Lucky Thirteen D-Days in the Pacific with the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II

The images of soldiers and marines coming ashore on hostile shores are embedded in our collective memory of World War II. But what of the sailors who manned the landing craft, going back and forth under fire with nowhere to take cover, their craft the special targets of enemy gunners? In this book, Ken Wiley, a Coast Guardsman on an Attack Transport in the Pacific, relates the intricate, often nerve wracking story of how the United States projected its power across 6,000 miles in the teeth of fanatical Japanese resistance. Each invasion was a swirl of moving parts, from frogmen to fire support, transport mother ships to Attack Transports, the smaller Higgins boats (LCVPs), and during the last terrifying stage the courageous men who would storm the beaches. The author participated in the campaigns for the Marshall Islands, the Marianas the Philippines and Okinawa, and with a precise eye for detail relates numerous aspects of landing craft operations, such as ferrying wounded, that are often discounted. He conveys the terror and horrors of war, as well as, on occasion, the thrill, while not neglecting the humor and cameraderie of wartime life. An exciting book, full of harrowing combat action, Lucky Thirteen also provides a valuable service in expanding our knowledge of exactly how World War II's massive amphibious operations were undertaken. REVIEWS,.".Author Ken Wiley tells of his service in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II in Lucky Thirteen: D-Days in the Pacific with the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II, a military memoir in first-person perspective. ... A personable and engaging tale of World War II from an oft-overlooked point of view."www.midewestbookreview.com James CoxApril 2007,." It's quite a different view of the war, interesting and well worth reading. And keep in mind that the kid who got his parents permission to go into the Coast Guard was only 17. Within a very few yers, he was a full fledged man, still too young to drink or vote, but a man."Books On Line 4-18-07 John Matlock http: //67.118.51.201//bol/PubReview.cfm?BookNum=54581andPubNum=1487Wiley, Ken is the author of 'Lucky Thirteen D-Days in the Pacific with the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II', published 2007 under ISBN 9781932033533 and ISBN 193203353X.