Coral Comes High: U.S. Marines and the Battle for the Point on Peleliu

Coral Comes High, first published in 1946, is USMC Capt. George Hunt's gripping account of the first several days of the Peleliu battle in the South Pacific. Hunt's K Company was charged with assaulting and holding "The Point," a slight rise which overlooked the entire 1st Marine Regiment's landing beaches on the small island. The Point, heavily fortified by the Japanese, saw the loss of many men as they struggled to take this important feature. Eventually successful, Hunt and his company of Marines — cut-off from any friendly help — held The Point against repeated attacks by a numerically superior enemy force. Coral Comes High is a classic of wartime reporting, and Hunt paints a dramatic picture of the Marines in combat, the wounded struggling to continue fighting, and the entrenched enemy they faced.