Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

I read David J. Ulbrich's review of James Christ's book, "Mission Raise Hell": The U.S. Marines on Choiseul, October-November 1943, which appeared in V. 71, no. 4 (October 2007) of the JMH, with interest as I am involved in research on New Zealand's participation in the struggle for the Solomon Islands.

Mr. Ulbrich's criticism is that Mr. Christ "apparently did not consult the most basic of sources – History of the U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II: Invasion of Rabaul, Volume 2 (1963). I was mystified because Rabaul was not invaded. 3 NZ Division and 2^nd U.S. Marine division were slated to invade Rabaul in Operation Towpath but fortunately the Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to bypass Rabaul. An assault against large numbers of well dug in Japanese defenders would have likely rivalled Operation Galvanic in numbers of allied casualties. Then I realised that Mr. Ulbrich was referring to Henry Shaw, Jr. and Douglas T. Kane's excellent History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II, Vol. II, Isolation of Rabaul, Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1963.

Mr. Christ's work is at a different level and he is to be commended for recording the experiences of the men of the 2nd Marine Parachute Battalion in what is a very readable small unit history.

Reg Newell
Upper Hutt, New Zealand

Dr. Ulbrich declines to respond.