Lucky Sweetbrier: Coast Guard Cutter Survives WWII Okinawa Kamikazes, Typhoons and more... [Hardcover]

Tanney Oberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 26, 2005

The night before, a Japanese seaplane under cover of darkness, landed on the other side of the harbor - unnoticed. In the early morning, he took off and dove at a liberty ship, a short distance off Sweetbrier's port bow. The area wasn't even alerted - not a single shot was fired. He just came over the top of the mountain, picked out the liberty ship and dove right into it. Men were killed and damage was done. Our lookouts saw it all; it was a single float seaplane.

Radio Tokyo summarizing multiple raids on this date, claimed that they had sunk: one battleship, two cruisers, and two transports in this harbor - it didn't happen. Thus ended a busy month of almost daily air raids. Frequently there were multiple raids each day and night interrupting our scheduled navigational work. During this month of May 1945 there were 68 GQs representing 73 hours and 43 minutes at battle stations.

Includes chapters on devastating enemy attacks at Okinawa on LST 808 and battleship Pennsylvania.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tanney Edward Oberg served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II—most of the time aboard the USCGC Sweetbrier as radioman-in-charge. He and his wife Elizabeth reside in Parkville, Maryland.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (July 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595672264
• ISBN-13: 978-0595672264
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,226,886 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars History as it should be written, September 27, 2005

By 

Russ P (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lucky Sweetbrier: Coast Guard Cutter Survives WWII Okinawa Kamikazes, Typhoons and more... (Hardcover)

This book is a well written, interesting view of the men who served on this ship and their interactions. It is honest and doesn't gloss over the reality of the real personalities of real people in a difficult period in our history.
Most "History" is bunk (as Henry Ford is credited with saying), and tells the "spin" of the winners and the rich and the powerful. This is a very good example of what history should be. The book also includes chapters on the devastating attacks on USS LST-808 and battleship USS Pennsylvania.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oral History At Its Best, December 27, 2005

By 

Brian W. Robinson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lucky Sweetbrier: Coast Guard Cutter Survives World War 2 Okinawa Kamikazes, Typhoons and more... (Paperback)

This is a terrific oral history of a workhorse Coast Guard cutter in WWII told by its radioman, Tanney Oberg. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Oberg at a Coast Guard event this past year and he is a delightful man as well as a gifted writer in the Studs Terkel style. If you like oral histories (i.e. Terkel's "The Good War" and his other work) you'll enjoy this book. It's an easy and facinating read.

If you're looking for dramatic tales of Halsey, Nimitz, MacArther and other fellows with stars on their collars cutting their way through the Pacific to converge on Japan you won't find it here. This is a story of working Joes on a hard working warship doing a difficult, unheralded, but important job. Mr. Oberg makes no effort at overdramatizing events or spinning the facts. What you get is the unvarnished truth about life aboard the USCGC Sweetbrier during its war service, including its combat action.

This is a must read for Coasties and a terrific selection for history buffs everywhere. Bravo Zulu Mr. Oberg! Thanks for the wonderful read and thanks to you and your shipmates for your service.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Luckey Sweetbrier, February 23, 2008

By 

C. vonBlankenburg "conradswims" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lucky Sweetbrier: Coast Guard Cutter Survives World War 2 Okinawa Kamikazes, Typhoons and more... (Paperback)

This is a must read for any former Bouy Tender Sailor. The story covers alot of ground including how the 180' bouy tenders took on typhoons and kept on doing their job while under attack. These ships were the great work horses of the Coast Guard and their work saved many lives. Well Done and thanks for telling the story like it was.