Book Analysis: I 'M Staying With My Boys'

PFC Miah Nielsen

20180429

I’m Staying With My Boys In the heat of the moment approaching Iwo Jima, “something on the burned lava wall moved. Jesus Christ, (the Japanese) were still there. We hadn’t even touched them. They were looking straight down at us, sighting us in” (Proser 30). In the biography titled “I’m Staying With My Boys” by Jim Proser with Jerry Cutter, Sgt. John Basilone’s life and private stories show a striking perspective of a dedicated military lifestyle. Throughout the novel, the reader experiences an idea of John’s childhood in Raritan, New Jersey, his distaste in school, his passion for fighting, and overall calling to the Marine Corps. John Basilone finds himself initially leading his career in the Army, later to find

Growing up in the small and close knit town of Raritan, New Jersey left Basilone restless and stir crazy. Many events depicting John’s background occurred during his childhood in Raritan, but training areas and deployment locations also constructed the full layout of his expeditions. Among these contained Iwo Jima, the Philippines, Cuba, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and many different locations within the states. Throughout the biography, the events occur within the early nineteen hundreds to mid-nineteen hundreds. The majority of the battles John faced were during his time in the Marine Corps, but he also spent time in Manila while enlisted in the US Army. John joined the Army in 1934, just years before World War II. Initially, his first impression of the military was no where close to his expectations, eventually guiding him towards a separate branch of service where he found his niche. John believed that he “wasn’t going to get into any outfit with standing orders to retreat. (He) was a fighting man. That was (his) path. (He) was a soldier. (He) was a Marine before I walked through the door” (Proser

In “Manila John’s” perspective, every training moment leading to every battle brought extremely uncomfortable and terrifying situations, but somebody had to fill those positions. His trust in “the voices” and essentially fate gave him courage and confidence that wherever his life took him was were he needed to be. John’s perspective of his military career inspires motivation in the majority of military members, for we all were shaped to share the same morals and values. The author’s decision to bounce back and forth to different portions of John’s timeline led to anticipation being built during battle scenes and maintained the reader’s interest. Additionally, there wasn’t much confusion in the development of plot, for the plot and situation were always reestablished in the exposition of the chapter or section. Lastly, the novel gives the reader insight into the mind of a remarkable hero, conveying a huge sense of respect towards his