The first is Neptune's Inferno: the US Navy at Guadalcanal, and the second is A Nightmare's Prayer, a personal history of a Harrior pilot in Afghanistan in 2002-03. The book on Guadalcanal is the most detailed account of US naval (surface) operations during that campaign that I have read. It is written by James D. Hornfischer who also wrote The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, possibly the finest history of WWII US Navy surface action ever written. In Inferno we learn that the US Navy, in August 1942, was neither prepared or trained to fight night-time surface actions when we had to do so to keep the Marines from becoming overwhelmed by japanese reinforcements brought in nightly by surface transports sent down the "Slot" from Rabaul in New Britain. Our basic surface problem in the Solomon Islands campaign was that the US Navy had few carriers (3) in the Pacific at the time and only a few battleships as well - and we couldn't afford to lose any at that point in the war. The japanese, who didn't have surface-search or fire-control radar on their ships, were highly trained night-fighters and used their DDs very effectively as torpedo platforms as well. The US Navy had been re-fighting the Battle of Jutland for the prior 20 years, and - while excellent gunners generally - were not prepared to fight on the terms dictated by the japanese navy nor did we know how to use our radar to maximum effect. While we prevailed in the naval campaign eventually, we lost more ships & more tonnage than the japanese. Surprisingly, we lost 5,041 sailors in the Guadalcanal Campaign at sea as compared to only 1,592 marines killed ashore.
A Nightmare's Prayer , on the other hand, is a highly personal account by the exec of VMA-513, LTCol Michael Franzak, USMC (ret.). It covers his deployment to Afghanistan during the period 2002-03 flying the AV-8B Harrier. Franzak's story makes riveting and sometimes highly emotional reading. He was a confused teenager who joined the Navy in the early 80's and found himself growing-up faster than his peers. He became a NESEP (?) and took a USMC commission upon college graduation. He was a good stick, but not the best in his squadron. He was a good officer, but probably not the best in his unit, either. What made his story so compelling to me was that he (like many before him) came to question why he was being asked to kill people he didn't know when the reasons for & results of his risking his life everyday were so . . . inscrutable, to say the least. This thread has gone on too long, but the book is well-written, definitely from-the-heart, and an excellent source of good naval air stories from someone who lived it.
Both books are available on Amazon.com and in either new or used condition.
A Nightmare's Prayer , on the other hand, is a highly personal account by the exec of VMA-513, LTCol Michael Franzak, USMC (ret.). It covers his deployment to Afghanistan during the period 2002-03 flying the AV-8B Harrier. Franzak's story makes riveting and sometimes highly emotional reading. He was a confused teenager who joined the Navy in the early 80's and found himself growing-up faster than his peers. He became a NESEP (?) and took a USMC commission upon college graduation. He was a good stick, but not the best in his squadron. He was a good officer, but probably not the best in his unit, either. What made his story so compelling to me was that he (like many before him) came to question why he was being asked to kill people he didn't know when the reasons for & results of his risking his life everyday were so . . . inscrutable, to say the least. This thread has gone on too long, but the book is well-written, definitely from-the-heart, and an excellent source of good naval air stories from someone who lived it.
Both books are available on Amazon.com and in either new or used condition.
