A very interesting memoir of the Navy just before World War II. The author cuts no one any slack, including himself. I especially enjoyed reading about his time away from the ship on liberty. It gave me some new insights about what happens when "The fleet's in!"
But perhaps the best part of the book happens when he was on duty during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
But perhaps the best part of the book happens when he was on duty during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
A detailed, sympathetic view of the life of an enlisted sailor on the Battleship California beginning in peacetime and through the Pearl Harbor attack and after. Mason was a radioman, an elite specialty for that time. His encounters with career battleship sailors are often amusing. The contrast between the simple peacetime life of a sailor in the tropics and the savagery the morning of Dec 7 and after is stark. One of the best "and I was there" accounts.
