In early 1945, the author was incorporated into the Navy. First in the Mariana Islands, then living with boys flying B-29s over Japan, Pyle experienced a side of the war that was new to him. Next he joined an aircraft carrier invading Okinawa. He landed with the Marines and saw Okinawa captured. On April 17, 1945, a Japanese bullet killed Pyle on Ie Island, and Americans lost their greatest and most popular journalist. Millions mourn the loss of this humble man who wrote about the war with complete honesty, and his work will live on as one of the most important records of the struggle.
