LUCKY THIRTEEN: D-Days in the Pacific with the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II [Hardcover]

Ken Wiley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2007

Winner of the 2008 Foundation for Coast Guard History Book AwardThe images of soldiers and marines coming ashore on hostile shores are embedded in our collective memory of World War II. But what of the sailors who manned the landing craft, going back and forth under fire with nowhere to take cover, their craft the special targets of enemy gunners.?

In this book, Ken Wiley, a Coast Guardsman on an Attack Transport in the Pacific, relates the intricate, often nerve wracking story of how the United States projected its power across 6,000 miles in the teeth of fanatical Japanese resistance. Each invasion was a swirl of moving parts, from frogmen to fire support, transport mother ships to Attack Transports, the smaller Higgins boats (LCVPs), and during the last terrifying stage the courageous men who would storm the beaches.

The author participated in the campaigns for the Marshall Islands, the Marianas the Philippines and Okinawa, and with a precise eye for detail relates numerous aspects of landing craft operations, such as ferrying wounded, that are often discounted. He conveys the terror and horrors of war, as well as, on occasion, the thrill, while not neglecting the humor and camaraderie of wartime life.

An exciting book, full of harrowing combat action, Lucky Thirteen also provides a valuable service in expanding our knowledge of exactly how World War II's massive amphibious operations were undertaken

REVIEWS

"... A personable and engaging tale of World War II from an oft-overlooked point of view."www.midwestbookreview.com 4/2007

".. It's quite a different view of the war, interesting and well worth reading. And keep in mind that the kid who got his parents permission to go into the Coast Guard was only 17. Within a very few years, he was a full fledged man, still too young to drink or vote, but a man."Books On Line 4-18-07

"The author knows whereof he speaks.As a coastguard LCVP coxswain, he served in amphibious assaults from the Marshalls and Marinas, to the Philipines and Okinawa. His tale cogently imparts both fear and certain dark humor of war."Proceedings 06/2007

"For unknown reasons, there are virtually no first person books by or about US Coast Guard coxswains in World War II. Ken Wiley corrects that oversight with LUCKY THIRTEEN, a book to be treasured."WWII History Magazine, 09/2007

"...provides a valuable service in expanding our knowledge of exactly how World War II's massive amphibious operations were undertaken."The U.S. Coast Guard Reservist 05/2007

"...This very-well written and organized account of D-Days in the Pacific with the US Coast Guard should appeal to both scholars and the general public and should be in every library of every World War II and Coast Guard historian."Journal of Military History 11/2007

"...an engaging, honest account of boys becoming men in a dangerous and utterly unpredictable environment." Military History of the West 01/2008

"...an ideal book for the younger generation, veterans, recruits, and Officer Candidates. Lucky Thirteen is highly recommended"Journal of Slavic Military Studies, 04/2008

"...well written and illustrated with photographs and excellent drawings of life aboard ship by one of the shipmates." The Hook, Winter 2010

"...a well-written and equally well-illustrated memoir of life aboard an LST during World War II, a role the Coast Guard played which is often overlooked by history texts today... unprecedented contribution to the field of Coast Guard History..."Foundation for Coast Guard History, 09/2008

"...fills the gaps of the Coast Guard's significant and important role during World War II and the officers and men of the Coast Guard's contribution to victory in the Pacific."Steamboat Historical Society, Fall 2008

",,, an engrossing account of the island hopping Pacific War as seen through the eyes of the young commander..." Warships International, 06/2010

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Casemate (February 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193203353x
• ISBN-13: 978-1932033533
• ASIN: 193203353X
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #478,783 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One Of A Kind Tale, May 26, 2007

By 

Gary Sisco - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: LUCKY THIRTEEN: D-Days in the Pacific with the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II (Hardcover)

Since September 11, the US Coast Guard, the nation's fifth armed service -- almost always overlooked or ignored as even *being* an armed force -- has finally begun receiving the public acknowledgment and respect due the US's oldest, continuously existing branch of service. Most Americans don't know much if anything about the Coast Guard, especially its participation in every American war except Korea, where it had no purpose, or that it is in Iraq and the Persian Gulf today, where it has taken its first killed in action since Vietnam.

When there was an amphibious landing in WW2, a large percentage of the landing craft coxswains were Coast Guard enlisted men. It was the service that had the most coxswain experience with ocean-going small boats, after all. More, Coast Guard, and sometimes Navy, beachparties went ashore with the first wave of Marines in the Pacific theater's island battles, fighting alongside them until a beachhead had been established, when they'd begin organizing the first medical stations, evacuation of the wounded, and orderly supply depots on the beach.

Finally, this book -- Ken Wiley's *Lucky Thirteen* -- has appeared to document this virtually unknown aspect of WW2. A personal memoir told in the first person, the book reads like what it is: a CG coxswain's account of his service in the Pacific. It's apparent that the writer is an amateur recording personal experience from memory, but the book is nevertheless an important contribution -- the only book of its kind, to my knowledge -- documenting a little known part of the war by an often ignored armed force.

And a rollicking good tale.

You want this one in the WW2 section of your library.

Gary Sisco,
former ET3,
USCG,
Vietnam Era

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LUCKY THIRTEEN: An engaging true life WWII story told from the heart, June 8, 2007

By 

Tom Reddock "Tom Reddock" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: LUCKY THIRTEEN: D-Days in the Pacific with the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II (Hardcover)

I particularly enjoyed this book because it is an important story about our nation's history and is told from the inside by a man who was there and lived it, instead of by some scholarly historian or journalist with an axe to grind. The pace is even and fast and the story is told compassionately without the slightest hint of bitterness toward the military, the enemy, the author's superiors, or his mates - even the ones who lost their courage under fire. This is the story of young men coming of age in the most extreme and trying circumstances. In any age of our history this will be an important book, but especially now with so many over-stuffed politicians on both sides of the aisle vying for attention while our young men and women, such as the ones in this story, are doing the brave and dirty work. This book gives us reason to stand proud of who we really are as a nation, and reminds us of the sacrifices that were paid for our standing as the world's freest nation.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A personable and engaging tale of World War II from an oft-overlooked point of view., April 9, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: LUCKY THIRTEEN: D-Days in the Pacific with the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II (Hardcover)

Author Ken Wiley tells of his service in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II in Lucky Thirteen: D-Days in the Pacific with the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II, a military memoir in first-person perspective. Wiley was only 17 when he enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1943; in the Pacific Theater, he was given responsibility of commanding "Lucky Thirteen", his own Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel. His task was to shuttle troops and supplies form the transport to the beaches, often while under fire and during inclement weather conditions. He served in campaigns for the Marshall Islands, the Marianas, the Philippines, and Okinawa. Lucky Thirteen recounts beach combat, kamikazes and suicide boats, sniper fire, and dangerous jungle river expeditions as well as sad tales of lost loves, friends made and lost, and humorous accounts of shipboard life. A personable and engaging tale of World War II from an oft-overlooked point of view.