Newport Beach author Tom Holtom has issued Semper Fidelis: The Homecoming of Carlson’s Raiders, a deeply personal historical novel that blends cinematic storytelling with documented facts about one of World War II’s most daring covert operations.

Family legacy drives the narrative

Holtom, the primary next of kin for his uncle Captain Gerald P. Holtom, USMC, draws on family letters, a gold‑star banner sewn by his grandmother, and decades of research. Captain Holtom, the intelligence officer of Colonel Evans Carlson’s Marine Raiders, was killed on August 17, 1942 during the Makin Island raid and buried in a mass grave by local Gilbertese islanders.

From a 1948 review to a 1999 recovery mission

A 1948 military review stamped the case “APPROVED NON‑RECOVERABLE.” In 1999, the Central Identification Laboratory Hawaii led a recovery effort on Makin Island. An elder who helped bury the Raiders in 1942 guided investigators to a beach where nineteen sets of remains, fifty‑five live hand grenades, and a dog tag bearing Gerald Holtom’s name were uncovered.

Arlington ceremony marks a historic homecoming

The recovered Marines were interred at Arlington National Cemetery in a ceremony described as the second‑largest in the cemetery’s history, surpassed only by President John F. Kennedy’s funeral. Eight surviving Raiders marched behind the caissons, completing a mission that waited fifty‑seven years.

Why the story matters today

Holtom’s novel is more than a tribute to his uncle; it preserves a piece of American military heritage that resonates with every family who has waited for a loved one’s return. The book underscores the Marine Corps’ creed of Semper Fidelis—always faithful—as a promise kept, even when it takes decades to fulfill.

Published by Premium Book Writers, the novel aims to reach readers who value faith, family, and the enduring promise of liberty that the United States Marine Corps embodies.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.