Charles Tatum never knew what he got into when he signed up to be a Marine. Like most young 18 year old boys, Charles thought that his life was just beginning, he knew it all, and nothing could stop him now. War changed him and RED BLOOD, BLACK SAND is the story of how.

I wasn't sure about this one at first; I saw it and thought well here's another war story that is going to bore me to death. Tragic yes, but I have not found very many soldiers who could tell a story and keep readers involved.

However, much to my surprise and delight Tatum captured me by the first few pages. The book swept me into the 1940's just as if someone had turned back time. The things that this boy did to prank his fellow officers made me wonder how he lived long enough to go to war let alone fight in it! He was a typical hot shot punk kid who had no real cares in the world. Quite suddenly I was involved. I was involved with the characters and I almost turned to the end just to see who was still alive. I didn't, but it was tempting. Tatum met his idol learning how to find the gun that saves him. Sergeant John Basilone was an idol of Tatum's and already a hero to his country by this time.

Tatum progresses the book forward onto the rocky beaches of Iwo Jima where he is reunited with his idol, Basilone, and he begins to watch his world fall apart.

It is on the rocky beaches of Iwo Jima that Charles watches comrades fall, he watches his hero fall, and he watches and waits for the day he would fall as well. That day never happens for Charles. He is destined for something more and I believe it is so that he could tell his tale. So that he could tell the world what it was like to watch as one by one everyone you kow is dead or dying and yet here you are still fighting to survive. Tatum's recollection of those two horrifying weeks will leave you shell shocked and stunned.

I will be honest and say that if you are not a strong person, this story might not be for you. If you do not believe war to be the horror that it really is, or if you have never watched a war documentary well this story might be too much for you too. It was not easy reading this book. It was not easy getting involved with characters that I knew were sure to die. But it was easy to keep turning pages, grabbing tissues, and letting my heart be swept away by the heroics and the will to survive that is so clearly displayed by Charles Tatum.

This story is told as if it is happening right before our eyes. We don't see the cold side of war, we don't get the numbers, and we don't get left feeling cold and wondering what it was really like to be there. No, this story is reality told by a man who against all odds survived Iwo Jima, saved some wounded, and has struggled to bring his reality to life on paper for the benefit of generations to come.