"Jack Ainsworth's account tells the story of the Company C's ordeal, from the landing on 15 September to the withdrawal of its shattered remnant from the front line five days later. It is often written in the present tense, as the fighting raged around him. ... AInsworth's account is not only a unique combat narrative. It is also an important historical document that adds previously unknown details to our understanding of the battle itself, from the narrow but intense perspective of one rifle company of the 1st Marines." --From Preface.