-- 2021 National Indie Excellence Finalist Award Winner/Military Nonfiction -- -- 2021 National Readers Choice Finalist Award Winner/Military Nonfiction -- Joe Boy House did not have to go to war. As the only son in a farming family, he could have gotten a deferment and stayed safely at home. But after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and plunged the country into World War II, Joe Boy was determined to serve his country. When he left for Marine Corps training in 1943, the 19-year-old recruit had never been out of Washington state. He’d attended a one-room schoolhouse, helped his dad run their farming and logging operations, and kept a protective eye on his three adoring sisters. As Rugged as the Rest is the riveting true story of a young Marine’s deep connection to home and family. It follows Joe Boy on his journey from bootcamp in San Diego to a speck of an island in the Pacific called Iwo Jima. It brings to life his adventures as a prison chaser at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, the historic formation of the Marine Corps’ Fifth Division at Camp Pendleton, and the rigorous amphibious training at Camp Tarawa in Hawaii. Then on Feb. 19, 1945, Joe Boy hit the beach on Iwo Jima, and was thrust into one of the bloodiest battles of the war in the Pacific. In describing the brutal combat that took place there, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz famously said: Among the Americans who served on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue. More than 70,000 Americans landed on that gritty volcanic island. This personal story of one draws the reader into the suspense, courage and heartbreak shared by so many.