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Tales From a Tin Can: The USS Dale from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay
“What was life like on a destroyer during World War II? Find out by reading Michael Keith Olson’s superb telling of tales of the war in the Pacific as seen from the deck of a very luck ‘tin can”… The son of a former Dale crewman, Olson interviewed 44 veterans and delved deeply into official documents to give this book the air of authenticity that puts the reader in the heart of the action.
“ Tales from a Tin Can is the first oral history of one combat ship’s adventures, sometimes comic, sometimes mundane, sometimes heart wrenching, over the entire course of America’s involvement in the Pacific. An impressive accomplishment and highly recommended.”
WWII History
“This fascinating book captures not only the furious clashes with the Japanese but also the humdrum days in-between and the heart-stopping encounters with typhoons that could be as lethal as any engagement with the enemy. Anyone interested in stories from World War II will find this well-illustrated account of the naval campaign in the Pacific fascinating.”
Register –Pajaronian
Looking up from his newspaper from where he sat on the deck of the destroyer USS Dale, Harold Reichert could see the pilot plain as day--the leather helmet with chin strap, the goggles, and then the red rising sun painted on the planes fuselage. "I saw the torpedo drop and watched as it ran up on the old Utah." It was daybreak at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the beginning of the war, and the Dale was there; she would serve until the end, when the atomic bombs were dropped and Japan surrendered.
In the words of those who manned her, the Dales war comes vividly to life in this first oral history of a combat ship from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay. From carrier raids on Midway, Guadalcanal, and the Solomons to the bombarding of Saipan and Guam in the capture of the Marianas, from the Aleutians in the far north to strikes on Tokyo and Kobe, Tales from a Tin Can recreates the action aboard the Dale, and conveys as never before the true grit of wartime on a destroyer.
“ Tales from a Tin Can is the first oral history of one combat ship’s adventures, sometimes comic, sometimes mundane, sometimes heart wrenching, over the entire course of America’s involvement in the Pacific. An impressive accomplishment and highly recommended.”
WWII History
“This fascinating book captures not only the furious clashes with the Japanese but also the humdrum days in-between and the heart-stopping encounters with typhoons that could be as lethal as any engagement with the enemy. Anyone interested in stories from World War II will find this well-illustrated account of the naval campaign in the Pacific fascinating.”
Register –Pajaronian
Looking up from his newspaper from where he sat on the deck of the destroyer USS Dale, Harold Reichert could see the pilot plain as day--the leather helmet with chin strap, the goggles, and then the red rising sun painted on the planes fuselage. "I saw the torpedo drop and watched as it ran up on the old Utah." It was daybreak at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the beginning of the war, and the Dale was there; she would serve until the end, when the atomic bombs were dropped and Japan surrendered.
In the words of those who manned her, the Dales war comes vividly to life in this first oral history of a combat ship from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay. From carrier raids on Midway, Guadalcanal, and the Solomons to the bombarding of Saipan and Guam in the capture of the Marianas, from the Aleutians in the far north to strikes on Tokyo and Kobe, Tales from a Tin Can recreates the action aboard the Dale, and conveys as never before the true grit of wartime on a destroyer.
338 pages, Hardcover
First published March 15, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 19, 2013
My great uncle was serving aboard the Dale the day of the bombing at Pearl Harbor so this book had great meaning to me.
August 12, 2018
One minor quibble with the title: the USS Dale didn't go to Tokyo Bay.
One of the most visceral books I've ever read is Hornfischer's Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors. This book is more McHale's Navy than Last Stand. I don't mean that in a negative way. It's not that the Dale wasn't involved in some serious actions and serious peril, and it's certainly not that the officers and crew of the Dale were misfits in any way. It's just that nobody on McHale's Navy ever got hurt, and the Dale suffered no combat casualties. (Warships are dangerous places, though, and accidents do happen.)
Some books about war describe battles or campaigns. Some are the recollections of individual soldiers. This is more like a unit history. It's an oral history, told by the sailors who were there, in their own words. The author collected the stories, put them in the proper sequence, and provided some connective tissue.
The Dale made it through the whole war, from Pearl Harbor to the surrender of the Japanese. It saw some combat and served in many of the major Pacific campaigns. The ship and her crew contributed to the defeat of the Japanese. They suffered tropical heat and arctic cold, sailed though calm seas and killer typhoons. The men dealt with the stress of combat and the tedium of inaction. This book tells those stories, and tells them well.
One of the most visceral books I've ever read is Hornfischer's Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors. This book is more McHale's Navy than Last Stand. I don't mean that in a negative way. It's not that the Dale wasn't involved in some serious actions and serious peril, and it's certainly not that the officers and crew of the Dale were misfits in any way. It's just that nobody on McHale's Navy ever got hurt, and the Dale suffered no combat casualties. (Warships are dangerous places, though, and accidents do happen.)
Some books about war describe battles or campaigns. Some are the recollections of individual soldiers. This is more like a unit history. It's an oral history, told by the sailors who were there, in their own words. The author collected the stories, put them in the proper sequence, and provided some connective tissue.
The Dale made it through the whole war, from Pearl Harbor to the surrender of the Japanese. It saw some combat and served in many of the major Pacific campaigns. The ship and her crew contributed to the defeat of the Japanese. They suffered tropical heat and arctic cold, sailed though calm seas and killer typhoons. The men dealt with the stress of combat and the tedium of inaction. This book tells those stories, and tells them well.
April 30, 2021
Unfortunately, I could not fully get into the stories of the ship and sailors. I hope to try it another time when I'm more receptive. The fault is mine, not the author's.
However, it deserves praise for its description of naval battles in the Aleutian Islands. Most WWII books focus on the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. This was the first I've come across that describes that area and its unique and frigid challenges.
However, it deserves praise for its description of naval battles in the Aleutian Islands. Most WWII books focus on the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. This was the first I've come across that describes that area and its unique and frigid challenges.
July 16, 2018
A well written tale of the lives of the men on the USS Dale from Pearl Harbor through to the end of WWII. The author uses the ship's log from that time interspersed with the comments and stories of the sailors, one of whom was his father. Interesting read.
May 31, 2019
The structuring of the book was a little strange at first but I think it works. It is a linear history of this ship year by year with lots of anecdotes. Some of which are pretty great. I would recommend it
January 21, 2026
An absolutely wonderful read. I listened to my grandfather tell stories of his tin can days growing up and this is one of the most authentic books I've ever read. Absolute heroes these men were and should always be remembered and honored as such!
October 30, 2017
The individual contributions by former sailors were good reading, but the author's attempts to connect them to the greater history of the war didn't hold up, in my opinion.
July 11, 2019
A Memoir of sailors on a small ship in World War II. It covers many of the large battles in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. A good book.
May 22, 2021
Good read of a US Navy destroyer's WWII exploits. All the more interesting in that it survived the war from Pearl to the end.
January 14, 2012
If you are interested in a book that chronicles big events in the Pacific during WWII, then you have to get this book.
From first person accounts at Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal and beyond, you will be stirred with emotion hearing the horror stories, as well as the humorous aboard the USS Dale. I was fascinated by the amazing consistency with which each sailor told their side of the story while an event was occurring, meanwhile another sailor at that same time of the event was experiencing something completely different. Absolutely intriguing.
You will not be disappointed with this book, and it's a fast paced read because of the personal accounts that keep you glued to the pages.
From first person accounts at Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal and beyond, you will be stirred with emotion hearing the horror stories, as well as the humorous aboard the USS Dale. I was fascinated by the amazing consistency with which each sailor told their side of the story while an event was occurring, meanwhile another sailor at that same time of the event was experiencing something completely different. Absolutely intriguing.
You will not be disappointed with this book, and it's a fast paced read because of the personal accounts that keep you glued to the pages.
March 23, 2015
An interesting oral history of the crew of a very lucky destroyer. It served the entire length of WW II without a single combat fatality, despite earning a dozen battle stars.
The book is a mix of the recorded old-age reminiscences of the crew, the diaries of the crewmen that kept them, the ship's log, and a standard historical narrative of the war, that last being to contextualize what the ship was doing at any given time. I didn't learn anything new about the war itself, but the book is just chock full of interesting anecdotes about life on a wartime destroyer.
The book is a mix of the recorded old-age reminiscences of the crew, the diaries of the crewmen that kept them, the ship's log, and a standard historical narrative of the war, that last being to contextualize what the ship was doing at any given time. I didn't learn anything new about the war itself, but the book is just chock full of interesting anecdotes about life on a wartime destroyer.
August 9, 2009
An oral history of the crew of the Destroyer USS Dale during WWII, from Pearl Harbor to VJ Day. The author, whose father served on the Dale, collected interviews from several members of the crew and added the historical context to follow the actions of the Dale while providing a good "big picture" of what was going on in the Pacific.
January 8, 2015
Well written. Hard to put it down.
February 24, 2016
A vivid account of an intrepid work horse in the war against Japan. Olson uses crew diaries and fits them into the larger picture of war strategy, battle by battle.
August 19, 2017
Loved this book. A very captivating series of events.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews