Overview

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.  

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9781640126459

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Reviews

“Poignant and gripping. . . . Nothing short of a masterpiece. Henry knows whereof he speaks . . . and he speaks so well he had me near tears many times. This is the classic manifestation of Semper Fidelis.”—Capt. Dale Dye, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.), author, filmmaker, and military adviser “[Portrays] victories of the human spirit, immense sacrifice, inspiring camaraderie, and personal transcendence. Impeccably researched, skillfully written. . . . Chas Henry has written a fine book—and created a worthy memorial to the living and the lost.”—Ralph Peters, author of Beyond Terror “Fuji Fire is an astonishing achievement, a triumph of deep research and expert storytelling that conveys a tragic and yet ultimately heroic and inspiring tale.”—Michael Mazarr, RAND senior political scientist “Dramatic, compelling, and very informative. . . . The Fuji fire is worth remembering, not only for honoring those who died or were seriously injured, but also for the insights this account offers into the culture of the Marine Corps.”—Richard B. Meixsel, historian and author of Frustrated Ambition: General Vicente Lim and the Philippine Military Experience, 1910–1944

Author Information

Chas Henry served as an active-duty U.S. Marine from 1976 to 1996, rising in rank from private to captain. He trained at Camp Fuji nineteen months before the Fuji fire and was decorated for his actions in combat during the 1991 Gulf War. After military service he embarked on an award-winning career in international journalism, reporting on matters of global security, intelligence, and military veterans.    

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