The Scope of the Effort to Take Kuralei

The nineteen stories in "Tales of the South Pacific" are loosely linked around the background of units that eventually land on the Japanese-held island of Kuralei in Operation Alligator. Many of the stories share the same characters such as the narrator, Tony Fry, Bus Adams, and Latouche Barzan. Even Joe, the young man deployed on a coral atoll meets Luther Billis, a Seabee whose plane is serviced on the atoll, and deploys as part of Operation Alligator. First, the initial Japanese offensive has to be stopped, which is described in "The Coral Sea." Then the Americans gain the offensive around fighting for Guadalcanal, as described in "The Cave." This offensive drive is continued into Operation Alligator.

The author makes the point that the logistics involved in Operation Alligator are huge and involve thousands of men and women, many of whom do...