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Bluejacket Odyssey, 1942-1946: Guadalcanal to Bikini, Naval Armed Guard in the Pacific
Bluejacket Odyssey 19421946 Guadalcanal to Bikini Naval Armed Guard in the Pacific Author:William L. McGee, Foreword by C.A. Lloyd, USN Armed Guard Veterans of WWII Bill McGee joined the U.S. Navy in 1942 on his 17th birthday. He was assigned to the Naval Armed Guard, the Navy branch that protected Merchant ships and their valuable cargo and crew from enemy attacks and sabotage. This "Kid's Cruise" -- as they were called then -- threw him in the middle of air attacks at Guadalcanal, torpedoing in the South ... more »Pacific, and ended with OPERATION CROSSROADS, the atomic bomb tests at Bikini. Along the way, he experienced the ups and downs of Navy life -- boot camp in Idaho, Armed Guard school on Treasure Island, life on a merchant ship, duty in the battle fleet, at least one girl in every port, and drills, drills and more drills. Drawing on his shipboard journal, plus three years of interviews with former shipmates, and exhaustive research with declassified documents in the National Archives, McGee has produced an engrossing book that has the inimitable mark of one that has been there, done that. He tells an honest, factual story that takes the reader for a ride through the war zones on Liberty ships, Victory ships, and a heavy cruiser, the USS Fall River. From Japanese Zeros, nuclear tests, and South Seas native customs, to marathon poker games, BLUEJACKET ODYSSEY is a firsthand account of a defining period in our nation's history.« less