Publisher's Summary

From Pearl Harbor to Midway to Tokyo Bay, Alvin Kernan's career in the U.S. Navy spanned the entire war in the Pacific. Kernan joined the U.S. Navy in March 1941 at the age of 17, and his war came to an end when he went ashore at Tokyo Bay in 1945 and saw the devastation of the atomic bombs. In between, he witnessed and participated in some of the most significant events in naval history. A gifted storyteller, Kernan gives a candid account of his experiences, providing shrewd observations about the culture and ideology of an important era in naval history.