Customer Reviews

Crommelin's Thunderbirds: Air Group 12 Strikes the Heart of Japan

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Crommelin's Thunderbirds is written by two Navy veterans who flew in from the U.S.S. Randolph (CV-15), in Air Group Twelve. It covers the period from February to June 1945. The ship flew in operations on Japan,and Iwo Jima before suffering Kamikaze damage while at the forward base, Ulitihi. Their Air Group Commander, Charles Crommelin was detatched on temporary duty with the U.S.S. Hornet, at that time. Commander Crommelin, one of the five Crommelin brothers, the most decorated family in U.S. Navy history, was killed in action over Okinawa while with the Hornet. Air Group Twelve continued, and from early April 1945, the ship returned to action, flying cover for operations off Okinawa. In the book there are many reminiscences by veterans of how an event looked to them. This adds a "first-person" quality to the work that helps its perspective. It is well-written and interesting throughout. This period of World War II in the Pacific has not had much written about it. Yet there are parts of it that remain current today. This time of the war saw manned bombs (Kamikazes), that foreshadowed the guided missle warfare of the present.

My Dad was one of Crommelin's Thunderbirds as a TBM aviator, so granted I'm a bit biased, but it's a great read, due in large part to the personal anecdotes contained within. Too many of today's generation haven't a clue of what our parents generation sacrificed. This book brings a lot of that home.