Fuji Fire: Sifting Ashes of a Forgotten U.S. Marine Corps Tragedy

On October 19, 1979, the largest, most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded propelled 5,500 gallons of gasoline into corrugated steel huts filled with U.S. Marines. The gas ignited, injuring seventy-three people, thirteen of them fatally. The Marine Corps commandant, a veteran of combat in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, was stunned as he met scores of horribly burned survivors. “Having witnessed a lot of bad things, ugly things,” the general declared, “none can compare to that experience.” And yet this 1979 catastrophe on the slopes of Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji remains all but forgotten except by those directly affected.
Now, the fruits of Chas Henry’s exhaustive four-year, two-continent investigation provide insight into what many have called the U.S. Marine Corps’ worst-ever peacetime disaster. Fuji Fire shares the compelling and intimate stories of heartbreak and inspiration forged by these events while bringing to light new, critical analyses of the incident’s causes and effects.
 
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Potomac Books
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 1, 2025
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 328 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1640126457
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1640126459
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.43 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.9 x 1.3 x 8.5 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #448,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #243 in Japanese History (Books) #4,562 in Military History (Books)
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