN: 9780345463890
  • Imprint: Ballantine
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 336
  • RRP: $17.99

About the author

Johnnie Clark

Johnnie M. Clark is a disabled veteran who lives with his wife and two children in St. Petersburg, Florida. After joining the Marine Corps at age seventeen, he served as a machine gunner with the famous 5th Marine Regiment in 1968 and was wounded three times. He was awarded the Silver Star for bravery. While recuperating in Okinawa, Mr. Clark studied karate as part of his rehabilitation program, and after his discharge, he taught martial arts at the University of South Florida. He is now a 6th Dan Master of tae kwan do and operates a tae kwan do school in St. Petersburg. Clark is also the author of Semper Fidelis, The Old Corps, No Better Way to Die, and the forthcoming Harlot's Cup. He is the recipient of the Brig. Gen. Robert L. Denig Memorial Distinguished Service Award for writing.

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