Inchon to Wonsan: From the Deck of a Destroyer in the Korean War

by James Edwin Alexander

Destroyers were the workhorses of the U.S. fleet in 1950 when the Communists invaded South Korea. These versatile ships hunted submarines, screened aircraft carriers during air operations, bombarded the shoreline, served on radar picket patrol and blockade duty, and performed search and rescue missions. This is the story of their experiences during the first crucial year of the war, told by an enlisted man from the destroyer John A. Bole. Writing as a young sailor with the banter, sea stories, and bawdy language typical of the era, James Alexander presents an accurate and revealing view of the war through a seaman's eye while giving the reader a useful overall perspective of the war.
For this book Alexander has created a fictional destroyer named the USS John J. Borland, and he records through this single vessel the actual experiences of a number of real destroyers via their logs and diaries and other source materials. In addition, Alexander takes a look at the political aspects of the war and provides new insight into the Truman-MacArthur conflict that eventually led to General MacArthur's firing.

228 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1996

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's good for a sailor in today's Navy to remember that we are a fighting force. Sailors need to be prepared and understand what happens to our ships (and the sailors inside) when the "bad guys" start shooting.