Bering Sea Escort; Life Abroad a Coast Guard Cutter in World War II

Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1992. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Good. ix, [3], 126, [6] pages. Illustrations. Diagrams. Maps. Index. Some DJ wear. Robert Erwin Johnson (3 February 1923 - 28 January 2008) was a University of Alabama professor of history and considered "one of the finest scholars of the nineteenth century U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard" After completing his doctoral work in 1956, the University of Alabama appointed him assistant professor in the faculty of history. He was promoted to professor of history in 1967. He was a member of the American Historical Association, Society for Nautical Research, Naval Historical Foundation, and the United States Naval Institute. He received many awards for his publications, including his book, Guardians of the Sea, which won the Roosevelt Prize in Naval History from the New York Council of the Navy League of the United States, the North American Society for Oceanic History's John Lyman Book Award for the best book in U.S. naval history, and the U.S. Naval Institute's Special Award of Merit. Bering Sea Escort: Life Aboard a Coast Guard Cutter in World War II, details the author's experiences on board the USCGC Haida from July 1941 until March 1944. The 240 foot Haida, Robert Johnson's first duty station, was primarily employed escorting convoys across the Gulf of Alaska and westward to the Aleutian Islands. The author briefly details the Haida's whole career, but the focus is the period of his almost three year tour. Johnson makes it clear that Haida, which was commissioned in 1921, was not the optimum sub hunter. Her WWI vintage armament and lack of radar impeded her combat effectiveness. From his first bout of seasickness to his sentimental departure, he also captures the lot of the average seaman and the bond that grows between a sailor and his ship. This offers is a view of men doing an important job that was essential to the war effort. They did their part to the very best of their ability. For an accurate glimpse of the sailor's life during WWII this is a great book.