Customer Reviews

Bluewater Sailor: The Memoirs of a Destroyer Officer

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Commander Sheppard's work moves as fast as an action
novel in his fine memoir as a mustang on his first
ship as an officer.

Sheppard's skills and training are tested constantly
by turf struggles and jealousies, but his innate
abilities and determination win the hard-earned respect
of fellow officers and crewmen alike.

As in his "Destroyer Skipper", Sheppard's work may
be of interest primarily to those interested in
U.S. Navy destroyer operations and shipboard life,
but it may also be profitably read as a primer in
leadership,

Highly recommended.

(The numereical rating above is a default setting
within Amazon"s format. This reviewer does not
employ numerical ratings.)

Once I turned the first few pages of the book, I was caught. The author tells his story in such a way that you always want to see what happens next. There are few, if any dull moments in this book, and if you like stories of life in the military, you will certainly like this book. I laughed, I cried, I got it on sale. END

Sheppard, who passed away in 2004, wrote a memorable and thrilling memoir of his days in the navy. I have re-read it about once a year since I received it for my birthday several years ago. It is a gripping tale of a "Mustang" (a seaan who worked his way up through the enlisted ranks and finally made officer)in his first Westpac on a destroyer. It is a methodically spun story that opens a window to a myriad of things, from ship handling, psychological warfare among the officers(his relations with different officers), to the mechanics of prosecuting a submarine contact in an ageing WWII era destroyer. If you are remotely curious about the navy, the Cold War, or just want a good read that will be difficult to put down, this is your book. Enjoy.

Everyone who has served on a Navy surface combatant has heard a thousand Sea Stories, and told dozens. The genre has rules. The narrator is always at the center of the tale, vanquishing the stupidity and ignominy around him. He must couch his heroism in a becoming self-denigration, and throw in plenty of irony and at least a few touches of the absurd.

Commander Sheppard's book is his life's collection of sea stories. He has mastered the genre. He therefore has a built-in audience of all who have served in a similar command (destroyers), locale (western Pacific), or time (mid-century). Yokosuka, Kaohsiung, Subic, Olongapo, Hong Kong; unreps, roiling seas, plane-guard, harrowing transfers, chasing subs, communist junks, Mary Soo, typhoon.

It is a prequel to his earlier "Riverine", recounting his experiences as a river gunboat officer in the Mekong Delta. Binh Thuy, Can Tho, Bassac River, VC Island, Silver Star Alley. I am smack in the middle of his audience because I served in both types of command and all the same locales, just a little later than he. If you are of similar background, you will recognize it all.

There is a wider audience, too. Sea stories provide a classic literary vehicle: a small civilization under stress, with consequent illumination of relationships and character.

The arc of Sheppard's story is his evolution as an officer. He had been the youngest Chief Petty Officer in the Navy before Officer Candidate School turned him into a Mustang (up-from-the-ranks officer). He reports aboard his destroyer filled with ambition. His drive and perfectionism win him admiration all around, but no one can stand him. He is haughty and intolerant, with a chip on his shoulder. He feels looked-down on by the Ivy League and Naval Academy types. A blunt talking-to by a benign executive officer turns him around. A wise captain becomes another mentor. Sheppard turns warm and humane. Voila. The perfect officer.

What holds attention is the storytelling--one anecdote after another, in classic sea-story fashion. Often vivid (rank body odor caused by a water shortage suffuses the ship "like vomit in a closed car"; two destroyers a hundred feet apart roll together and touch masts "like a maiden aunt's kiss").

Hundreds could have written this book, but Sheppard actually did. Worthwhile.