I'm looking forward to Sunday night's opening episode of HBO's "The Pacific," a 10-part mini-series about U.S. Marines in World War II. The series by Stephen Spielberg and Tom Hanks is a companion of sorts to "Band of Brothers," the incredible series about Easy Company soldiers in Europe. "The Pacific" features the tales of Robert Leckie, John Basilone and Eugene Sledge as they battle Japanese forces.
For more about the brutal campaign, which often gets overshadowed by the fighting against the Nazis, you can read the companion publication, "The Pacific" by historian Hugh Ambrose, the son of WWII expert Stephen Ambrose. Better yet, pick up Sledge's memoir "With the Old Breed" or Leckie's "Helmet for My Pillow." If you have other suggestions, let me know -- I need to read more about this part of the war.