A Sailor's Life in World War II Author:Z. W. 'Ski' Kowalewski When he was 96, the spirited and decorated World War II veteran Z. W. "Ski" Kowalewski wrote and published his first book, "A Sailor's Life in World War II". — "When I retired out of the Navy, I wanted to write a book about my Navy career, and that's what this is," he says with a smile. On th... more »e cover is a photograph of a plane crashed at sea, with Ski swimming away from the sinking bomber. "I was on four aircraft carriers and served in the Pacific, and we deliverd airplanes to Alaska," Ski says "I also served on an aircraft carrier in the North Atlantic and we sank a submarine. During his military career Ski survived a number of close calls, all described in his book.
The story of a twenty year old enlisted in the US Navy before Pearl Harbor; his flights as turret gunner in torpedo bombers, perilous flying from aircraft carriers, bombing flights from Guadalcanal, attacking and sinking of a Japanese aircraft carrier, and the burial at sea of a German submarine captain in the North Atlantic.
Ski Kowaleski's account of Navy life provides a unique view of what it was like to be a pilot during and after World War II. « less