"For Crew and Country"

October 25^th seems to attract events of monumental courage against great odds: Henry V of England against a far superior French force in the 1415 Battle of Agincourt; an outnumbered British cavalry in the famous 1854 “Charge of the Light Brigade; and the defiance of a small, unprotected American fleet against a formidable Japanese fleet in the Battle of Samar in the Pacific Theater of World War II in 1944. That last heroic effort is the subject of John Wukovits attention grabbing account of the USS Samuel B. Roberts in his book, For Crew and Country, (St.Martin’s Press, 2013).

From an introduction of key players (including skipper Robert W. Copeland), Wukovits takes the reader through an overview of the paths which brought them together on a little destroyer escort. Then he unfolds the sequence of tactical errors which placed the Roberts and three other escort destroyers (along with three destroyers and four escort carriers), directly in the path of four Japanese battleships, eight cruisers and eleven full size destroyers. Skillfully, Wukovits draws the reader into the desperate efforts of the  victims to hide and flee. Then he takes them right on board the Samuel B. Roberts in its incredible broadside charge, close range torpedo launch and side-by-side gun battle against an enormous opponent. What follows is a tooth grinding account of a blundered rescue effort which left the survivors to face the dangers of the open, shark infested ocean for three days. With all that having been said, the author clutches the reader’s heart in his hands in his account of the lives of the key players who survived and the lives of the families of key players who did not survive.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough for its depiction of courage, loyalty, stamina and the real face of warfare. It is eminently thought provoking.

Special thanks to Greg Scroggin who introduced me to the book.