Hell from the Heavens: The Epic Story of the USS Laffey and World War Ⅱ's Greatest Kamikaze Attack

摘要

John Paul Jones famously stated, "I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast for I intend to go in harms way." In Hell from the Heavens, John Wukovits tells the gripping story of USS Laffey, a fast ship that spent almost all of World War Ⅱ in dire harm's way. Three figures are central to a story, which reads like a thrilling war novel. The first is the 'Laffey itself, a Sumner-class destroyer commissioned in 1944. The second is Ari Phoutruides, a crew member whose extensive recollections are primary among those of many sailors presented. Finally, there is the Laffey's captain, Navy Cmdr. F.Julian Becton, who skippered the ship through combat action around the world, from the Normandy landings to the battle of Okinawa.