Charles "Chuck" Tatum is an American World War II veteran and former race car driver and builder. On February 19, 1945 he was among the first wave of Marines to land on the Japanese island stronghold of Iwo Jima. Tatum's war memoir, Red Blood, Black Sand, was one of five books used as source material for the Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks produced HBO miniseries The Pacific. Tatum is portrayed in the series by actor Ben Esler.