The Timid Marine examines the courage of young men facing combat in World War II during the battle for Okinawa. It takes four kids from their hometowns to Parris Island Boot Camp, the South Pacific and China.The author, Joseph Lanciotti, describes combat with its fear, and brutality that tested men whose vacillating courage ranged from heroism to accusations of cowardice. Many young men and women today are undergoing that same evaluation as they are deployed to serve our country.