Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific' is a memoir of Romus Valton Burgin from Texas. He volunteered to Marine Corps at twenty years of age and went through training to be a 60mm mortar man. Burgin was later shipped overseas, at Melbourne, to join first Marine Division. During the time at the Camp Balcombe, he met the Guadalcanal veterans and experiences firsthand information about the Japanese and the war. Burgin enjoys Australian hospitality such as paying respects to a painting called "Chloe" at Young & Jackson Hotel located at Flinders Street Station. Burgin dates Florence Riseley, an Aussie girl, and marries her when the war ends. Burgin served with K/3/5 before going to Milne Bay. He engaged in armed combat on January 1944, at Cape Gloucester. The procession is several miles within the place and started digging into the experiences of banzai attack. He managed to kill one of the aggressors using his 45-type pistol. However, he was first that Burgin killed even though it did not bring any remorse. The Marines also experienced torrential rains while finding a jungle that was made through mortar and intense difficulty. He joined advancements of eastward conscience to achieve Talasea. Later, Burgin was taken to Pavuvu for purposes of recuperation. He described "jungle juice" as a fond remembrance of the USO show by Bob Hope. He later learnt about the next landing that would affect several practice landings. The author adds that Burgin ascertained the briefing issued by General Rupertus predicting that Peleliu was to be rough and short.

Burgin landed at Peleliu and the mortar crew, with the likes of Eugene Sledge was tense and uncomfortable. The Peleliu chapter shares an interesting concept to read as it has diverse perspectives regarding similar events as defined within Sledge's classic book. Burgin landed at Ngesebus Island, and that was north of Peleliu; Snafu and Sledge took cover at the Japanese bunker believing to have neutralized the situation. While the situation starts setting up its mortar, voices...

Burgin writes that he bent forwards to look in one slit, and one of the faces looked back. Prior ducking, he stuck his M1 between its bars letting of three rounds.
In most chapters of the book, the author adds that the war within Pacific regions was slow based on the Allied soldiers' glory to liberate historic European cities. The Pacific war theatre as presented in the book includes various savage and intense armed combats for the extensive war from the Eastern Front. Burgin's personal encounter for the warring experience reflects the brutal scope of Pacific War and misery of Marines and staff endured. The chapters present the bond keeping them in line with the Company's goals. The story flows from childhood while carrying peace messages during the war into the current life as a Texan. The perspective allows the book to offer different views on the situation. The book reads excerpts his speech at 'The Pacific Prologues' through simple, effective and short sentences that do not artistic drama at a superfluous level. Burgin's book creates the aura for someone to sit and listen to stories targeting the youth. The book shares with the audience the death, misery, and chaos at places such as Okinawa and Peleliu. The audience gets insight of the experiences prior, during, and after the war while aboard troopships, as well as the infamous Pavuvu Island. The critical presence of the book includes the fact that Florence met him while away from work at Australia. The period was prior he was shipped to Peleliu. The woman became his wife through a wedding held after the war. The pain and angst experienced within the courtship (two years) ultimately depended on the survival of Burgin at Okinawa and Peleliu. The chapter adds point-of-views uncommon to most other memoirs. The scope and context leaves an impression that wartime experience of Burgin bears less traumatizing effect to his life within the war times. However, the book affirms that different people have different ways of processing horrible…