Bushmasters: America's Jungle Warriors of World War II

Every infantry regiment has a unique character, and Arthur (Deliverance at Los Banos) distills the ""Bushmaster'' essence by concentrating on a handful of representative types. This is the story of the 158th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army's 45th Division, an Arizona National Guard unit with an unusually varied racial and ethnic composition: men from nearly two dozen Indian tribes, hundreds of Mexican-Americans and draftees and enlistees from throughout the states. After training in Panama, the regiment saw heavy action in the Pacific, including campaigns in New Guinea and the Philippines. The combat material here is superb, but the most distinguished aspect of the narrative is the author's skill in delineating the personalities of selected officers and enlisted men as each coped with the war on his own terms. The final chapter stands by itself as a short classica funny but poignant account of a Bushmaster reunion in Arizona in 1986. Photos. (December 21)