Courage and Survival

The Pacific campaign in World War II has always interested me. The majority of written material on the second world war seems to largely be focused on the land battles within the European theatre. SO, it was with interest I came across this title.

Many years ago as a teen, I visited the USS Intrepid floating museum in New York city. Back then I had little understanding of the second world war and even less of an appreciation of the great ship I stood upon. Now, many decades later I have a new appreciation and perspective on many of the Pacific campaigns and this book has added nicely to that understanding.

This book paints a picture of the life aboard a U.S fleet carrier that the young pilots lived in. A world where life and death were but a heart beat away. A world where you lost close friends along the way. And sadly, a world that few of the younger generation today understand and, even less, care about.

The story itself revolves around one particular young pilot and his contributions to the Pacific war, his being shot down amidst the furious battle of Layte Gulf and his subsequent struggles for survival. Yet again I am forced to think how there is so much material here that could go into a movie and yet Hollywood continues to pump out mostly drivel these days, focusing more on political messaging than delivering stories like this that would make people;realize what they have today.

All in all, this is a fascinating story and well worth a read. My one minor gripe were the typos, or misspeaks by the narrator, not sure which. Some examples of this are:

* Helldriver instead of Helldiver
* Drowning instead of downing
* Pincher instead of pincer
* Yamato instead of Yamamoto
* Fighter instead of freighter

However, despite the nit picks, this didn't spoil what is an excellent story.

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