The Mosquito Bowl

An extraordinary,untold story of the Second World War in the vein of Unbroken and The Boys in the Boatfrom the author of Friday Night Lights and Three Nights in August. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harborcollege football was at the height of its popularity. As the nation geared up for total warone branch of the service dominated the aspirations of college football stars: the United States Marine Corps. Which is whyon Christmas Eve of 1944when the 4th and 29th Marine regiments found themselves in the middle of the Pacific Ocean training for what would be the bloodiest battle of the war – the invasion of Okinawa–their ranks included one of the greatest pools of football talent ever assembled: Former All Americanscaptains from Wisconsin and Brown and Notre Dameand nearly twenty men who were either drafted or would ultimately play in the NFL. When the trash-talking between the 4th and 29th over who had the better football team reached a fever pitchit was decided: The two regiments would play each other in a football game as close to the real thing as you could get in the dirt and coral of Guadalcanal. The bruising and bloody game that followed became known as \