∎ PDF Gratis A Dawn Like Thunder The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight eBook Robert J Mrazek

A Dawn Like Thunder The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight eBook Robert J Mrazek

Download As PDF : A Dawn Like Thunder The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight eBook Robert J Mrazek

A Dawn Like Thunder The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight eBook Robert J Mrazek

Though not an inveterate book reader or particular collector of war tales, I've reread this particular book 4 or 5 times! Although a fact based retelling of the adventures and tragedies of Torpedo Squadron Eight at the start of WWII in the Battle of Midway and later in Guadalcanal, this book flows like a good fictional novel. But... this one's for real.

Obviously a labor of love and the well-honed product of years of painstaking research, this factual novel by Robert J. Mrazek is told in a series of intimate bios about the pilots of this doomed squadron of over 70 years ago, complete with pilot photographs, follow-ups on the survivors, and an extensive and informative appendix listing the author's historical research sources.

A history of one of WWII's lesser known stories most poignantly told, highlighting bad guys and good guys on both sides, "A Dawn Like Thunder" is one of the most affecting books I have ever experienced. Author Mrazek is to be thanked and congratulated. This book is one of the great ones!

Tom P. Bullock

PS—Available in both hard bound & paperback, it was given to me by my niece, who also loved it. Pointedly, this is not just a "men-only" story.


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A Dawn Like Thunder The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight eBook Robert J Mrazek Reviews

A Dawn Like Thunder is the work of historical writer and former U.S. congressman Robert Mrazek, and tells the story of Torpedo Squadron Eight (VT-8) in WW2. The action covered in the book includes not only the fateful flight of the fifteen TBD Devastators launched from Hornet (CV-8) the morning of June 4, 1942, but also the TBF Avengers flying from Midway, and later, the remnant of VT-8 aboard Saratoga (CV-3), and finally operating from Guadalcanal during the protracted battle for that island. The saga concludes when VT-8 is disbanded after leaving Guadalcanal. The story related by Mrazek is not a simple chronicle of a combat unit's achievements and losses. Rather, it is a story about the men of VT-8, coming from a variety of backgrounds and locations in the United States, whose lives converge during the first year of the Pacific War, enduring together the hardships unique to Pacific theater combat during 1942.

The first part of the book primarily concerns the men who flew the TBDs off Hornet the morning of June 4, 1942, and the VT-8 detachment of TBFs from Midway that same day. There is interesting background not only on the best known members such as the CO John Waldron or the only survivor of the TBD attack, Tex Gay, but on many of the other doomed flyers as well. I was particularly interested in one of them, Bill Evans, who seems to have been a rare combination of both a man of action, and a man of the mind. He undoubtedly possessed some literary talent, and had he lived might have made significant contributions to the literature or historiography of the Pacific War.

The second part depicts the post-Midway history of VT-8, led now not by the fatherly John Waldron, but by the obsessive martinet, "Swede" Larsen. Larsen is the most vivid character in this latter portion of the book, reminiscent somewhat of Captain Ahab from Moby Dick. VT-8 serves for a time aboard Saratoga, then as the Guadalcanal campaign heats up, and Saratoga is sidelined by a Japanese torpedo, VT-8 finds itself flying from the island itself, and subject to the conditions of privation there. Attrition of pilots and planes takes a toll on VT-8, and U.S. forces on Guadalcanal find themselves for a while in such straitened circumstances that VT-8 personnel are made to man foxholes alongside Marine infantrymen.

It is the vivid portrayal of individual men, and the insight the reader is given into their personal lives, that set A Dawn Like Thunder apart from other books that cover similar subject matter. I found it a refreshing break from reading "just the facts" style military history.
This is one of the best WWII histories that I have read. It is both well written and very informative. I knew of the ill-fated attack of the Torpedo 8 squadron at the battle of Midway, but this was only a small part of the story of Torpedo 8. This book tells the rest of the story. It begins with the men of Torpedo 8, then covers their attack at Midway and then their exploits in the battle for Guadalcanal. All of this is told from the perspective of the men of the squadron, and in telling the story the author provides a human face to go with the often-told aspects of military history, and in the telling greatly added to my understanding of these events. The book goes into detail about the men and most of all about their commanders, one of whom (John C. Waldron) comes across as a great, and beloved, leader of men, while two others (Stanhope C, Ring and Harold "Swede" Larsen) are painted in much less than favorable terms.

What is in the book -
1) I had read that Avenger Torpedo planes flying from Midway were involved with the Midway Battle, but I did not realize that they were from the same squadron as the older Devastator Torpedo planes that flew from the aircraft carrier Hornet. This book explains why the squadron was divided up and why some of its members flew Avengers from Midway and others Devastators from Hornet. The newer Avengers did not fare any better than the older and obsolete Devastators, illustrating that it was the lack of fighter protection that led to the defeat of both parts of the squadron, and that the complete destruction of the Devastators was not solely due their being obsolete.
2) Many books mention that the leader of the ill-fated Devastator attack, Lieutenant Commander John C. Waldron, deviated from the course led by his superior Stanhope C. Ring, the commander of the Hornet Air Group 8. While Waldron and all but one man under his command were killed while inflicting no damage on the Japanese fleet, their heroic actions have been cited as contributing greatly to the overall US victory at Midway. This book explains why Waldron did not follow Ring and that if Ring had followed Waldron's path, or responded to Waldron's call when he had located the Japanese fleet, the Midway Battle might have been an even greater US victory, possibly preventing the sinking of the US aircraft carrier Yorktown. Many at the time and since have faulted Ring for this, even to the extent of accusing him of incompetence or even cowardice. This book paints a somewhat more nuanced picture, laying much of the blame on Marc Mitscher the captain of the Hornet. According to a lengthy appendix provided in the book, Mitscher assumed that the Japanese had divided their fleet and accordingly directed Ring to fly in the wrong direction. Ring then stubbornly adhered to this course in spite of not finding the Japanese fleet and Waldron's signal that he had found them by following a different path. The book cites evidence that Mitscher then covered up his error by altering the Hornet's log, and then rewarded Ring for accepting the blame for the failure of all of the Hornet's air crews, except for those led by Waldron, to find the Japanese.
3) This is not a complete history of the Battle of Midway. It focuses almost entirely on Torpedo 8, with brief discussions of other aspects of the battle.
4) The Battle of Midway only forms half of the book. The latter half of the book is devoted to the exploits of Torpedo 8 in the battle for Guadalcanal. While the exploits of John Waldron and those who followed him are well known the subsequent actions of Torpedo 8 on Guadalcanal are not. This book provides a much-needed picture of them and the air war for Guadalcanal. In addition to telling the story of Torpedo 8 on Guadalcanal, this part of the book discusses the relationship of the leader of Torpedo 8, Harold "Swede" Larsen, and those he commanded. He is pictured as being very brave, but driven, bigoted, imperious and disliked (even hated to the extent that on two occasions men pulled guns on him and had they not been wrestled to the ground might have killed him). As it is an interesting picture of a very brave man who drove his men, perhaps too maniacally, but was willing to place himself in as much even more danger than they, but sometimes for little more than an overarching thrust for vengeance, recognition.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of WWII and to anyone interested in a well-written book that describes how men arose to meet great challenges.
Though not an inveterate book reader or particular collector of war tales, I've reread this particular book 4 or 5 times! Although a fact based retelling of the adventures and tragedies of Torpedo Squadron Eight at the start of WWII in the Battle of Midway and later in Guadalcanal, this book flows like a good fictional novel. But... this one's for real.

Obviously a labor of love and the well-honed product of years of painstaking research, this factual novel by Robert J. Mrazek is told in a series of intimate bios about the pilots of this doomed squadron of over 70 years ago, complete with pilot photographs, follow-ups on the survivors, and an extensive and informative appendix listing the author's historical research sources.

A history of one of WWII's lesser known stories most poignantly told, highlighting bad guys and good guys on both sides, "A Dawn Like Thunder" is one of the most affecting books I have ever experienced. Author Mrazek is to be thanked and congratulated. This book is one of the great ones!

Tom P. Bullock

PS—Available in both hard bound & paperback, it was given to me by my niece, who also loved it. Pointedly, this is not just a "men-only" story.