Download or read book A Destroyer Sailor s War written by Jerome S. Welna and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Good Night Officially written by Yeoman James Orvill Raines and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-03-11 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: My interest in USS Howorth originated during my thirty-three months of duty in the Pacific Fleet destroyer Hamner, named after Howorth's gunnery officer killed at Okinawa, Lieutenant Henry R. "Pete" Hamner. His legacy jncluded the Reader's Digest subscriptions his mother presented each year to the wardroom and crew. Later, as executive officer in the hydrofoil Plainview, exasperated by the endless stream of logs and records demanded by higher authorities, I peevishly tested the navy's record system and wrote away for information on Lieutenant Hamner and Howorth. I was surprised by the magnitude of the material documenting Howorth's Pacific War, ranging from hourly barometric readings and seawater injection temperatures to ammunition effectiveness reports.
Download or read book The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors written by James D. Hornfischer and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2021-10-20 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adapted from the naval history classic and New York Times bestseller, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors pieces together the action of the Battle off Samar, bringing to life a riveting story of heroism against daunting odds, duty, and sacrifice in a way never seen before. In October 1944, Allied forces began landing on the Philippine island of Leyte. Quickly assessing the threat of the Allied invasion, the Japanese navy sought to counterattack. But with the island protected by the full strength of Admiral William F. Halsey’s Third Fleet, a direct attack was nearly impossible. Undeterred, the Japanese Admiralty deployed their forces, engaging the Third Fleet and retreating in a manner that drew the fleet into a hot pursuit. However, Admiral Halsey had been deceived, and the Japanese plan had taken his fleet out of position to defend the American beachhead. With the northern route to Leyte open and unguarded, the Japanese Center Force—a fleet led by the battleship Yamato, the largest and most powerful battleship ever constructed—seemingly had a clear path to the landing beaches on Leyte. Only one thing stood between the Japanese forces and the vulnerable objective. Taffy 3, a small task unit from the Seventh Fleet was made up of destroyers, destroyer escorts, and escort aircraft carriers; thirteen ships with little firepower and even less armor. On the morning of October 25, 1944, Taffy 3 suddenly became the only obstacle between the Allied landings and the Japanese Center Force. Hopelessly outmanned and outgunned, Taffy 3 plunged into battle. The ensuing action, known as the Battle off Samar, became one of the greatest last stands in naval history.
Download or read book Three Years Aboard a Navy Destroyer written by Otis Ted Holly and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2011-04-25 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a sea story about a U.S. Navy destroyer and her crew. The author served on this ship, the USS Brush (DD745), for 3 years and 2 months in the early 1950s. Life on the Brush involved a lot of sea duty. She spent most of this time at sea either conducting training exercises off the coast of California or steaming around somewhere in the Far east. The Brush made 3 seven month cruises to the Orient while the author was aboard her. The main objective of this book, and the reason for writing it, was to tell about what the crew of the Brush experienced on these 3 cruises. The first cruise was made in early 1953. The Brush was sent to the Korean War theatre and spent several months there doing what destroyers do during war time. The men experienced things off North Korea that they will never forget. In addition to the Korean Patrol, the Brush participated in the Formosa Patrol for a month or so and went to the island city of Hong Kong while she was down that way. The second cruise was made in May, 1954. On this cruise, the brush spent most of her time in the South China Sea, Formosa Strait, and in the Sea of Japan. The Brush commenced the third cruise in June, 1955. This was more of a peace time cruise and we never had to go into harms way. Although, the author had a number of interesting personal experiences which he wrote about. Comments by people who have read the book, Three Years Aboard A Navy Destroyer As the son of one of the USS Brushs skippers identified in Ted Hollys book, I was particularly fascinated to read of his and his shipmates many and varied experiences during their three Far East cruises. His folksy stories of a young mans explorations of the vastness of the oceans, the wonders of the orient, and the uncertainties of combat are told in a detailed and entertaining style offering multiple layers of insight to life aboard a tin can in the 1950s. In addition to his prose, Mr. Holly has included many photographs and maps which enhance and elucidate the storytelling. It is a terrific read for anyone interested in the naval service in general and the unforgotten Korean War in particular. Dennis Quigley Captain, USMC (Retired) Arizona the straightforward and unglossed memories of a young sailor, out of high school and soon into a U.S. destroyer, greyhound of the seas. Ted Holly was everybodys favorite sailor, squared away with a great attitude in a key job around the nerve center of a 2200 tonner loaded for whatever kind of scrap. This book is an honest snapshot of the times, the people, and the ships that sailed to the Korean Conflict. Ted Brown LT., USNR (Retired) New Hampshire This book, Three Years Aboard A Navy Destroyer, vividly recounts typical destroyer, i.e. USS BRUSH DD745, operations during the final days of the Korea War and the transition into post war routine operations. It accurately reports destroyer actions against North Korean trains, sinking of floating mines with rifle fire, the Wonsan Harbor actions and support of Korean Forces engaged in clandestine operations. It also provides a typical sailors view and experiences of the liberty ports in Japan and the exotic Hong Kong as a British Colony. And the author returns to Japan 29 years later and gives an interesting comparison of his experiences and the differences that he observed between his first trip and the 1982 trip. The BRUSH was my first duty station after being commissioned in June 1951 until my transfer in November 1953. So I shared with the author the destroyer actions described. I was amazed that he was able to capture these events in so much detail and I enjoyed remembering the details of these events. Herbert O. Burton Captain, USN (Retired) North Carolina Three Years Aboard A Navy Destroyer is a marvelous account of the experience of the author as a young sailor during a period that few, since the days of World War II, have had the opportunity to share. While certainly many have sailed the seas, and some have encountered hostile action, this account fills the gap for those who have not had such an experience. Ted Holly communicates in the language of the sailor his experience that draws the reader into such that it is as if he (or she) is there. He captures the attention of the reader and presents an engaging account of the experiences of life aboard a 2200 ton vessel, which is missing all of the comforts of the cruise ship, from the periods of relative boredom to the periods of action with live ammunition. Rev. Ralph H. Spiller, Jr., PhD, LMHC CWO3, USN (Retired) Florida/Maine Ted Hollys book is remarkable at several levels. First, he treats a subject from his own experience that is not often considered life on an American destroyer during the Korean War. Further, he lends authenticity to his narrative through the painstaking process of obtaining and relying on the actual ships logs, day by day throughout his entire tenure aboard the USS Brush. Added to that, he, as a quartermaster, was well-placed to hear and see much of what was happening aboard the ship. Ted includes exhaustive details on some of the high points of the ships experience, the shell hit in Wonsan Harbor and the attack on the submarine as examples. Even for we who were aboard during much of the time covered in the book, some of the events were revelations. We either remembered them differently or not at all, or in less detail, but must defer to Teds account because of his reliance on the logs. Therefore, for any member of the crew during that period, Teds book is an enjoyable and enlightening read. Don Gordon RD 3/C, USN (Retired) North Carolina Great book! As a Destroyer Sailor aboard the USS DeHaven during the Korean War, I can testify Ted has written a fine book about his navy years aboard the USS Brush. If you are a navy destroyer sailor reading this book, then get ready to relive an exciting experience. I can recommend Teds book to anyone interested in ships, shipboard life, and even to one who has never been to sea. An outstanding experience. Bill Williams YN 2/C, USN (Retired) Florida
Download or read book A Destroyer Sailor s War written by Jerome S. Welna and published by . This book was released on 2013-09-01 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author, Jerome Welna, takes the reader aboard the USS Barton to his battle station on the bridge for a grandstand view of the army Ranger assault on Pointe du Hoc, located at the west end of Omaha Beach, 6 June 1944. The Barton provided artillery support for the army Rangers until target number one for the Omaha Beach sector was taken out and all German resistance eliminated. The author provides personal eyewitness details of the nineteen-day naval battle with naval artillery support for invasion troops at Omaha Beach, including E-boat and bomber attacks, which ended 24 June with the bombardment and capture of Cherbourg. Detailed descriptions of problems encountered by assault forces advancing through the German mined defense system bring the reader to realize how dangerous it really was for the soldiers to advance up the beach to the base of the cliffs, which afforded their only protection from accurate German shell fire. The Normandy invasion could never have been attempted without the support of the U.S. Navy. In the second half of the book the author describes the many battles with the kamikazes (Japanese suicide planes) for the liberation of the Philippines, and the final battle of Okinawa. A foreword by David F. Winkler, Ph.D. (U.S. Naval Historic Foundation), many footnotes, eighteen maps, fourteen photographs, and an index of full names, places and subjects enhance the text.
Download or read book Good Night Officially written by William Mcbride and published by Westview Press. This book was released on 1996-05-16 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "27 March 1945 ... Hello baby darling: We're at sea again. The jumping, rolling, tossing sea again. My belly isn't the only thing with the jitters this time. They affect my whole body. Okinawa. Just looking at it on the map breaks us out in a cold sweat. Okinawa spells Kamikaze Corps to us. Somebody's gotta get it and we may be lucky or unlucky. You see, the Navy loses a lot of men but you don't particularly hear about it. ..". These are the words of Orvill Raines, a newspaperman in civilian life, who now found himself in the uniform of a Yeoman Second Class on the destroyer Howorth and smack in the middle of the Pacific war. From his assignment to the ship in April 1944 until his death one year later in a kamikaze attack off Okinawa, Orvill Raines wrote a remarkable series of letters to his young bride, Ray Ellen. His perceptive, uncensored correspondence shows us, with a directness that no conventional history could hope to match, the horrific experiences shared by thousands of American seamen who fought "the good war" against the Japanese half a century ago. Special arrangements with the officer responsible for censoring his letters enabled Raines to candidly chronicle the war as he and his shipmates knew it. His keen and literate observations provide a rare glimpse of the everyday world of the enlisted sailor - a world permeated by boredom and routine, camaraderie and high jinks, but regularly punctuated by the frantic action and intense terror of combat. And the Howorth's crew saw plenty of combat. The reconquest of the Philippines, where Raines's strongest memory is of the continual parade of floating bodies in Leyte Gulf; the twenty-four days spent firing on the entrenchedJapanese on the stark, volcanic hell of Iwo Jima; and the bloody invasion of Okinawa are just some of the dramatic engagements that Raines witnessed and recorded. There is a deeply personal side to these letters as well. They tell of Orvill's adoration and longing for Ray Ellen (faced with a lengthy and uncertain separation, they promised to bid each other an "official good night" every evening) and of his aspirations for a better life after the war. Knowing the author's fate renders these hopes and dreams even more poignant. Orvill's last letter - to be opened only in the event of his death - is the most touching of all, as he bids his beloved Ray Ellen a final "goodbye, officially". The letters are carefully edited and superbly set in their historical context by William M. McBride. Good Night Officially is a tribute to the genuine heroism of the millions of ordinary men who served their country in World War II and a fitting remembrance of the squandered potential and tragic sacrifice made by hundreds of thousands of Americans in a war of unparalleled ferocity.
Download or read book Good Night Officially written by Orvill Raines and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Tin Can Titans written by John Wukovits and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2017-03-14 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An epic narrative of World War II naval action that brings to life the sailors and exploits of the war's most decorated destroyer squadron. When Admiral William Halsey selected Destroyer Squadron 21 (Desron 21) to lead his victorious ships into Tokyo Bay to accept the Japanese surrender, it was the most battle-hardened US naval squadron of the war. But it was not the squadron of ships that had accumulated such an inspiring resume; it was the people serving aboard them. Sailors, not metallic superstructures and hulls, had won the battles and become the stuff of legend. Men like Commander Donald MacDonald, skipper of the USS O'Bannon, who became the most decorated naval officer of the Pacific war; Lieutenant Hugh Barr Miller, who survived his ship's sinking and waged a one-man battle against the enemy while stranded on a Japanese-occupied island; and Doctor Dow "Doc" Ransom, the beloved physician of the USS La Vallette, who combined a mixture of humor and medical expertise to treat his patients at sea, epitomize the sacrifices made by all the men and women of World War II. Through diaries, personal interviews with survivors, and letters written to and by the crews during the war, preeminent historian of the Pacific theater John Wukovits brings to life the human story of the squadron that bested the Japanese in the Pacific and helped take the war to Tokyo.
Download or read book The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors written by James D. Hornfischer and published by Bantam. This book was released on 2008-11-12 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can.” With these words, Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland addressed the crew of the destroyer escort USS Samuel B. Roberts on the morning of October 25, 1944, off the Philippine Island of Samar. On the horizon loomed the mightiest ships of the Japanese navy, a massive fleet that represented the last hope of a staggering empire. All that stood between it and Douglas MacArthur’ s vulnerable invasion force were the Roberts and the other small ships of a tiny American flotilla poised to charge into history. In the tradition of the #1 New York Times bestseller Flags of Our Fathers, James D. Hornfischer paints an unprecedented portrait of the Battle of Samar, a naval engagement unlike any other in U.S. history—and captures with unforgettable intensity the men, the strategies, and the sacrifices that turned certain defeat into a legendary victory. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from James D. Hornfischer's Neptune's Inferno. Praise for The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors “One of the finest WWII naval action narratives in recent years, this book follows in the footsteps of Flags of Our Fathers. . . . Exalting American sailors and pilots as they richly deserve. . . . Reads like a very good action novel.”—Publishers Weekly “Reads as fresh as tomorrow's headlines. . . . Hornfischer's captivating narrative uses previously classified documents to reconstruct the epic battle and eyewitness accounts to bring the officers and sailors to life.”—Texas Monthly “Hornfischer is a powerful stylist whose explanations are clear as well as memorable. . . . A dire survival-at-sea saga.”—Denver Post “In The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, James Hornfischer drops you right into the middle of this raging battle, with 5-inch guns blazing, torpedoes detonating and Navy fliers dive-bombing. . . . The overall story of the battle is one of American guts, glory and heroic sacrifice.”—Omaha World Herald
Download or read book One Sailor s Story A Narrative of World War II by a Destroyer Escort Sonar Man written by Malcolm Akey and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2012-10-05 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For Christmas of 1988 my wife, Doris, and our children Ronn, Carolyn and Phyllis gave me a tape recorder in order that I might record my story of the war. So during the winter of 1989, I taped the story of my experiences of the time leading up to World War II and the time I spent as a Destroyer Escort Sonar Man in the Navy. My story ended up being 22 ninety-minute tapes. Over the course of 4 months during the winter of 2011-12, Erma Akey, my sister-in-law, transcribed my story using these tapes. My daughter, Phyllis Akey Gregg and her husband, K.T. (Tom) Gregg, edited this story. Thanks go to Erma, Phyllis and Tom for the time they spent on my memoirs of WWII. Additional thanks goes to my granddaughter, Cynthia Kiesel, and her sister-in-law, Janet Kiesel, for designing and publishing this book.
Download or read book Shepherds of the Sea written by Robert F Cross and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2010-05-15 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This compelling tale of courage, heroism, and terror is told in the words of ninety-one sailors and officers interviewed by the author about their World War II service aboard fifty-six destroyer escorts. They reveal many never-before-told details of life at sea during wartime and, along with information found in secretly kept war diaries and previously unpublished personal photographs, add important dimensions to the official record. Unseasoned teenage recruits when they first went to sea, these sailors were led by inexperienced college boys more accustomed to yachts than warships. Their ships were untested vessels, designed by a man with no formal training in ship design, and which many viewed as a waste of money. Yet, as Cross points out, these men are credited with helping turn the tide of the war in the Atlantic as they singlehandedly sank some seventy U-boats and captured U-505, the only German submarine taken during the war and the first enemy vessel captured by Americans at sea since the War of 1812. In the Pacific, the destroyer escorts fought in every major battle, side-by-side with Allied battleships and destroyers. But this story is not just about battles. It is also about American genius, hard work, honor and growing up in the Great Depression. The author provides eyewitness details about the historic first step taken to end racial discrimination in the military as African-Americans stepped aboard the destroyer escort USS Mason as full-fledged sailors for the first time and earned a Navy commendation of heroism in the Battle of the Atlantic presented to the surviving crewmen fifty-one years later. Readers also learn about an ingenious invention when a sailor breaks his silence about a secret weapon tested aboard his destroyer escort that rendered a new German radio-controlled glide bomb useless.
Download or read book Sailors Journey Into War written by Robert A. Maher and published by Kent State University Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1943, the navy destroyer, USS Borie, and a German U-boat, were engaged in a fierce battle north of the Azores Islands. This personal account from a crew member of the Borie follows the action, as well as illustrating the determination and courage shown by servicemen during the war as a whole.
Download or read book World War II Destroyer Sailor written by James Law and published by . This book was released on 2019-11-30 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This second book in the Pacific War Series features the adventures of a naval officer who advances from Seaman Apprentice (E-1) to the rank of Commander (O-5) in the United States Navy during the 1930s and the outbreak of World War II. CDR David A. Pelham gained most of his operational experience in the destroyer navy, and teams up with Captain "Rats" Mueller USMC and the crew of the C-46 "Commando" transport aircraft to take the fight to their Japanese enemies early in the Pacific War. It is historical fiction that takes some liberty with events, places, and people. The characters are primarily fictitious. If a real person is placed in the story, the author has attempted to portray them truthfully. Many of the tactical situations, weapons, and communications are products of the author's imagination. The story is a tribute to the "Tin Can" sailors that manned fast, lightly armored, and highly versatile destroyers during World War II.
Download or read book The Original Tomcat written by Jackson Sellers and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2004-05-24 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At long last The Original Tomcat has found an everlasting home. Never again will the book be out of print and unavailable to those seeking it. In this respect, Xlibris is superior to traditional publishers. At Xlibris, a book with small or modest sales is not allowed to languish and die. From now on, The Original Tomcat can be purchased from Xlibris.com, Amazon.com or other Internet book services. And for those who are not PC savvy, the book can be ordered at brick-and-mortar bookstores such as Borders or Barnes & Noble. Just ask for The Original Tomcat by Jackson Sellers, and decide whether you want it in dust-jacketed hardback or quality paperback. The worlds most famous class of destroyers, the Fletchers, joined the American fleet during World War II. There were 175 of these little gray workhorses, all heavily armed against threats from sea, land and air. No admiral ever had enough of them. Most fought in the Pacific War against Japan, serving anonymously alongside well-known aircraft carriers and battleships. Dozens of Fletchers ran with the big boys in mighty Fast Carrier Task Force 38/58 under Admirals Halsey, Spruance, Mitscher and McCain. The USS Colahan (DD-658) steamed this perilous but triumphant journey to Tokyo Bay, surviving when others didnt. This is the fifth and final edition of The Original Tomcat: A Fletcher Destroyer Goes to War. The book, which follows the Colahan through the climactic 1944/1945 battles of the Japanese-American Pacific War, was author-published four times in limited editions between 1994 and 1997. It was well received by Colahan shipmates and Fletcher-class destroyer fans, and it continues to be in demand. Here is a sampling of reader reactions: A wonderful work by a skilled writer. All ships should be so lucky as to have their exploits chronicled so well. Thomas J. Peltin, president of Tin Can Sailors, Inc. A magnificent piece of writing. Ray Loughrige, radioman, USS Colahan, Pacific War. Thank you for helping me relive my forgotten youth. Howard Ralby, fireman, USS Colahan, Pacific War. I am absolutely delighted with it. Dick Jones, signalman, ComDesRon 53 staff, Pacific War. Your story makes memories come alive. Clyde D. Killion, chief yeoman, USS Colahan, Pacific War. I commend you for your incredible effort. George Whitney, signalman, USS Colahan, Pacific War. Thanks, Jackson, for making an old sailor feel real good. George McLaughlin, torpedoman, USS Colahan, Pacific War. A great book, a real pleasure. Jim Exchange, baker, USS Colahan, Pacific War. A moving account of the Hazelwood rescue. Peter Dingman, medical officer, USS Colahan, Pacific War. You made the Colahan live again! Henry Gaffin, yeoman, USS Colahan, Pacific War. I couldnt put it down. The Colahan needed this, and we who served on the Colahan needed this. Jim Kinduell, gunnery officer, USS Colahan, Pacific War. A very impressive piece of work. Tim Rizzuto, ships superintendent, USS Kidd Memorial. This is much, much more than a ships history. George English, president of the USS Wedderburn Association. The Original Tomcat has found shelf space in several libraries interested in naval history the Library of Congress; the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation in Washington; East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, and the Louisiana Naval War Memorial Foundation in Baton Rouge, where a copy is on permanent display in the Colahan locker aboard the memorialized USS Kidd. General libraries offering the book include the Springfield-Greene County
Download or read book Only a Sailor Knows written by Edward Alexander Hodges and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Boy a Ship and a War written by Claud Aldrich and published by Books to Believe in. This book was released on 2001-12-05 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This is a stunning WWII biography of a Tin Can Sailor in the Pacific. If you were there, this takes you back and if you weren't, you'll be introduced to a brutal time in US history. Worth the read " A Boy, A Ship & A War is a story of a poor boy, one of nine children (seven boys and two girls), who was drafted into the United States Navy in World War II. He experienced an entirely new world. It was a rude awakening for him. He had to shape up and learn the facts of life of surviving on a warship in a time of war in the Pacific Theater. He had to learn how to be in harm's way and survive. This story is about a sailor on the new destroyer, named for Captain Van Valkenburg of the USS Arizona, who is still entombed in that famous battleship. Claud tells of the destroyer at war with the Axis powers, being attacked many times by planes with bombs, torpedoes, Kamikazes and going to the aid of many stricken ships along the way. After the war, Claud returned to the states and home. He reunited with the shipmates (the other Tin Can Sailors) at reunions 50 years later. Written by a torpedoman, who was there and thankfully, came back all in one piece. Preview this WWII Biography by clicking on the cover of "A Boy, A Ship & A War"
Download or read book Tin Can Sailor written by C. Raymond Calhoun and published by US Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 1993 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than 800 sailors served aboard the Sterett during her hazardous and demanding duties in World War II. This is the story of those men and their beloved ship, recorded by a junior officer who served on the famous destroyer from her commissioning in 1939 to April 1943.
