Trapped at Pearl Harbor: Escape from Battleship Oklahoma (Bluejacket Books) - Softcover

Young, Stephen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1557509921 ISBN 13: 9781557509925

Publisher: Naval Institute Press, 2013

Synopsis

Also Available in an Audio Edition from Audible via Amazon

Author Stephen Young was a seaman first class assigned to gunnery duty in turret no. 4 on the Oklahoma when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Struck by a bomb, the battleship started to sink, and Young and others became trapped when it overturned. Young describes their terrifying experience with stunning clarity. He recounts the violence of the capsizing, which killed or injured many of the men, and the survivors' frantic search for an escape route. He remembers their horror at finding all the exits blocked and their despair over the possibility of never being rescued.

This account of their experience is undeniably one of the most dramatic stories to unfold during the air raid. With incredible realism, Young describes the water's inexorable rise, inch by awful inch; the sickening taste of fuel oil; the foul smell of the air; the nervous wisecracks echoing through the cold darkness; and finally the silence. The intensity and suspense rival that of any fictional thriller--the recounting of his escape is particularly spellbinding. To place his experiences in a broader context, Young also provides little-known tales of tragedy and bravery that occurred elsewhere on that Day of Infamy. First published in hardcover in 1991 to wide acclaim, this memorable story remains popular today.

About this title

About the Author:

Stephen Bower Young served as a seaman and petty officer in the regular navy and as a commissioned officer in the naval reserve, from which he retired. He was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries received 7 December 1941 and a Navy Unit Commendation and five battle stars while serving in the light cruiser Honolulu in the Guadalcanal, New Georgia, and Aleutian campaigns during World War II. He was recalled to active duty during the Korean War and served in the attack transport Monrovia.

From AudioFile:

Young, who was a seaman on the battleship U.S.S. Oklahoma, has written an articulate recollection of what happened to him and many of his shipmates between the time the ship was torpedoed and they were rescued some thirty hours later. Tim Murphy's voice is pleasingly resonant; its masculine quality brings out the character of all the sailors and officers and just as ably tells us of shore liberty and the confusion of the attack. The actual attack and capsizing of the "Okie" (which was moored next to the U.S.S. ARIZONA) make up a good third of this work. Yet it's so well written and read that the listener is amazed to realize that all these events transpired in a mere ten-minute time span. M.T.F. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Naval Institute Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1557509921
• ISBN 13: 9781557509925
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240