Publisher's Synopsis
"Amidst the chaos, destruction, and 'grim harvest of death' that was the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945, two Marine officers from North Carolina met by chance. During their one and only meeting, they learned that each was from a different small town in North Carolina, making them 'Tar Heels,' slang for North Carolina natives. During their brief meeting they made 'the battlefield promise' to meet after the war to 'throw one for the rock,' meaning to have a drink to celebrate their survival. In this definitive book about combat on Iwo Jima, readers meet the two Tar Heel Marines: Major James Scales of Stoneville, N.C. and Captain Edward Stephenson of Madison .... Each officer had survived previous and different battles in the Pacific just to reach Iwo Jima where their survival was not guaranteed in an environment in which officer casualties were frequent and many. ..."--Page 4 of cover.
