Battle Stations: How the USS Yorktown Helped Turn the Tide at Coral Sea and Midway

by Stephen L. Moore

The true story of the valiant men who gave their all to save the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown—and changed the course of the Pacific War. On June 4, 1942—six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor—Yorktown’s crew began the carrier’s final battle against Japan’s infamous aircrafts. Hotshot fighter pilot Lieutenant Scott McCuskey attacked from the air in his Wildcat, becoming the Navy’s second-ever “ace in a day.” Carpenter Boyd McKenzie worked tirelessly to repair Yorktown before a fresh air strike. Critically injured gun crew member George Weise fought for his life as the ship threatened to capsize. Meanwhile, Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class Warren Heller raced to save the lives of bloodied gunners and sailors by evacuating them before time ran out. The stories of these heroes and many other brave servicemen bring the gripping narrative of Yorktown’s final thirty days to life, as she fights in the near back-to-back Battles of Coral Sea and Midway. Through unpublished memoirs and interviews with Yorktown’s last surviving veterans, acclaimed author Stephen L. Moore offers up a new and compelling amount of a pivotal month in World War II, while honoring the courage of those who served.

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 2, 2021

Reviews

[Susie James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading "Battle Stations", Stephen L. Moore's gripping account of the Battles of Coral Sea and Midway in early 1942. I found it at Walmart in Grenada, Miss., several weeks ago. Oddly I was in the grip of Moore's description of the aftermath of a Japanese bomb's damage to the USS Yorktown in May 1942 when a loud hissing and sizzling sound startled me (that was the hot water heater in my little old trailer reacting to the loss of running water because of a problem the water department had with one of its stations) Yikes. I thought I'd been yanked into the context of what I was learning about. For a second or two, was I discombobulated! Yes, I kept referring to the section of photos as I read about what happened to certain people involved in the wartime action about the Yorktown, very engaging -- highly recommend this.