Author Stephen Young was a seaman first class assigned to gunnery duty in turret no. 4 on the battleship Oklahoma when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The battleship was struck by several torpedoes and began to sink, trapping Young and others when it overturned. With incredible realism, Young recounts this terrifying experience, recalling the frantic search for an escape route, the horror of finding the exit blocked, and such unforgettable detail as the water’s inexorable rise, the sickening taste of fuel oil, the foul smell of the air, the nervous wisecracks, and finally the silence as the possibility of rescue became ever more remote.
A propos de l’auteur
Stephen Bower Young served as a seaman and petty officer in the regular navy and as a commissioned officer in the naval reserve, from which he retired. He was awarded the Purple Heart for injuries received 7 December 1941 and a Navy Unit Commendation and five battle stars while serving in the light cruiser
Honolulu in the Guadalcanal, New Georgia, and Aleutian campaigns during World War II. He was recalled to active duty during the Korean War and served in the attack transport
Monrovia.