Valor and Courage
The University of Alabama Press (Verlag)
978-0-8173-2099-7 (ISBN)
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Recounts the stories of the USS Block Island CVE-21 and CVE-106 and their crews, many of whom served on both ships in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres
In Valor and Courage: The Story of the USS Block Island Escort Carriers in World War II Benjamin Hruska explores the history and commemoration of the USS Block Island—or, more properly, the Block Islands, as two escort carriers bore that name during WWII. The first, CVE 21, bears the distinction of having been the only American aircraft carrier sunk in the Atlantic Theatre after being torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of North Africa.
Of the CVE-21’s 957 crew members, six sailors were killed and eighteen injured in the strike, and four of the Block Island’s fighter pilots were lost later in the day searching for a safe place to land their planes. When the CVE-106 was commissioned to replace its predecessor, Captain Massie Hughes successfully persuaded the Navy to keep the CVE-21’s crew together in manning the new ship. After resurrection as the CVE-106, the Block Island was assigned to the Pacific theater where it fought until the end of the war. The saga of these two ships and the crew that navigated two very different theaters of war offers a unique lens on naval strategy and engineering as it evolved during WWII, especially as pertains to the escort carrier class—generally underappreciated both in naval studies and in public memory.
Using archival materials, dozens of oral histories, primary sources, and official records, Hruska traces the life of the Block Island from the CVE-21’s construction through its missions in the Atlantic, its work as an antisubmarine hunter, its destruction, and the lasting impact of those experiences on its crew. Hruska’s study juxtaposes traditional military history with an examination of the acts of remembrance and commemoration by veterans who served on the escort carriers, how those practices evolved over time, and how the meanings of personal wartime experiences and memories gradually shifted throughout that process.
List of Figures
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1. Carrier Interpretation
Chapter 2. “Combustible, Vulnerable, and Expendable”
Chapter 3. Triptych
Chapter 4. Pearl
Chapter 5. Amalgamation
Chapter 6. “Well Done, Massie Hughes”
Chapter 7. “Luminous Metallic Underworld”
Chapter 8. “Better Part of Six Years”
Chapter 9. “The Lord Looks Out for Drunks, Small Children, and CVEs”
Chapter 10. “Quickening of Pulse”
Chapter 11. “Like Bananas in Bunches”
Chapter 12. “Rocket Business”
Chapter 13. Denver Omelet Sandwiches
Chapter 14. “Long Haired Scientists”
Chapter 15. Massie
Chapter 16. “Stand by to Repel Boarders!”
Chapter 17. Buoyant Battlefield
Chapter 18. Crucible
Chapter 19. “Seeing Ghosts”
Chapter 20. St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
Chapter 21. Okinawa
Chapter 22. The Last D-Day
Chapter 23. “Yanks Are on Their Way!”
Chapter 24. Magic Carpet
Chapter 25. Remembering
Conclusion: Void of Memory
Notes
Bibliography
Index
| Erscheinungsdatum | 17.08.2021 |
|---|---|
| Reihe/Serie | Maritime Currents: History and Archaeology |
| Verlagsort | Alabama |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 152 x 229 mm |
| Gewicht | 580 g |
| Themenwelt | Natur / Technik ► Fahrzeuge / Flugzeuge / Schiffe ► Schiffe |
| Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► 1918 bis 1945 | |
| Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Militärgeschichte | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-8173-2099-7 / 0817320997 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-8173-2099-7 / 9780817320997 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
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