You’ll Be Sorry!: A Marine’s Memoir of the War in the Pacific

During World War II, the Marine Corp's Second Division was known for courage and tenacity in some of the major battles of the South Pacific: Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian. This is the story of one of its members, Private First Class John Eardley, a radio man from Grand Rapids, Michigan, who fought in the battles of Saipan and Tinian. He had been a sensitive and sickly child, raised by a single mother along with his twin brother James and their sister, Virginia. This book depicts the struggles the family faced during the Great Depression and the boys' decision to join the Marine Corps, influenced by the film'From the Shores of Tripoli', after high school. When the troop buses rolled into Camp Pendleton in California, young John heard the seasoned recruits chanting "You'll be Sorry". It was a refrain that would echo in his mind throughout the difficult months ahead.

John Eardley was born in Grand Rapids Michigan in 1922. He enlisted in the Marines after high school where he fought in the Pacific in the battles of Saipan and TInian. After his discharge, he married his wartime sweetheart, went to college on the G.I BIll and became a pharmacist for 35 years in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. He has two daughters, two grandchildren, and three cats. He and his wife of 64 years, Elsie, currently live in Lake Oswego Oregon.