The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors

by James D. Hornfischer
Category: "U.S. History - Military"
Pages:427
Year of Publication:2004
Date Added:08/23/2004
Date Read:08/23/2004
Notes:"This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."

With these words, Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland addressed the crew of the destroyer escort USS Samuel B. Roberts on the morning of October 25, 1944, off the Philippines island of Samar. On the horizon loomed the mightiest ships of the Japanese Navy, a massive fleet that represented the last hope of a staggering empire. All that stood between it and Douglas MacArthur's vulnerable invasion force were the Roberts and other small ships of a tiny American flotilla poised to charge into history.
My Rating: 8

Reviews for The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors

Review - The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors

The middle stage of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. A massive fleet of major Japanese warships, attempting to dislodge MacArthur's invasion of the Philippines, met up with a flotilla of tiny U.S. vessels — and were fought to a standstill.

The book was well written and easy to follow - in spite of the hundreds of men and dozens of ships involved. It had its gruesome parts, but was one of the better WWII books I've read. I can't imagine what it must be like conifined to a small metal ship being blown to smithereens by bombs the size of automobiles. It's amazing that anyone lived to tell about it.

Reviewed by Roger on 2004-08-23 18:14:00

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