The Splendid Five is a true story about five wooden subchasers participating in island invasions in the Pacific during WWII. The U. S. Navy converted these small ships to LCC's in the summer of 1944 in New Caledonia and turned them over to General Douglas MacArthur for his island-hopping campaign. This mighty armada, variously called "The Splinter Fleet" and "The Donald Duck Navy" (because of the Walt Disney logos on the bridge of each), participated in the invasions of Peleliu Island, in the mysterious Palaus, Leyte Gulf (the first invasion of the Philippines), and Lingayen Gulf, on the island of Luzon.Life aboard a subchaser was not at all like life aboard an aircraft carrier, battlewagon, cruiser, tincan, DE, PC, pigboat, or, for that matter, PT-boat. It was unique. And yet its story has never been told. The rumor was that only volunteers would be assigned to these coffins, and that the maximum length of service aboard one of them would be nine months. In the case of the SC-995 I was the only volunteer aboard, and no one, even big John Leavy, who had many physical ailments, including open sores had chronic seasickness, was ever rotated to the States.
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About the Author
Wesley Hall served as a radio operator at NXZ, Admiral Halsey's base radio station at Comsopac in 1943, and aboard the Subchaser-995 during the last year and half of WWII. He now lives on Lake of the Ozarks, in Missouri, with his wife, Sharon.
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5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Splendid Five, a splendid book,
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This review is from: The Splendid Five: A True Story About the Splinter Fleet in the Pacific During WWII (Paperback)
A splendid story about WWII! Wesley has a gift for dialog and character building. His book reads like a novel as he finds himself in a safe backwater trying to get into the war. His antics are reminiscent of Catch 22 as two old salts get him into all kinds of trouble which leads to their being assigned to Splendid Five, a pre-WWI wooden ship shorter in length than the wingspan of a B-29. It was a subchaser "built to chase submarines but which could not defend herself from one." Splendid Five and her sister ships were assigned to the Army to support MacArther's island hopping campaign to the Philippines. It starts in a light-hearted way but rapidly becomes grim as they enter their first battle off Pelelui*. The author got his first kill but learned: "Death for us would never hold the terrors it once had for we had seen it up close and knew it for what it was: The inevitable calling in of one's number." We...were delighted when they spotted a Kilroy Was Here sign on the beach where " . . . no American could have done that and no Jap would do it . . . " He never explained how it got there. A splendid read indeed. Don't miss it! *Editor's note:"Bloody Peleui" cost nearly 2000 American lives and eight thousand wounded. To prepare for these landings at Pelelui, Halsey's TF38 started a softening up campaign. Four TBFs off the light carrier San Jacinto took off to strike the radio station at Chichi Jima in the Bonins. A young, unknown Lt (j.g.) got shot down but was picked up by the American submarine, Finback. The Lieutenant's name was George H. Bush.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Book to Become a Movie,
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This review is from: The Splendid Five: A True Story About the Splinter Fleet in the Pacific During WWII (Hardcover)
It is clear that this unknown story of WWII wooden subchasers will in the near future be chosen for the big screen.
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Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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general quarters, task force commander, fourth officer, base commander, other subchasers, yippy boat, stateside music, starboard lifeline, undress whites, starboard twenty, gangway watch, bridge gang, noon chow, skivvy shirt, blinker light, evening chow Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Wesley Hall, The Splendid Five, Eddie Jake, New Caledonia, Receiving Station, July Roucloux, Department Heads, Captain's Chair, Tokyo Rose, Leyte Gulf, All Same Joe, War Zone, New Guinea, Splinter Fleet, Naval Regulations, Port Section, Pink House, Ile Nou, Wild Bill, Ship's Stores, Leapfrog One, Admiral Weter, Ensign Howorth, Supply Base, Suva Harbor Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
general quarters, task force commander, fourth officer, base commander, other subchasers, yippy boat, stateside music, starboard lifeline, undress whites, starboard twenty, gangway watch, bridge gang, noon chow, skivvy shirt, blinker light, evening chow Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Wesley Hall, The Splendid Five, Eddie Jake, New Caledonia, Receiving Station, July Roucloux, Department Heads, Captain's Chair, Tokyo Rose, Leyte Gulf, All Same Joe, War Zone, New Guinea, Splinter Fleet, Naval Regulations, Port Section, Pink House, Ile Nou, Wild Bill, Ship's Stores, Leapfrog One, Admiral Weter, Ensign Howorth, Supply Base, Suva Harbor Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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