Little Ship/Big War

Lots of histories cover the major events of WWII, but what I liked was the way the author covered small details--little "slices of life" aboard a fighting ship. It's difficult for readers today, accustomed to the security we enjoy, to appreciate the anxiety that sailors faced. What to us seems like an inevitable victory against Japan was not such a sure thing to the men being shot at, and for that reason alone this book is worth reading.

Way back in 4th grade I got a little book on the Battle of Midway (I think it was Ira Peck's) in a book distribution at school because the book I really wanted about making paper airplanes was already taken. I enjoyed that book immensely and began to turn the capacity for detail that most kids my age spend on dinosaurs or baseball towards the Pacific war. This book, though, which I scrounged at a used book store when I was a high schooler, introduced me to the human side of WWII. The people in the book were just plain old folks in a little ship in the middle of a big war. This book turned me into a historian, instead of just a reader of history books, because it introduced me to the concept that all history is biography. People make things happen, they don't happen on their own. You can read what happened, or you can look into why the people did what they did. This book doesn't give too much insight into the grand schemes of the Pacific War; the title says it all. It was, however, the catalyst that matured my interest in history. It is also a very fine read in its own right!

World War II was my parent's generation's war, and I am consistently drawn to stories of the sacrifices made by them. This is an excellent bit of history, told in a artfull but straightforward way. I highly recommend it.

We are planing a reunion of DE shipmates and would like to give this book to all in attendance. Our ship was commissioned 1 month after DE 343 and we went to the same locations and training. I am amazed at the details and the accuracy of the book. It came to me by chance from my children and will remain one of the most valued in my library. I hope it will be reprinted.

Edward Stafford, a retired commander in the U.S. Navy, is better-known for his book "The Big E" about the carrier USS Enterprise during World War II. However, this book is worthy to stand with that epic work. A autobiography of Stafford's 1943-45 service on the USS Abercrombie, a destroyer escort, he describes in an very readable manner, day-to-day service on a WWII DE. The Abercrombie was one of hundreds of little-known ships who did their duty without fanfare during World War II. The crew was made up of heroes, cowards, spit-and-polish martinets, true leaders and all the others. Humorous incidents as well as the stress of constant general quarters are described in a very believable manner. Probably the highlight of the book (for me) was Stafford's description of the Battle Off Samar in October, 1944. In it, a handful of destroyers, DEs and escort carriers were all that stood between the Japanese main fleet and the American invasion fleet of helpless transports. Stafford describes in moving detail the sacrifices of these ships in launching attacks against ships ten times their size in an epic that is long-overlooked and ranks with the Alamo and Bastogne. Stafford's ship was within sight of the enemy fleet, and although not engaged, he describes the feelings of men who know they will soon launch their frail craft against an enemy many times their strength. If I had to take ten books on a desert island, this would we one of them. I hope that some smart publisher (maybe the USNI's "Classics of Naval Literature series?) will decide to bring this out again.