A Grand Pause: A Novel on May 14, 1945, the USS Randolph, Kamikazes, and the Greatest Air-Sea Rescue

by Gary Santos

Overview

A Grand Pause: A Novel on May 14, 1945, the USS Randolph, Kamikazes, and the Greatest Air-Sea Rescue

By: Gary Santos

Based on an incredible true story that took place in the midst of World War II, on May 14, 1945, A Grand Pause follows two American airmen, Ensign John Morris and his gunner Cletis Phegley, after they are stranded on a raft in the middle of the Japanese islands, surrounded by a cutthroat enemy. What follows is a daring rescue mission by the Randolph and her war-weary crew, as they struggle against enemies both physical and psychological to bring their brethren home safely. A story almost lost to time comes alive in this book about honor, duty, and the toll of war on human life.

About the Author

Gary Santos has worked in aviation for over thirty years. A lifelong New Yorker, he currently resides on the South Shore of Long Island. He has extensively studied the history of the ship his father, Eugene Santos, was stationed on during WWII, the USS Randolph, and collects WWII memorabilia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798886830279
Publisher:	Dorrance Publishing Company, Inc.
Publication date:	02/02/2023
Pages:	314
Sales rank:	640,816
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.66(d)

Editorial Reviews

2023-05-17
A historical novel about a rescue mission in the Pacific theater of World War II.

In his fiction debut, Santos centers history on the tail end of the U.S. Navy’s titanic war efforts in the Pacific, where the aircraft carrier USS Randolph and many other American ships act as “the battering ram of the Fifth Fleet” as “the war rolls on with the kinetic energy of a tidal wave”—even though Germany has already surrendered. The 5th Fleet is stationed off Okinawa, Japan, and Santos introduces his readers to a wide spectrum of men who keep it running, from plane engineers to officers to ship captains, all carrying the weight of hundreds of lives on their shoulders: “Every morning,” he writes, “Randolph warms up in her little corner of the ring, jabbing in place, sharpening the blood sport of war.” Ongoing combat, including relentless kamikaze attacks, has resulted in burials at sea every day, and every sailor is aware that their next mission could very well be their last. One such mission, on May 14, 1945, involves the Massachusetts-born pilot Ensign John Morris and Midwestern gunner Cletis Phegley, who find themselves marooned after being shot down in the Pacific, making them the object of desperate searches from both sides. Santos skillfully shifts his story from large-scale combat operations to focus on specific characters and details, and he wisely expands his cast far beyond Morris and Phegley, painting engaging portraits of personnel at every level of United States naval command. Also, he effectively extends his focus beyond combatants; one of the book’s most memorable characters, for instance, is a United Press International war correspondent named Denton who tells his captain honestly, “I’m trying to cover the war from the unique perspective of a civilian frightened out of his wits.” The book’s documentary elements often dominate the narrative, but even so, the reading experience is genuinely immersive throughout.

A fact-heavy but consistently compelling look at a day of real-life naval heroism.

Kirkus Reviews