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War Diary

by Gary L. McIntosh

429 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #04-1114; ISBN 1-4120-3287-3; US$28.89, C$33.22, EUR22.52, £14.93

War Diary is a virtual day-to-day look at the sometimes boring and often dangerous life of the Tin Can Sailor of World War 2.

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About the Book      About the Author      Excerpts      Catalogue Information

About the Book

The destroyers of World War II were the workhorses of the fleet, but their contributions have been largely forgotten in the passage of time. Even during the war, official reports listed the names of all battleships, cruisers, and aircraft carriers participating in an operation, but the destroyers that escorted the Task Group and drew the dangerous close in fire support tasks were seldom listed by name or hull number. They were grouped in classifications such as "fourteen Destroyers" or merely, "fourteen escorts."

Drawing on official records and the memories of the men who fought in the Pacific War from its decks, Gary McIntosh has created a highly readable history of the USS Stevens, a Fletcher-class destroyer that participated in some of the better known invasions of the war and some that have been virtually forgotten. Spanning the years from the time the ship was launched in June 1942 until it was decommissioned in September 1946, few books have ever chronicled the life of a single ship the way this one does. Tin Can Sailors and landlubbers alike will enjoy this story of life aboard a destroyer during the greatest conflict the world has ever known.

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About the Author

Growing up in a small town in Southern Indiana during the 1950's and 1960's, Gary McIntosh frequently heard light hearted tales about his father's service in the US Navy during World War II. When the time came for him to decide his own future, he followed in his father's footsteps and enlisted in the US Navy in 1970.

With his military obligation over and his interest in naval history piqued, the author began a life long pursuit of studying the Pacific war, culminating in this first book about the USS Stevens, the ship his father served aboard. Employed by a financial services firm in Orlando, Florida, the author has another book in the works, this one about naval operations in the Philippines during World War II.

He is the father of two sons.

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Excerpts

Out of the semi-darkness the bridge crew spotted a huge wave bearing down on the ship.  Far larger than any of the waves that had been roughing up the destroyer, this one appeared to tower over the bridge.  The wave slammed into the Stevens with a force that sent the ship reeling onto its side.  The clinometer indicated a 52-degree roll; the ship was more than halfway to capsizing. 

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Catalogue Information

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