Abstract
<p>After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Marine Corps proposed a simple but unique idea: Recruit young reporters and other media professionals, send them to boot camp for training, and then assign these “fighter writers” to cover their fellow Marines in the Pacific theater. Beginning in 1942, hundreds of Marine combat correspondents, called CCs, and others writing under the command of the Division of Public Relations went into battle. Their stories appeared in newspapers, magazines, and other media, both local and national. Yet some of their reports were held back from the public, marked “kill” or “do not release,” because of military security or for failing to meet the goal of promoting the Corps. This collection presents scores of previously classified reports that appear never to have been published. Many highlighted acts of courage and heroism or revealed what were considered military secrets at the time. Some described the day-to-day drudgery of Marine Corps life and its lighter moments. Some related foolish, reckless, and other questionable behavior, and some exhibit the racism and sexism of the era. Wrapped around these collected stories are the personal experiences of the CCs themselves, young men who often put down their pens and took up their rifles to fight.</p>