The Short Life of a Valiant Ship: USS Meredith

by Barry Friedman

On October 15, 1942, Japanese carrier planes attacked and sank the destroyer USS Meredith off Guadalcanal Island in the South Pacific. Meredith had been escorting USS Vireo, a sea-going tug towing a barge laden with much-needed fuel and ammunition for the planes on Guadalcanal. When the attack became imminent, the crew of Vireo was taken aboard Meredith. Only 96 of the 329 men aboard both ships survived. For four days they struggled, combating immersion in the oil-coated ocean, dehydration, injuries, burns, shark attacks, and strafing by enemy planes. The account makes for one of the most gripping tales of World War II.

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 2, 2007

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

During my fifty-odd years as an orthopaedic surgeon. I kept a small notebook (and paper napkins) on which I recorded incidents I thought were unusual. Most were humorous, some tragic. After I retired I started writing vignettes based on these notes. Several were published in obscure magazines. Then I read an article by Lawrence Block (a REAL writer) in which he stated that if you can write a short story you can write a book. I took him at his word, embellished several of the vignettes and have now published twelve books. Living off twenty-dollar royalty checks ain't easy, but it beats bagging groceries at Safeway.
The books are all listed on Amazon.com. They are in paperback and ebook format.
My website is www.barryf.com

Reviews

[Sara Sargent · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of my grandfather's first ship assignment right out of boot camp

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short sad life of the USS Meredith. Good little read.