Invitation to a War is the eye-witness account of Larry Drew's experience of the war in the Pacific, first at Pearl Harbor and then on Guadalcanal. While a student at Ohio State University, he spent time in the ROTC program, learning the theory and methods of field artillery. Taking a year off to earn money to continue his education, he was literally invited on an "all-expense paid" cruise to Hawaii by the Navy Labor Board. It must have seemed like fate, for within a week of his arrival, Pearl Harbor was savagely attacked, right before his eyes. The story details the horror of the attack and its aftermath, and the courage and dedication of the survivors working to recover and rebuild, through the eyes of a young shipyard worker. After months of round-the-clock work and thinking the Japanese would attack again soon, Larry used the occasion of his first day off to join the US Army. He wanted to be carrying a rifle when they landed. The Japanese invasion of Hawaii didn't happen, largely due to the courage and resources of the US Navy and Army Air Corps at the battle of Midway. Larry, as part of the US Army's 25th Division, was called to relieve elements of the 1st and 2nd Marine Corp. Divisions in the offensive to take Guadalcanal from the Japanese. As a forward artillery spotter, he spent weeks behind enemy lines, calling in artillery strikes. His stories mix violent combat and tense missions with the camp activities between assignment and attacks. These events celebrate the character, courage, and at times even the indomitable humor of American fighting men of World War II.