The author enlisted in the Navy as a carpenter's mate in September, 1941. On his first voyage at sea, headed toward Pearl Harbor, he asked a shipmate if he thought the cook would bake a cake for his birthday - December 7.
Ted Gruhn missed the attack by a day, but would see plenty of action at sea over the course of World War II, including Leyte Gulf and the biggest sea battle of the war at Okinawa. He served first on a destroyer, the USS Farneholt, then on a destroyer escort, the USS Abercrombie. Gruhn's wartime duty began as a shore patrolman in Honolulu, where he patrolled bars and whorehouses and came upon a murder in an alley. Shipboard, he was resourceful, requisitioning CO2 canisters to keep beer cold, and participating in "borrowing" a second film projector so he and his mates could see movies without interruption for changing reels. All the while, he was corresponding with a girl back home, who he married while on brief stateside duty.
This is one sailor's story, but it mirrors those of thousands other brave younng servicemen who gave their all during that terrible time.
Review: "A fascinating real life story of true patriotism, [Gruhn's] account of Naval activity along with contemporary back home news documents the under-reported contribution of our total war effort provided by the sweethearts and wives of their men away at war. Recommended reading for all young Americans."
-Thomas N. Parlon, Lt. Commander (Ret.),
Gunnery Officer, USS Abercrombie
"The best word to describe this book is 'real'. It is a real story of the Second World War as seen and felt and lived by a bright, brave, observant, and articulate young American sailor whose twenty-second birthday fell on December 7, 1941 while he was at sea en route to Pearl Harbor."
-Edward P. Stafford, Commander, U.S. Navy (Ret.),
author of Little Ship, Big War, the Saga of DE 343
Bio: TED GRUHN retired from a career in construction in 1997. Born in Eureka, California, Gruhn received a saw and hammer for Christmas at the age of four and soon began his career in carpentry - sawing off the legs of a chair. Since then, he has worked as a carpenter, a foreman, superintendent and estimator.
