"Everly had been a Marine for almost eight years. He liked the Marine Corps and he could not imagine doing anything but being a Marine. If his enlistment hadn't been extended, he would have shipped over, sewn a second four-year hash mark on the sleeves of his uniform and gone on being a Marine" (Chapter 2, p. 16).

"Only two things were going to happen to the men in the Philippines, Marines, soldiers or sailors. They were going to get killed or they were going to get captured. And getting captures was likely to be as bad as getting killed. Everly had seen people starve to death in Chine, too, and he didn't think he wanted to die that way, either" (Chapter 2, p. 24).

"Two days before, the Japanese assault on Fortress Corregidor had begun with a massive, unceasing, around-the-clock artillery barrage. Someone had calculated that 11 explosive rounds were landing on...