Bloody Beaches

The name Delano Stagg appears on two fictional paperbacks published by Monarch in the 1960s, Bloody Beaches and The Glory Jumpers. Stagg was a pseudonym used by Mel R. Sabre and Paul Eiden, two highly decorated paratroop non-coms that jointly earned Silver Stars, a Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart for their valiant participation in World War II. These two military-fiction novels are now available in new editions thanks to Cutting Edge Books. I chose to read and review Bloody Beaches. 

Bloody Beaches is presented as a non-linear journey into the Pacific theater, focusing on two U.S. Marines, Second Lieutenant Donald Avery and his friend, mentor, and commanding officer, Captain Calvin Hobbes. Cal and Avery's relationship is central to the narrative and changes over the course of two years of ground 'n pound strikes against Japanese forces. It is this gripping plot point that elevates this men's action-adventure novel into a gripping, charismatic character study punctuated by occurrences both on and off the battlefield.

In the book's opening trilogy of chapters (February 1945), Avery and Cal are deeply entrenched in a beachhead assaulting an enormous ridge in Iwo Jima, a historical key moment in the Asiatic-Pacific victory. There's an obvious disgruntlement among the troops regarding Cal's leadership. The platoon's orders are to destroy the gun nests in a heavily guarded region. However, Cal fears the worst and orders the men to dig in and wait for reinforcements. This decision is met with worry, anxiety, and bitterness as the men fear they are sitting ducks within interlocking Japanese gunfire. Just as the tipping point is met, the authors cleverly pause the action.

In chapters four and five, readers step back two years to May 1943 as Avery and Cal first meet in the jungles of the Solomons. Cal rescues Avery twice in combat, which creates an uneven ebb and flow in the men's relationship outside of rank – Avery's allegiance to Cal affects the duo's friendship. Through the novel's next three chapters, a love triangle is introduced that shows the men's lovers crisscrossing. This creates a heightened tension that affects the two in combat later.

A year later, in 1944, there is a dark moment when Cal is accused of leaving one of his men to die on Miichi Island. Despite evidence, Avery defends Cal and encourages the men to follow Cal's disciplined leadership. Avery's suspicion plagues his every conscious thought, a mental unhinging that comes back full circle to the events that shaped the first three chapters, the platoon's violent exercises on Iwo Jima.

The novel's last four chapters detail the savagery of battle and the results of mistrust in Cal, both as a friend, confidant, fellow soldier, and Captain. These fiery events transpire as the men survive waves of incoming fire, charging enemy battalions, and the group's ineffectiveness in fighting as a cohesive unit. These pages are blood-soaked, action-packed, and explosive, but laced with gritty realism. The authors keep the narrative strictly anti-pulp, but descend into some really dark places with vivid scenes of gore and brutality.

While I don't have information on writer Mel R. Sabre, Paul Eiden became a literary journeyman in the realms of men's action-adventure. He wrote installments of John Eagle: Expeditor for Pyramid  Books using the house name Paul Edwards, and he wrote two of the three installments of the same publisher's Mafia books. Eiden, who was often selected by paperback creator Lyle Kenyon Engel, wrote additional novels like Assignment to Bahrein, The Strangler, and Crooked Cop. I conclude, that based on Eiden's rather violent subject matter, he constructed the Iwo Jima portions of the book. Sabre's more sexually charged emotional matters probably make up the book's middle chapters. 

Bloody Beaches is a spirited men's action-adventure novel that showcases war's two-fronted assault on a soldier's psyche – the possibility of death and a lack of faith in their commanding officer. If you love high-octane military fiction like Sgt. Hawk, The Rat Bastards, or The Sergeant, then look no further than Bloody Beaches. Highest recommendation. Get the book HERE.