“War, reclamation, and what Tim O’Brien called “the Lives of the Dead” are eternal literary themes for men. Clay Bonnyman Evans has honored that lineage with this masterful melding of military history and personal quest.”—Ron Powers, co-author of New York Times #1 bestsellers Flags of Our Fathers and True Compass, along with No One Cares About Crazy People and othersIn November 1943, Marine 1st … and others
In November 1943, Marine 1st Lt. Alexander Bonnyman, Jr. was mortally wounded while leading a successful assault on a critical Japanese fortification on the Pacific atoll of Tarawa, and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor. The brutal, bloody 76-hour battle would ultimately claim the lives of more than 1,100 Marines and 5,000 Japanese forces.
But Bonnyman’s remains, along with those of hundreds of other Marines, were hastily buried and lost to history following the battle, and it would take an extraordinary effort by a determined group of dedicated civilians to find him.
In 2010, having become disillusioned with the U.S. government’s half-hearted efforts to recover the “lost Marines of Tarawa,” Bonnyman’s grandson, Clay Bonnyman Evans, was privileged to join the efforts of History Flight, Inc., a non-governmental organization dedicated to finding and repatriating the remains of lost U.S. service personnel. In Bones of My Grandfather, Evans tells the remarkable story of History Flight’s mission to recover hundreds of Marines long lost to history in the sands of Tarawa. Even as the organization begins to unearth the physical past on a remote Pacific island, Evans begins his own quest to unearth the reclaim the true history of his grandfather, a charismatic, complicated hero whose life had been whitewashed, sanitized and diminished over the decades.
On May 29, 2015, Evans knelt beside a History Flight archaeologist as she uncovered the long-lost, well-preserved remains of of his grandfather. And more than seventy years after giving his life for his country, a World War II hero finally came home.
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A very moving and real insight into history at it’s finest. This is well worth a read. You’ll be glad you decided to take a chance on this book.
Great story about a family’s 70 odyssey to recover the remains of an American Hero
This book is a heart rendering saga of a young man who becomes obsessed with finding the physical remains of his grandfather who died in the South Pacific during WWII. The brick walls he encounters are monumental, the most complex being our own government. He contends with bureaucratic inertia, power struggles between government agencies and outright dismissal of his quest by the very military agencies that should step up and help him. There is a generous thread of science that describes the search protocols. There are volunteers who step up to help him finally succeed. His grandfather is finally brought home to rest.
I never really thought about what happened to remains of those lost in battles before VietNam. Thank you for this insightful story and dedication you had in recovering your Grandfather’s remains. Also, I totally understood as a very young man how you were not that interested in this aspect of your family’s story, but as you matured it became your obsession. Also you were very truthful that your Grandfather and your Grandmother had “feet of clay” but deserved what you and the recovery teams were able to do for them.
Bones of My Grandfather is the astonishing saga of a soldier lost in brutal fighting on a remote atoll in the Pacific, the hole that lost left in his family and their descendants. His loss was in the headlines because his family was well-known and wealthy, but even that didn’t help them bring home his remains. Woven among details of the battle are pockets of family history, a grandson’s search for answers, the politics of finding and identifying remains, discussion of the War Graves Registration Service, amphibious warfare history, even the politics of awarding war medals–the Medal of Honor had been denied to Bonnyman in 1944, but awarded to him two years later.
The black sheep of a prominent Southern family became a mythic hero.
I was especially interested in this story as an uncle, Lt. Dale R. Wilson, was MIA in New Guinea three days before Sandy Bonnyman was killed on Tarawa Atoll. The remains of Wilson and the rest of his B-25 crew have never been found.
Sandy Bonnyman’s remains were eventually recovered and returned, to be reinterred with family in Knoxville, Tennessee.
At the end of the book are an Afterword and an extensive list of Works Consulted, Endnotes, and and Index.
While reading this book I read some after battle reports by the US Army dealing with the war in the pacific. Adding to both of these I watched some videos on YouTube–outstanding history. Sadly a time that should never be forgotten but, unfortunately, has been as these soldiers have died away.
Exposes just how little or government really cares about the sacrifices made by American soldiers.
For those interested in WW2, this book opens a little-known chapter in the war and after. A readable memoir of a grandson determined to bring his grandfather’s remains home from the Pacific Theater to Knoxville. In the process, his hero moves from legend to a real person to mourn.
Learned so much from this book a part of history which is lost and not mentioned as one of the important battles fought in the Pacific.
I stopped reading when I felt the author became rather self-absorbed. I lost interest in the story.
This book wouldn,t let me stop reading. Very informative of our history and the effects of a soldier’s loss on their family.