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Tin Can Titans
- Author
- John Wukovits
- Narrator
- Robertson Dean
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Publish Date
- 15 August 2017
- Run Time
- 10 hours 47 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
When Admiral William Halsey selected Destroyer Squadron 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 résumé; 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 and its men, who bested the Japanese in the Pacific and helped take the war to Tokyo.
Critics Review
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“Wukovits has ferreted out deeply personal stories of the officers and enlisted men who experienced hell aboard these destroyers.”
Wall Street Journal
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“Sure to stir the imaginations of many veterans and well worth the time of adventure-loving civilians.”
Roanoke (VA) Times
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“One of the preeminent writers on the history of US Navy operations in the Pacific theater…Well presented and poignantly human.”
New York Journal of Books
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“A detailed account…revealing the naval aspect of the Pacific war through the eyes and ears of those who fought it. Highly recommended.”
Midwest Book Review
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“[Wukovits] draws overdue attention to the heroism, dedication, and courage of the young destroyer sailors…[He] does a masterful job capturing the day-to-day boredom, excitement, and fear ordinary tin can sailors experienced on routine patrols at the height of the Pacific war. He expertly weaves together monthly war diaries, action reports, and ships’ histories, as well as interviews and oral histories from the officers and sailors that lived, fought, and often died together…He gives the men that fought in the squadron their due.”
America in WWII
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Details
- Author
- John Wukovits
- Narrator
- Robertson Dean
- Duration
- 10 hours 47 minutes
- Release Date
- 15 August 2017
- ISBN
- 9781538459270
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Blackstone Publishing
- Genre
- Second World War, Naval forces and warfare, Military history, Military history
Synopsis
When Admiral William Halsey selected Destroyer Squadron 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 résumé; 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 and its men, who bested the Japanese in the Pacific and helped take the war to Tokyo.
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