The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour

by James D. Hornfischer

What the kids had gone through in basic training was meant to adjust their perspective on their relative individual worth in this new world.

“We looked down the dock at the little ship—306 feet long—and then looked at the big cruiser, and said, ‘Oh my God!’”

As the enemy cruisers hammered away at shrinking range, a gunnery officer shouted out, “Just hold on a little longer, boys—we’re sucking them into forty-millimeter range!”