Bloody Ridge and Beyond: A World War II Marine’s Memoir of Edson’s Raiders inthe Pacific
About this audiobook
A story of sacrifice and defiance at Guadalcanal, from the New York Times bestselling coauthor of A Higher Call and Biggest Brother
On the killing ground that was the island of Guadalcanal, a two-thousand-yard-long ridge rose from the jungle canopy. Behind it lay the all-important air base of Henderson Field. And if Henderson Field fell, it would mean the almost certain death or capture of all 12,500 marines on the island.
But the marines positioned on the ridge were no normal fighters—they were the hard-fighting men of Edson's Raiders, an elite fighting unit within an already elite Marine Corps. Handpicked for their toughness and submitted to a rigorous training program to weed out those less fit, they were the best of the best.
For two hellish nights in September 1942, about 840 marines—commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Merritt Austin "Red Mike" Edson—fought one of the most pivotal battles of World War II in the Pacific, clinging desperately to their position on what would soon be known as Bloody Ridge.
Wave after wave of attacking Japanese soldiers were repelled by the Raiders, who knew that defeat and retreat were simply not options. In the end, and against all odds, the defenders prevailed.
Bloody Ridge and Beyond is the story of the First Marine Raider Battalion, which showed courage and valor in the face of overwhelming numbers, as told by Marlin Groft, a man who was a member of this incredible fighting force.
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About the author
Marlin F. Groft was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1939 to 1941, and then became a silk-screen printer in a textile factory. He joined the Marine Corps after Pearl Harbor and, following boot camp, volunteered for the First Marine Raider Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Merritt A. Edson, serving with that unit until its dissolution. Assigned to the Twenty-Ninth Marine Regiment of the newly formed Sixth Marine Division, he served beyond the end of the war, seeing duty in China until the end of 1945. Groft and his wife, Vivian, live in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Larry Alexander has been a columnist for the Lancaster Newspapers, Inc., a newspaper in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, since 1993. He retired from the paper in 2015. While with Lancaster Newspapers, he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2005 and has won state-level journalism awards. His first book, Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, the Man Who Led the Band of Brothers, was published in 2005 and made the New York Times bestseller list. He followed up his first success with Shadows in the Jungle: The Alamo Scouts behind Japanese Lines in World War II and In the Footsteps of the Band of Brothers: A Return to Easy Company’s Battlefields with Sgt. Forrest Guth, both published in 2010. He then coauthored A Higher Call with journalist and historian Adam Makos, which also made the New York Times and international bestsellers lists, and Bloody Ridge and Beyond with Marlin Groft.
Joe Barrett, an actor and Audie Award and Earphones Award–winning narrator, has appeared both on and off Broadway as well as in hundreds of radio and television commercials.
