Book 22: All the Gallant Men, by Donald Stratton

Date finished: June 21, 2022

This is the first memoir from a survivor of the USS Arizona who was there on the day of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, who has since passed away.

The story is told well, with backgrounds provided on the author as well as other shipmates and their families. These backgrounds are usually given to provide context to the circumstances of the story, and they do, but they also give a vivid picture of life in the 1940s and 1950s, particularly military life.

This was a gripping book, which had me in tears more than once. Chapter 4 is the chapter that describes that day, and it's unforgettable. What those men went through, the destruction, the deception and glee of the Japanese fighters, and the bravery of both the victims and survivors are almost too much to take in.

But this book deals with more than just the attack. Chapters 5 and following retell the recovery of the author, who had serious burns all over his body, and the others who were wounded that day. It tells of the compassion of the nurses, civilians, and even some of the prostitutes from the red-light district, who gave blood, emptied bed pans, sat up with the wounded, and even accompanied them home via ship for further medical care in California.

We must never forget.

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