Chapter 14 Summary

Chapter fourteen begins in Washington DC, where Major George Dailey, an officer procurement official for the Marines, is commanded to a meeting that afternoon with Lt Col Rickabee of the Marine HQ staff. Dailey is surprised to find that he is being reactivated for battle in the Pacific Theater, after getting his experience in Germany earlier in the war. Dailey's status as a pilot was rescinded when he was diagnosed with a heart murmur, but more importantly, his reputation was heavily damaged when he fell in love with a German woman. He had been re-assigned to Washington, and now he learns he is being sent to the South Pacific to serve as a backup to Hon and Moore.

The battle for Guadalcanal begins, and the Marines meet little resistance taking the beach and the airfield. The troops, however, are exhausted, and the Navy...