Download Into the Dark Water The Story of Three Officers and PT109 John J Domagalski Books

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Made famous by her final commanding officer, John F. Kennedy, PT-109 is one of the most celebrated warships in American history. However, a full chronicle of PT-109’s wartime story has heretofore been lacking. Behind the familiar account of the future president and the boat’s violent demise is the little-known record under two previous officers during the swirling battles around Guadalcanal.

In these mainly nocturnal fights, when the Japanese navy was at its apex, America’s small, fast-boat flotillas would sally out to probe enemy strength, vying with enemy destroyers, who were similarly roaming the waters and able to blast a PT-boat out of the water if main armament could be brought to bear. It was constant hit-and-run and dodging between searchlights across Iron Bottom Sound, as the PT-boats darted in among the enemy fleet, like a “barroom brawl with the lights turned out.”

Bryant Larson and Rollin Westholm preceded Kennedy as commanders of PT-109, and their fights with the brave ship and its crew hold second to none in the chronicles of US Navy daring. As the battles moved on across the Pacific the PT-boat flotillas gained confidence, even as the Japanese, too, learned lessons in how to destroy them.

Under its third and final commander, Kennedy, PT-109 came a cropper as a Japanese destroyer suddenly emerged from a dark mist and rammed it in half. Two crewmen were killed immediately but Kennedy, formerly on the swim team at Harvard, was able to shepherd his wounded and others to refuge. His unsurpassed gallantry can not resist retelling, yet the courage of the book’s previous commanders have not till now seen the light of day.

This book provides the complete record of PT-109 in the Pacific, as well as a valuable glimpse of how the American Navy’s daring and initiative found its full playing field in World War II.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Part One Iron Bottom Sound
1 Midnight In Blackett Strait
2 Two Officers And A New Boat
3 Small Boats
4 Voyage To War
5 Thrust Into The Fire
6 First Battle
7 December Blood
8 January Survival
9 Prelude To Evacuation
10 Guadalcanal Finale

Part Two Kennedy At The Helm
11 Lull
12 Enter Kennedy
13 Moving Up The Slot
14 The Last Days At Rendova
15 Sunk
16 Shipwrecked

Part Three Beyond The 109
17 Pt Boats And Destroyers
18 Gunboat Skipper
19 Enduring History

Epilogue Small Boats—A Continuing Saga

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Download Into the Dark Water The Story of Three Officers and PT109 John J Domagalski Books

"Very interesting subject, regarding the other skippers of 109. Most all of the other information regarding JFK was already known and written about, but his story is very important to this book as well. Very good read."

Product details Paperback 288 pages Publisher Casemate; Reprint edition (February 15, 2019) Language English ISBN-10 1612007120

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Into the Dark Water The Story of Three Officers and PT109 John J Domagalski Books Reviews :

Into the Dark Water The Story of Three Officers and PT109 John J Domagalski Books Reviews

• The title of the book is a misnomer. One would think that it was a personalized story of the three officers that served and commanded the PT109. That's why I bought it in the first place. But alas, not to be. The book is not very long - 264 pages. There are 34 photographs in the centre of the book. Five of them are of one of the subjects of the title; the PT109 and none of these photos are rare. And there are another five photos of the other subjects the book, the three commanding officers of the boat. The other 24 are generic wartime photos of the PT boats. Right there that will give you an idea to the extent of detail that author devotes to the boat and the officers. Most of the content focuses on the PT boat battles. At Guadalcanal some involve the 109 crew, most do not. And when writing about the battles, the author spends too much time describing the overall strategy involved. He writes about the Japanese sailors' experiences. He writes about air battles. He really doesn't devote a lot of space to the main characters of the book. I was disappointed. I truly do admire the men and women who served during WWII. Their sacrifices were great and many. But after reading this book, it was plainly obvious that the wartime naval careers of the three men who commanded the PT109 is not extensive enough to fill a book. So the author included a lot of "fluff" to fill the pages. I personally found his writing style to be flat and unimaginative. The book couldn't hold my interest and I found myself skimming ahead very quickly. There are many, many other PT boat related tomes that have told this story first and so much better. I hate it when a book's title misleads the reader and this is most certainly the case here. After I finished reading it, I gave it to the Secondhand . It doesn't belong in my library.
• Great read for a book on the subject. If you are wonder about the history of the PT 109, this book provides the missing details. I think best on the subject of this boat.it self. I own all printed books on the subject of JFK and the PT 109. Also own a number books about the PT boats as well.
  Great addition on the subject..
• Before reading this book, all I knew about PT boats was that Kennedy commanded the PT-109 and McHale of “McHale’s Navy” commanded the PT-73. After reading the book, I know how the PT weapon system was made, why it was made, how it was deployed into theater, its armament, and its role in the war in the Pacific. Domagalski follows the PT-109 on its many nighttime missions in the Solomon Islands under each of her three commanders Bryant Larson, Rollin Westholm, and John F. Kennedy. The book gives insight to the crew’s experience from routine patrols to the intensity and confusion they faced during encounters with the enemy. It culminates with a detailed account of the boat’s final mission and the daring actions taken by Kennedy and his crew to survive.
  
  Domagalski gives the PT-109’s story context with background about the use of small boats in the warfare, the production of the PT’s, and the important role the boats played in undermining Japanese operations and securing the islands south Pacific for the Allies. This is an informative read for history buffs or anyone interested in getting a better appreciation of the PT’s and this segment of WWII naval operations in the Pacific.
• Very interesting reading. The author's in-depth research and excellent writing skills describes the serious concerns of the early war years in the Pacific and the critical role the small warships played. It is a thorough study of the PT boats and the character of the men who served on them, their frustrations with faulty torpedoes and the stress involved with dark night time battles. The importance of the "lookouts" and the help received from the island natives in rescue operations. Highly recommended.
• I really enjoyed the book - it was my first beach read of 2014. The narrative zooms you into the Pacific war with a lot of detail on all aspects of the PT experience key personnel, training, construction, strategy, and battle damage - boy they were flimzy. I did not have much knowledge of PT boats going in, so this book was just right for me. PT 109 is famous and I was leery of too much focus on JFK, but the text was well rounded and balanced. Highly recommended.
• This story about the PT109 captains provided a good amount of previously unknown detail about this small boat, it's crews and the day to day activities involved in the War in the Pacific.
• Very interesting subject, regarding the other skippers of 109. Most all of the other information regarding JFK was already known and written about, but his story is very important to this book as well. Very good read.
• This book gives you the actual history of how it was to be in the middle of a shooting war on a small wooden boat that had no armor but a lot of guts and nerve.