Trapped at Pearl Harbor: Escape from Battleship Oklahoma

by Stephen Bower Young

Book Overview

Author Stephen Young was a seaman first class assigned to gunnery duty in turret no. 4 on the battleship Oklahoma when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The battleship was struck... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 156865927X
• ISBN13: 9781568659275
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press
• Length: 187 Pages
• Weight: 1.03 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The U.S.S. Oklahoma during the Pearl Harbor raid.

The author-Stephen Bower Young-served as a gunner on one of the main turrets of the battleship U.S.S. Oklahoma. He was aboard the ship when she was torpeodoed during the surprise Japanese attack. This story is about his personal experiences during the December 7, 1941 attack and the escape from the ship when it rolled over.Young offers recollections about the life aboard the battleship and the sailors he served with. Many of these sailors would not survive the attack (448 died).The majority of the book was about the attack and the subsequent escape. I was most interested in Young's successful escape, when other sailors drilled holes into the bottom of the ship so those trapped could escape. A most interesting read.

A "must read" for you and your kids

This book is absolutely spellbinding. Once you open this book, you won't be able to put it down. The impact of this first-hand account of being trapped inside the capsized hull of the battleship USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor is resounding. Buy it for yourself but share it with anyone upon whom you wish to impress the courage of what has come to be called the Greatest Generation. The next time you hear someone complaining about how tough they have it (perhaps your kids or grandkids whining about not having the coolest sneakers or the latest Nintendo), give them this book to read. Perhaps the reality of how pampered our current lifestyle really is will sink in. I suspect this book will also help you put your own problems in perspective as well.

A good story, and very well told

The author recounts his days in the pre-WWII navy with candor and affection. Honest without being coarse or too sentimental, he talks of his experiences and shipmates, good and bad. The account of USS Oklahoma's sinking and his later rescue is thrilling. I read it in one sitting.