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Escape from Java: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the USS Marblehead
The harrowing, triumphant true story of an antiquated light cruiser and its crew suddenly under fire in the Pacific as WWII “An engrossing tale.” —Naval Historical Foundation
The old light cruiser Marblehead was living out her final years of naval service as a member of the United States Asiatic Fleet in 1941. The small group of mostly antiquated ships based in the Philippines sailed the waters of East Asia to show the American flag in places like China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. Then the sudden eruption of World War II in the Pacific put the warship on the front lines of the conflict as Imperial Japan unleased a series of devastating attacks across the region.
On the morning of February 4, 1942, the warship was surprised by Japanese planes northeast of Java. Two large bombs slammed into Marblehead, causing fires and casualties and knocking out her steering gear. A third bomb exploded close by underwater. The near miss ripped a large gash into her hull, allowing a torrent of water to rush inside the ship.
Escape from Java takes us throughout the ship as the story unfolds—next to gunners toiling to keep their guns firing, with medical staff tending to the wounded, and alongside damage control sailors working in flooded compartments. The Japanese confidently radioed that they had sunk the ship—but through courage, sacrifice, and superhuman effort, Marblehead would set out on a harrowing 13,000-mile journey back to the US . . .
“An engrossing tale of an obsolescent ship’s survival amid great odds set against the brutal early fighting of the Pacific War. This book will appeal to a wide audience not only as high wartime adventure but simply as a story of gritty perseverance when the odds are heavily against.” —Naval Historical Foundation
The old light cruiser Marblehead was living out her final years of naval service as a member of the United States Asiatic Fleet in 1941. The small group of mostly antiquated ships based in the Philippines sailed the waters of East Asia to show the American flag in places like China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. Then the sudden eruption of World War II in the Pacific put the warship on the front lines of the conflict as Imperial Japan unleased a series of devastating attacks across the region.
On the morning of February 4, 1942, the warship was surprised by Japanese planes northeast of Java. Two large bombs slammed into Marblehead, causing fires and casualties and knocking out her steering gear. A third bomb exploded close by underwater. The near miss ripped a large gash into her hull, allowing a torrent of water to rush inside the ship.
Escape from Java takes us throughout the ship as the story unfolds—next to gunners toiling to keep their guns firing, with medical staff tending to the wounded, and alongside damage control sailors working in flooded compartments. The Japanese confidently radioed that they had sunk the ship—but through courage, sacrifice, and superhuman effort, Marblehead would set out on a harrowing 13,000-mile journey back to the US . . .
“An engrossing tale of an obsolescent ship’s survival amid great odds set against the brutal early fighting of the Pacific War. This book will appeal to a wide audience not only as high wartime adventure but simply as a story of gritty perseverance when the odds are heavily against.” —Naval Historical Foundation
420 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 24, 2022
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18 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 19, 2025
This is not just a book about the miraculous escape of the USS Marblehead from the East Indies in World War 2, but also of the history of the ABDA Command and its failure to stop the overwhelming onslaught of the Japanese in the early days of the Pacific campaign.
The USS Marblehead was commissioned in 1924, and by 1941 were obsolete and living out its days with the US Asiatic Fleet in the Philippines. She joined an assortment of other US, British, Dutch and Australian ships, most of them obsolete for fleet operations against the Japanese navy and air force, in forming the ABDA Command to protect the East Indies from Japanese invasion. They were lacking modern anti-aircraft weapons and almost never had air cover when going on operations, and so in February 1942 during the Battle of Makassar Strait she was badly damaged by 3 enemy bombs, that took all humanly possible effort from her crew just to keep her afloat. She reached Tjilatjap on the south coast of Java for emergency repairs before making the long and arduous journey back to New York to receive permanent repairs and doing duty in the Atlantic and Mediterranean for the rest of the war.
Along with this is the story of Dr Corydon Wassell (not a Marblehead member) who cared for and orchestrated the escape of some USS Marblehead and USS Houston crew members on one of the last ships to leave Java and make it to Australia. This is a great addition to the book, and for me the best part. The book has a good mix of individual and operational stories, but is heavily let down by typos, wrong words and grammatical errors which made it frustrating to read at times. I never usually take a star away for something like this, but this was by far the worst of these errors I have seen and took some joy away from the read for me. Still a great read and highly recommended.
The USS Marblehead was commissioned in 1924, and by 1941 were obsolete and living out its days with the US Asiatic Fleet in the Philippines. She joined an assortment of other US, British, Dutch and Australian ships, most of them obsolete for fleet operations against the Japanese navy and air force, in forming the ABDA Command to protect the East Indies from Japanese invasion. They were lacking modern anti-aircraft weapons and almost never had air cover when going on operations, and so in February 1942 during the Battle of Makassar Strait she was badly damaged by 3 enemy bombs, that took all humanly possible effort from her crew just to keep her afloat. She reached Tjilatjap on the south coast of Java for emergency repairs before making the long and arduous journey back to New York to receive permanent repairs and doing duty in the Atlantic and Mediterranean for the rest of the war.
Along with this is the story of Dr Corydon Wassell (not a Marblehead member) who cared for and orchestrated the escape of some USS Marblehead and USS Houston crew members on one of the last ships to leave Java and make it to Australia. This is a great addition to the book, and for me the best part. The book has a good mix of individual and operational stories, but is heavily let down by typos, wrong words and grammatical errors which made it frustrating to read at times. I never usually take a star away for something like this, but this was by far the worst of these errors I have seen and took some joy away from the read for me. Still a great read and highly recommended.
March 6, 2023
ABDA
More than just the story of one American ship, the author captures the events and heroics of allied forces in the early days of a little known corner of World War Two. Fascinating.
More than just the story of one American ship, the author captures the events and heroics of allied forces in the early days of a little known corner of World War Two. Fascinating.
December 22, 2023
I don't know much about the navy. So this book certainly introduced to me to a whole new world. Learned a lot, however, I'm not sure it was that extraordinary of a story. Still a solid read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews