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Destroyer Skipper: A Memoir of Command at Sea
Looks at the naval career of officer Don Sheppard, covering his stints as an executive officer of a destroyer, and then as commander of another one, with the high points and difficulties of his posts
288 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1996
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July 18, 2015
Westpac sea stories.
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").
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").
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