Bones of My Grandfather: Reclaiming a Lost Hero of World War II

"War, reclamation, and what Tim O'Brien called 'the Lives of the Dead' are eternal literary themes for men. Clay Bonnyman Evans has honored that lineage with this masterful melding of military history and personal quest."--Ron Powers, co-author of New York Times #1 bestseller Flags of Our Fathers

In November 1943, Marine 1st Lt. Alexander Bonnyman, Jr. was mortally wounded while leading a successful assault on a critical Japanese fortification on the Pacific atoll of Tarawa, and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military honor. The brutal, bloody 76-hour battle would ultimately claim the lives of more than 1,100 Marines and 5,000 Japanese forces. But Bonnyman's remains, along with those of hundreds of other Marines, were hastily buried and lost to history following the battle, and it would take an extraordinary effort by a determined group of dedicated civilians to find him.

In 2010, having become disillusioned with the U.S. government's half-hearted efforts to recover the "lost Marines of Tarawa," Bonnyman's grandson, Clay Bonnyman Evans, was privileged to join the efforts of History Flight, Inc., a non-governmental organization dedicated to finding and repatriating the remains of lost U.S. service personnel.

In Bones of My Grandfather, Evans tells the remarkable story of History Flight's mission to recover hundreds of Marines long lost to history in the sands of Tarawa. Even as the organization begins to unearth the physical past on a remote Pacific island, Evans begins his own quest to unearth and reclaim the true history of his grandfather, a charismatic, complicated hero whose life had been whitewashed, sanitized, and diminished over the decades.

On May 29, 2015, Evans knelt beside a History Flight archaeologist as she uncovered the long-lost, well-preserved remains of his grandfather. And more than seventy years after giving his life for his country, a World War II hero finally came home.

Author: Clay Bonnyman Evans
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 03/16/2021
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 1.00d
ISBN13: 9781510760110
ISBN10: 1510760113
BISAC Categories:
- History | Military | Veterans
- History | Wars & Conflicts | World War II | General
- History | Expeditions & Discoveries

About the Author
Clay Bonnyman Evans is a native of Colorado. He has worked for the Los Angeles Times, Orange County Register, and Daily Camera (Boulder, Colorado), and other publications. He is the author of four other books--including The Trail Is the Teacher, a memoir of hiking the Appalachian Trail--and has published hundreds of freelance stories in dozens of publications. He lives with his wife in Hilton Head Island and Boulder, and enjoys dogs, running, bicycling, and long-distance hiking.