<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Unique
Review: He kept a diary contrary to regulations. In it, he mentions that the U.S. Navy had broken the Japanese Navy Code. This information would have been valuable to the Japanese, if it had fallen into their hands. Thus, inadvertently, his diary affirms the wisdom of the regulation he ignored.How could he have known that the Code had been broken, in only the second year of the war? (1) from an officer; (2) from his close friend in the radio shack; (3) or by guessing. The first is most likely, as his diary seems replete with information broadcast over his ship's loudspeaker. But (4) maybe information was added to his text after the war. Samuel Eliot Morrison wrote the introduction; did he edit it, too? This diary is unique in that it views the Pacific War from the perspective of an ordinary seaman. Some things come through that aren't mentioned in other biographies or official histories. Swabbies were hungry, most of the time. Vermin infested stores. Sailors got less than two hours sleep per day for long periods. They slept on decks in the tropics: no air conditioning. A match left on the deck would ignite. Firing five-inch guns deafened sailors near them, permanently. Loading stores and thousands of shells was exhausting. Boredom, fatigue, typhoons, accidents assailed them. Fahey's personal phobia was sharks. He documents how sailors suffered. To keep going as they did, they needed assurance that what they were doing was worthwhile, that they were appreciated, and that they had a chance for surviving. His diary shows that he received all three. The proof is that he repeated what his officers told him.
Rating: 
Summary: WOW! excellent book
Review: I couldn't put this book down. His stories reminded me of my days in the Pacific and Persian Gulf only a few years ago. You will understand the patriotism that our veterans felt and their perspective toward the enemy. I have an understanding of what our veterans went through and also the war they fought. I think everyone would benefit from reading this book and I recommend it highly!
Rating:
Summary: WOW! excellent book
Review: I picked up this book from my local library because my own father was an ordinary seaman in the WWII Pacific navy but refused to say more than a few words about it before he died over 25 years ago. He hated the food. He served in the Pacific near China at some time. But that's about all I know. In searching the net for books about the naval war in the Pacific this one popped up, and it was a revelation. It shatters the myth that serving in the navy meant three hot meals a day and sleeping on clean sheets and a soft mattress every night, not to mention getting any sleep at all. It also shatters the myth that serving in the navy was safe. I just cannot imagine being in a battle where I was literally surrounded by fighter planes, dive bombers, torpedo planes, and kamikazes from above. Then there were the 5 and 6 and even 8 inch guns from land, enemy warships on the sea, and subs under the surface. As as been said, Mr. Fahey is no Hemingway; but the further I got into his narrative the more it seemed that I was hearing my own father's words. I wasn't, unless of course it turns out that, by some miracle, he served on the U.S.S. Montpelier with Mr. Fahey. But in his straightforward prose he reflects the no nonsense approach my dad always took towards whatever came his way. Reading this book has obvously been a very personal experience for me. So I do highly reccommend this book for anyone whose father served in the navy during WWII but refused to talk about it. But I also give it 5 stars for anyone who just wants to know what the day to day life of a seaman was like during that time.
Rating:
Summary: A must read World War II book
Review: This is the way it was. James Fahey was an ordinary "Joe" like the millions of others who dedicated everything they had to win that terrible war. His book is an on-the-spot account of the real happenings and not memoirs or interviews of others who were there. Fahey writes with simple honesty and clarity. He was not a trained writer. But his simple honesty is what makes this such a great book. As I read it I couldn't help relate the everyday hardships that he and his shipmates accepted with the whining of the "bleeding hearts" who today complain about the treatment of the Taliban/Al Quida prisoners in Cuba. For three years on Fahey's ship, bed time was "hitting the steel", or sleeping on the hard steel deck because it was always too hot in the sleeping compartments. A good night's sleep was often not much more than 45 minutes, and even though the Navy tried it's best to provide good food, that was often nearly impossible under battle conditions. But the esprit-de-corps never faded and Fahey and his brothers on the cruiser Montpelier couldn't have been prouder to serve. They were great men in sailor's clothes. I really enjoyed this book. Anyone who forgets what real heroes went through to preserve our freedom should read this before they worry about the comforts of those who want to take it away.
Rating:
Summary: A must read World War II book
Review: This is the way it was. James Fahey was an ordinary "Joe" like the millions of others who dedicated everything they had to win that terrible war. His book is an on-the-spot account of the real happenings and not memoirs or interviews of others who were there. Fahey writes with simple honesty and clarity. He was not a trained writer. But his simple honesty is what makes this such a great book. As I read it I couldn't help relate the everyday hardships that he and his shipmates accepted with the complaints of the bleedings hearts who today complain about the treatment of the Taliban/Al Quida prisoners in Cuba. For three years on Fahey's ship, bed time was "hitting the steel", or sleeping on the hard steel deck because it was always too hot in the sleeping compartments. A good night's sleep was often not much more than 45 minutes, and even though the Navy tried it's best to provide good food, that was often nearly impossible under battle conditions. But the esprit-de-corps never faded and Fahey and his brothers on the cruiser Montpelier couldn't have been prouder to serve. They were great men in sailor's clothes. I really enjoyed this book. Anyone who forgets what real heroes went through to preserve our freedom should read this before they worry about the comforts of those who want to take it away.
<< 1 >>
| 
