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The Ship That Would Not Die
The commander of the Laffey, an American destroyer, documents the ship's part in the Normandy invasion, her battles in the Pacific, and her resistance under Kamikaze attacks.
Hardcover
First published September 1, 1980
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 26, 2013
This book tells the story of the USS LAFFEY and the men who served on her during the Second World War. The book tells the story from the perspective of her commanding officer, Julian Becton, and covers the period from the USS LAFFEY's commissioning in 1943 till its de-commissioning in 1975.
The main part of the story is of course the account of the USS LAFFEY's role fighting off twenty-two Japanese Kamikaze aircraft during the Okinawa campaign. However the book offers more than that, it starts with a short account of the first USS LAFFEY in World War Two which was lost during the fighting off Guadalcanal against the Japanese Battleship Hiei. An action that the author participated in while serving on the USS Aaron Ward.
The author then takes us through the building of the new USS LAFFEY (DD724) , the assembly of its crew and officers, its commissioning and subsequent role in the Normandy campaign of 1944. The story then follows the USS LAFFEY to the Pacific where it took part in the campaign to liberate the Philippines. From there we follow the LAFFEY and crew to Iwo Jima and then to Okinawa where the USS LAFFEY was subsequently assigned a role in the Destroyer picket line.
This picket line was a system designed to provide an early warning of approaching Japanese forces to the American fleet and assault troops fighting around Okinawa. The ships in this picket line also served as a lightning rod to the Japanese Kamikaze planes. For most part the destroyers and other ships were isolated from the main fleet and as such appeared to be easy targets for the Japanese. As the narrative unfolds in this book it shows that this was not always the case.
On April 16th, 1945 whilst at radar picket station number 1 the USS LAFFEY was attacked by twenty-two Japanese aircraft. The destroyer took a hell of a beating but managed to stay afloat after massive damage and the loss of 32 men killed and 71 wounded, some with horrific injuries.
I found that I managed to feel a deep respect not only for the crew, that's expected of course, but also for the Japanese flyers. I don't know if that was the author's intention but occasionally he would describe something that allowed you to visualize the young Japanese pilot in his cockpit as his plane is closing in for the final plunge into eternity. Then it hits you that these poor pilots were young men just doing their duty (as they saw it) for their country just as much as the young American's trying to shoot them down.
The narrative at times may come across a bit "corny" to some readers but the book was first published in 1980 and I believe the author is just conveying the feelings of those who served at that time. The story moves along at a quick pace and you really feel for some of the men, the silent heroes in this terrible incident, who died at their posts or in trying to save their ship mates. This is a good book and a great story of one ship and its brave crew during the Second World War. I have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone who enjoys accounts of naval combat or stories of the fighting during WW2.
The main part of the story is of course the account of the USS LAFFEY's role fighting off twenty-two Japanese Kamikaze aircraft during the Okinawa campaign. However the book offers more than that, it starts with a short account of the first USS LAFFEY in World War Two which was lost during the fighting off Guadalcanal against the Japanese Battleship Hiei. An action that the author participated in while serving on the USS Aaron Ward.
The author then takes us through the building of the new USS LAFFEY (DD724) , the assembly of its crew and officers, its commissioning and subsequent role in the Normandy campaign of 1944. The story then follows the USS LAFFEY to the Pacific where it took part in the campaign to liberate the Philippines. From there we follow the LAFFEY and crew to Iwo Jima and then to Okinawa where the USS LAFFEY was subsequently assigned a role in the Destroyer picket line.
This picket line was a system designed to provide an early warning of approaching Japanese forces to the American fleet and assault troops fighting around Okinawa. The ships in this picket line also served as a lightning rod to the Japanese Kamikaze planes. For most part the destroyers and other ships were isolated from the main fleet and as such appeared to be easy targets for the Japanese. As the narrative unfolds in this book it shows that this was not always the case.
On April 16th, 1945 whilst at radar picket station number 1 the USS LAFFEY was attacked by twenty-two Japanese aircraft. The destroyer took a hell of a beating but managed to stay afloat after massive damage and the loss of 32 men killed and 71 wounded, some with horrific injuries.
I found that I managed to feel a deep respect not only for the crew, that's expected of course, but also for the Japanese flyers. I don't know if that was the author's intention but occasionally he would describe something that allowed you to visualize the young Japanese pilot in his cockpit as his plane is closing in for the final plunge into eternity. Then it hits you that these poor pilots were young men just doing their duty (as they saw it) for their country just as much as the young American's trying to shoot them down.
The narrative at times may come across a bit "corny" to some readers but the book was first published in 1980 and I believe the author is just conveying the feelings of those who served at that time. The story moves along at a quick pace and you really feel for some of the men, the silent heroes in this terrible incident, who died at their posts or in trying to save their ship mates. This is a good book and a great story of one ship and its brave crew during the Second World War. I have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone who enjoys accounts of naval combat or stories of the fighting during WW2.
July 2, 2018
I recently read Brave Ship, Brave Men, by Arnold S. Lott, which is the story of a Navy mine layer/destroyer, the USS Aaron Ward, attacked and severely damaged by Japanese kamikaze aircraft during the battle for Okinawa in the spring of 1945. The Ship That Would Not Die similarly describes the life and near death of the USS Laffey, another destroyer overwhelmed and nearly sunk by kamikazes two weeks before the near fatal attack on the Aaron Ward.
The Laffey’s story is told by her first skipper, then Commander Julian Becton. The ship is followed from the time she is being completed as a brand new addition to the U.S. Navy, until the devastating kamikaze attacks in May 1945. Assigned to Radar Picket Station 1 as an early warning ship west of Okinawa, the Laffey’s job was to detect approaching Japanese aircraft and vector U.S. combat air patrol fighters to intercept them before they set upon the main U.S. fleet supporting the Okinawa invasion.
Becton chronicles the ship’s and crew’s evolution from being a brand new, ‘rookie’ vessel in the U.S. Navy, through her initial shakedown training in Bermuda, and on to her joining the invasion force supporting the D-Day landings in Normandy in early June 1944. She bravely sailed close inshore, attacking German shore batteries. From there, the Laffey returned to the U.S. and by September she was on her way to the Pacific war and her fate off of Okinawa.
Becton’s description of the final attacks by over 20 Japanese planes is riveting. The Laffey, despite a spirited defense, is ultimately overwhelmed. Severely damaged, her rudder stuck, steaming in a circle, she continues to fight off the kamikazes until darkness and arriving U.S. fighters save her. Becton and the crew fight to keep the ship afloat while she is towed back to Okinawa. After temporary repairs, the Laffey sails back to California and then on to Brooklyn, New York, where she sits as the war ends. She is repaired, placed in the mothball fleet and then is re-commissioned during the Korean War. She remains in commission until 1975. Eventually she becomes a museum ship in South Carolina, where she remains today, the ship the would not die.
Right after her return to the west coast the wrecked Laffey was opened to the public. Thousands of civilians visited her, witnessing first hand the devastating results of the Japanese attacks. This drove home to the civilians that the war was far from over as an implacable enemy was fighting to the death and taking a devastating toll on their sons, fathers, brothers and friends.
Becton’s book keeps alive this most costly period in the history of the U.S. Navy. It suffered its greatest losses and largest casualties from the Japanese kamikaze attacks that occurred from October 1944 through the end of the war in August 1945. Becton himself, awarded four Silver Stars and the Navy Cross, became one of the war’s most decorated surface warfare officers, fitting for the skipper who kept his ship alive, and through this book, the legacy of his brave and honorable crew.
The Laffey’s story is told by her first skipper, then Commander Julian Becton. The ship is followed from the time she is being completed as a brand new addition to the U.S. Navy, until the devastating kamikaze attacks in May 1945. Assigned to Radar Picket Station 1 as an early warning ship west of Okinawa, the Laffey’s job was to detect approaching Japanese aircraft and vector U.S. combat air patrol fighters to intercept them before they set upon the main U.S. fleet supporting the Okinawa invasion.
Becton chronicles the ship’s and crew’s evolution from being a brand new, ‘rookie’ vessel in the U.S. Navy, through her initial shakedown training in Bermuda, and on to her joining the invasion force supporting the D-Day landings in Normandy in early June 1944. She bravely sailed close inshore, attacking German shore batteries. From there, the Laffey returned to the U.S. and by September she was on her way to the Pacific war and her fate off of Okinawa.
Becton’s description of the final attacks by over 20 Japanese planes is riveting. The Laffey, despite a spirited defense, is ultimately overwhelmed. Severely damaged, her rudder stuck, steaming in a circle, she continues to fight off the kamikazes until darkness and arriving U.S. fighters save her. Becton and the crew fight to keep the ship afloat while she is towed back to Okinawa. After temporary repairs, the Laffey sails back to California and then on to Brooklyn, New York, where she sits as the war ends. She is repaired, placed in the mothball fleet and then is re-commissioned during the Korean War. She remains in commission until 1975. Eventually she becomes a museum ship in South Carolina, where she remains today, the ship the would not die.
Right after her return to the west coast the wrecked Laffey was opened to the public. Thousands of civilians visited her, witnessing first hand the devastating results of the Japanese attacks. This drove home to the civilians that the war was far from over as an implacable enemy was fighting to the death and taking a devastating toll on their sons, fathers, brothers and friends.
Becton’s book keeps alive this most costly period in the history of the U.S. Navy. It suffered its greatest losses and largest casualties from the Japanese kamikaze attacks that occurred from October 1944 through the end of the war in August 1945. Becton himself, awarded four Silver Stars and the Navy Cross, became one of the war’s most decorated surface warfare officers, fitting for the skipper who kept his ship alive, and through this book, the legacy of his brave and honorable crew.
April 9, 2021
Excellent memoir by the former Captain of the USS Laffey detailing his background, the ship’s construction, combat on D-Day and then culminating in her gallant stand off of Okinawa. He provides several anecdotes of his men, many of whom were lost in that last fateful battle, and it really serves to bring their memory alive.
October 23, 2021
This is a good enough book that is lacking in texture and flavor. The writing, while grammatically correct, is a bit stiff. The navy battles and adventures are definitely told with more flair than the personal tidbits.
Personal anecdotes and commentary about command style, discipline, parties and services aboard ship, admin and operational tidbits felt forced and wooden, sometimes a bit preachy.
Perhaps the skipper should have written only about the Navy stuff and not so much of the misc.
Personal anecdotes and commentary about command style, discipline, parties and services aboard ship, admin and operational tidbits felt forced and wooden, sometimes a bit preachy.
Perhaps the skipper should have written only about the Navy stuff and not so much of the misc.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews