USS Cassin Young

Captain Cassin Young served with distinction in the US Navy until his death in the battle of Guadalcanal in January 1942.

His fine example of courage and sacrifice was immortalized in December 1943 when the Fletcher Class destroyer USS Cassin Young was commissioned into service.

Using a host of first-hand sources and previously unpublished interviews, this book illustrates vividly what it was like for the young crew and officers to serve aboard the Cassin Young, a 'tin can' destroyer, in some of the most intense naval battles of the Second World War.

As well as heart-stopping action, it describes the boredom, the pranks, the discipline, the diet, the dangers, fears and deaths - and, above all, the unsettling dread of kamikaze attack. These were young men, some of them teenagers, eager to fight for their country; their combined experiences are amusing, harrowing, and poignant, but what endures most is their noble sense of brotherhood.

The USS Cassin Young went on to serve in the Korean War and finally entered preservation at the Charlestown Naval Yard in Boston.

It stands as a monument to the memory of many brave young men who were willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their country. This book humbly joins in honoring them.