{"product_id":"with-the-deadeyes-on-leyte-and-okinawa-a-memoir-of-the-96th-infantry-division-in-the-pacific-war-9781636246567","title":"With the Deadeyes on Leyte and Okinawa: A Memoir of the 96th Infantry Division in the Pacific War","description":"\u003cb\u003eRecounts a frontline soldier's Pacific War experience, blending combat hardship, personal reflection, and wartime artistry.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHarvey Ball, communications sergeant in Company L, 383rd Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division, served on the front lines in the Pacific during World War II. His memoir recounts the division's training, and the horrific conditions endured during months of brutal fighting on Leyte and Okinawa. Three comrades were killed by a wayward shell as they stood beside him. Ball himself was awarded the Bronze Star for heroism.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBlending battlefield detail with personal reflection, his account contrasts the official record with the infantryman's lived reality--exhaustion, terror, and the camaraderie that sustained men through jungles, caves, and mountains. Moments of humanity shine through, from poetry shared in the mud to rare R\u0026amp;R breaks, even as the war closed with the atomic bomb and Japan's surrender.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA gifted artist whose best-known creation is the iconic smiley face, Ball also sketched life at the front. He drew portraits of comrades for their families and captured scenes of wartime chaos. These sketches, alongside his memoir, offer a deeply personal insight into the Pacific War.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Casemate\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781636246567\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 316\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.25lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.20w x 1.40d","brand":"Harvey R. (Ret) Ball","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52604458434741,"sku":"9781636246567","price":29.71,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_7739e89f-bc2f-4425-a334-c15cb866c2df.jpg?v=1780454657","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/with-the-deadeyes-on-leyte-and-okinawa-a-memoir-of-the-96th-infantry-division-in-the-pacific-war-9781636246567","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}