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All the gallant men : an American sailor's firsthand account of Pearl Harbor  Cover Image Book Book

All the gallant men : an American sailor's firsthand account of Pearl Harbor / Donald Stratton with Ken Gire.

Stratton, Donald, 1922-2020 (author.). Gire, Ken, (author.).

Summary:

At 8:06 a.m. on December 7, 1941, Seaman First Class Donald Stratton was consumed by an inferno. A million pounds of explosives had detonated beneath his battle station aboard the USS Arizona, barely fifteen minutes into Japan's surprise attack on American forces at Pearl Harbor. Near death and burned across two thirds of his body, Don, a 19-year-old Nebraskan who had been steeled by the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, summoned the will to haul himself hand over hand across a rope tethered to a neighboring vessel. Forty-five feet below, the harbor's flaming, oil-slick water boiled with enemy bullets; all around him the world tore itself apart. In this eyewitness account of the Pearl Harbor attack -- the first memoir by a survivor of the USS Arizona -- 94-year-old Donald Stratton shares his tale of bravery and survival on December 7, 1941, his harrowing recovery, and his determination to return to the fight. Don and four other sailors made it safely across the same line that morning, a small miracle on a day that claimed the lives of 1,177 of their Arizona shipmates -- approximately half the American fatalities at Pearl Harbor. Sent to military hospitals for a year, Don refused doctors' advice to amputate his limbs and battled to relearn how to walk. The U.S. Navy gave him a medical discharge, believing he would never again be fit for service, but Don had unfinished business. In June 1944, he sailed back into the teeth of the Pacific War on a destroyer, destined for combat in the crucial battles of Leyte Gulf, Luzon, and Okinawa, thus earning the distinction of having been present for the opening shots and the final major battle of America's Second World War. As the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks approaches, Don, a great-grandfather of five and one of six living survivors of the Arizona, offers an intimate reflection on the tragedy that drew America into the greatest armed conflict in history.

Item details

  • ISBN: 9780062645357
  • ISBN: 0062645358
  • Physical Description: viii, 306 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 20 cm
  • Edition: First edition.
  • Publisher: New York, NY : William Morrow, [2016]

Contents / Notes

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 273-287) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Prologue: The awakening -- A child of the Depression -- To sea on the Arizona -- The last night -- December 7th -- The damage -- Among angels -- America responds -- Recovery -- Home to Red Cloud -- Back in the fight -- Endgame -- The lessons of Pearl Harbor -- Remembering the Arizona -- Preparing for the seventy-fifth anniversary -- Epilogue: The reunion.
Subject: Stratton, Donald, 1922-2020
Arizona (Battleship)
United States. Navy > Biography.
United States. Navy > Biography.
Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941 > Personal narratives.
Sailors > United States > Biography.
World War, 1939-1945 > Personal narratives, American.
World War, 1939-1945 > Campaigns > Pacific Area.
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Military.
HISTORY / Military / Naval.
HISTORY / Military / World War II.
Pearl Harbor (Oahu, Hawaii), Attack on, 1941 > Personal narratives.
Sailors > United States > Biography.
World War, 1939-1945 > Personal narratives.
World War, 1939-1945 > Campaigns > Pacific Area.
Personal Narratives.
Genre: Personal narratives.

Currently available copies

  • 59 out of 60 copies are currently available at PINES. (Show)
  • 3 out of 3 copies are currently available at Satilla Regional Library. (Show)
  • 1 out of 1 copy are currently available at Willacoochee Public Library.

Holds

  • 0 current holds on 60 total copies.
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Library System: Library Branch Name
Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status  
Satilla Regional Library:
      Willacoochee Public Library
940.54 STRATTON DONALD ( Send Text)
31048005922432 ADULT Available


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