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"Son, we're going to Hell."
The navigator of the USS "Houston" confided these prophetic words
to a young officer as he and his captain charted a course into U.S.
naval legend. Renowned as FDR's favorite warship, the cruiser USS
"Houston" was a prize target trapped in the far Pacific after Pearl
Harbor. Without hope of reinforcement, her crew faced a superior
Japanese force ruthlessly committed to total conquest. It wasn't a
fair fight, but the men of the Houston would wage it to the death.
Hornfischer brings to life the awesome terror of nighttime naval
battles that turned decks into strobe-lit slaughterhouses, the
deadly rain of fire from Japanese bombers, and the almost
superhuman effort of the crew as they miraculously escaped disaster
again and again-until their luck ran out during a daring action in
Sunda Strait. There, hopelessly outnumbered, the "Houston" was
finally sunk and its survivors taken prisoner. For more than three
years their fate would be a mystery to families waiting at home.
In the brutal privation of jungle POW camps dubiously immortalized
in such films as "The Bridge on the River Kwai," the war continued
for the men of the "Houston"--a life-and-death struggle to survive
forced labor, starvation, disease, and psychological torture. Here
is the gritty, unvarnished story of the infamous Burma-Thailand
Death Railway glamorized by Hollywood, but which in reality
mercilessly reduced men to little more than animals, who fought
back against their dehumanization with dignity, ingenuity,
sabotage, will-power--and the undying faith that their country
would prevail.
Using journals and letters, rare historical documents, including
testimony from postwar Japanese war crimes tribunals, and the
eyewitness accounts of "Houston"'s survivors, James Hornfischer has
crafted an account of human valor so riveting and awe-inspiring,
it's easy to forget that every single word is true.
"From the Hardcover edition."
Written with the storytelling drive that made Jim Hornfischer's
first two books award winners and word-of-mouth favourites, here is
an indispensable work of narrative history by one of the most
commanding chroniclers of the U.S. Navy in World War II. The fight
between the U.S. and Japanese fleets for control of the seas around
Guadalcanal was the most ferocious and important naval campaign of
the Pacific war. In this, the first major account of this landmark
struggle in two decades, Hornfischer narrates an epic tale,
breathtaking in its spectacle, of naval combat unprecedented in its
intensity. Off Guadalcanal, in seas that would become known as Iron
Bottom Sound for the number of warships sunk in action there, three
U.S. sailors would die for every marine who perished ashore. Based
on three years of research, including interviews with veterans who
have never spoken publicly before, essential new archival sources,
and the latest scholarship, Hornfischer gives vivid life to the
story of a nearly forgotten sacrifice, written on a canvas that is
at once epic and deeply, poignantly human. About the Author James D
Hornfischer is a writer, literary agent and former book editor. He
is the author of The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors and Ship of
Ghosts, both widely acclaimed accounts of the U.S. Navy in the
Pacific during World War II.
From the mountains of Afghanistan to urban sniper hides in Iraq,
Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell has seen the worst of war at the sharp
end of battle. In 2006, the "lone survivor" of Operation Redwing
returned to combat as a member of SEAL Team 5 to help take on the
most dangerous city in the world: Ramadi, the capital of war-torn
Anbar Province. It was there that he took part in what has been
called the greatest victory in the history of the U.S. Special
Operations forces.
Luttrell's eye-opening narrative also offers powerful new details
about his time in Afghanistan and his miraculous rescue. After
returning from that star-crossed mission with shattered bones and a
broken heart, he thought of the men who had given their lives to
save him-and how he would have readily done the same for them. He
wondered why he and others, from America's founding to today, had
been willing to sacrifice everything-including themselves-for the
sake of family, nation, and freedom.
A thrilling war story, "Service" is also a profoundly moving
tribute to the warrior brotherhood and to the belief that nobody
goes it alone.
"This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival
cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."
With these words, Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland addressed
the crew of the destroyer escort USS "Samuel B. Roberts on the
morning of October 25, 1944, off the Philippine Island of Samar. On
the horizon loomed the mightiest ships of the Japanese navy, a
massive fleet that represented the last hope of a staggering
empire. All that stood between it and Douglas MacArthur's
vulnerable invasion force were the "Roberts and the other small
ships of a tiny American flotilla poised to charge into history.
In the tradition of the #1 "New York Times bestseller "Flags of Our
Fathers, James D. Hornfischer paints an unprecedented portrait of
the Battle of Samar, a naval engagement unlike any other in U.S.
history--and captures with unforgettable intensity the men, the
strategies, and the sacrifices that turned certain defeat into a
legendary victory.
"From the Hardcover edition.
Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell returned from his star-crossed mission in
Afghanistan with his bones shattered and his heart broken. So many
had given their lives to save him-and he would have readily done
the same for them. As he recuperated, he wondered why he and
others, from America's founding to today, had been willing to
sacrifice everything-including themselves-for the sake of family,
nation, and freedom.
In Service, we follow Marcus Luttrell to Iraq, where he returns to
the battlefield as a member of SEAL Team 5 to help take on the most
dangerous city in the world: Ramadi, the capital of war-torn Al
Anbar Province. There, in six months of high-intensity urban
combat, he would be part of what has been called the greatest
victory in the history of U.S. Special Operations forces. We also
return to Afghanistan and Operation Redwing, where Luttrell offers
powerful new details about his miraculous rescue. Throughout, he
reflects on what it really means to take on a higher calling, about
the men he's seen lose their lives for their country, and the
legacy of those who came and bled before.
A thrilling war story, Service is also a profoundly moving tribute
to the warrior brotherhood, to the belief that nobody goes it
alone, and no one will be left behind.
Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell returned from his star-crossed mission in
Afghanistan with his bones shattered and his heart broken. So many
had given their lives to save him-and he would have readily done
the same for them. As he recuperated, he wondered why he and
others, from America's founding to today, had been willing to
sacrifice everything-including themselves-for the sake of family,
nation, and freedom.
In Service, we follow Marcus Luttrell to Iraq, where he returns to
the battlefield as a member of SEAL Team 5 to help take on the most
dangerous city in the world: Ramadi, the capital of war-torn Al
Anbar Province. There, in six months of high-intensity urban
combat, he would be part of what has been called the greatest
victory in the history of U.S. Special Operations forces. We also
return to Afghanistan and Operation Redwing, where Luttrell offers
powerful new details about his miraculous rescue. Throughout, he
reflects on what it really means to take on a higher calling, about
the men he's seen lose their lives for their country, and the
legacy of those who came and bled before.
A thrilling war story, Service is also a profoundly moving tribute
to the warrior brotherhood, to the belief that nobody goes it
alone, and no one will be left behind.
Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell returned from his star-crossed mission in
Afghanistan with his bones shattered and his heart broken. So many
had given their lives to save him-and he would have readily done
the same for them. As he recuperated, he wondered why he and
others, from America's founding to today, had been willing to
sacrifice everything-including themselves-for the sake of family,
nation, and freedom. In Service, we follow Marcus Luttrell to Iraq,
where he returns to the battlefield as a member of SEAL Team 5 to
help take on the most dangerous city in the world: Ramadi, the
capital of war-torn Al Anbar Province. There, in six months of
high-intensity urban combat, he would be part of what has been
called the greatest victory in the history of U.S. Special
Operations forces. We also return to Afghanistan and Operation
Redwing, where Luttrell offers powerful new details about his
miraculous rescue. Throughout, he reflects on what it really means
to take on a higher calling, about the men he's seen lose their
lives for their country, and the legacy of those who came and bled
before. A thrilling war story, Service is also a profoundly moving
tribute to the warrior brotherhood, to the belief that nobody goes
it alone, and no one will be left behind.
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