Destroyermen: Korean Hangfire

by Richard Tennent

Overview

In DESTROYERMEN: KOREAN HANGFIRE, author Richard Tennent introduces two newly commissioned Ensigns to the facts of life on a navy warship engaged in intensive battle-action along the coast of Korea. In dramatic action within a plot of developing characters, the two Ensigns quickly lose their boyhood to onboard personality clashes and character hardening battles for survival.

In April of 1953, the Korean War was in a stalemate along a battle line generally described as the 38th Parallel. Yet deadly battles continued without let-up: the Communists attacking to conquer more land to enhance their bargaining position at the Panmunjom peace talks, and the United Nations counter-attacking to regain the land previously lost to the Communists. The United States finally decided to break the impasse with a strong, new offensive. The Communists responded with a new offensive of their own. The result was some of the worse fighting of the war. The American Naval Task Group, patrolling the east coast of North Korea, was tasked to destroy the Communist supply lines along the mountainous shoreline. For his part, the Commanding Officer of the USS George Dewey decided to utilize sailors in small boats to sneak in close to the enemy shoreline to spot new targets and direct the ship's guns for greater accuracy. These missions, carried out with extreme risk to the sailors who performed them, prompted the Communists to use extreme measures against them. Thus, the conflict grew; just as did the horrendous typhoon Judy of 1953 grow to pummel the American ships in a violent display of nature's fury.

In a microcosm of human conflict, a small group of young sailors from varied walks of life became that from which legends spring. Repeatedly faced with their own mortality, they rose from simple beginnings to perform unrehearsed and unnoticed heroics, only to fade away in the long voyage of history. But, for the brief moments of their service, they live again here. They are the sailors who manned the destroyers and performed their jobs. They are, simply and forever, DESTROYERMEN.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781468120318
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	06/29/2012
Pages:	362
Sales rank:	943,466
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

Richard Tennent studied creative writing as an English Major at the University of Michigan before joining the Navy. Volunteering for duty on a destroyer then operating in the Korean War combat zone, he rose in rank from Ensign to Lieutenant and to the positions of Deck Officer, Engineer Officer, and Command Duty Officer. It was while he was in Korean waters when he had his first, up close and personal experience with a hangfire that plays a role in this novel. Leaving Korea and entering the period of the Cold War, he served in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans and numerous seas, including the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf. In addition to a typhoon and storms encountered in the Western Pacific, he endured numerous Atlantic hurricanes and major storms, including two winters in the stormy North Atlantic. All told, during his tour of duty on his destroyer he spent nearly nine hundred days at sea. After the navy, he graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Law and practiced commercial banking, business, and real estate law for forty-two years. For relaxation, he and his wife, Patricia, sailed their sailboat on the Great Lakes and enjoyed sailing vacations in the Chesapeake Bay, Florida, and Caribbean Sea. They have three grown children and ten grandchildren and live in retirement in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Editorial Reviews

The crew of the USS George Dewey braves storms and enemy gunfire near the end of the Korean War in this first in Tennent's series. Friends Jim Taylor and Mike Shannon, newly commissioned line officers in the U.S. Navy Reserve, receive assignments as America takes the offensive to undermine North Korea's stall tactics regarding the cease-fire agreement. Taylor's love of sailing quickly gets him appointed forward observer, one who leads missions in whaleboats to scout targets on Korean soil. Meanwhile, both he and Shannon undergo rigorous training aboard the destroyer, while Taylor must contend with a lieutenant who's taken a rather strong dislike to him. The author's wartime novel quickly sets a fraught mood. It opens with the two friends anticipating a week off; instead they're sent immediately to their station. Scenes on the Dewey are often anxiety-inducing, particularly the few times that the ship is attacked. Much of the story is told from the perspective of Taylor, whose adjustments to the constantly pitching sea can be a welcome relief from the tension of the ship. He continually bumps his head on girders while trying to get to his bunk on the first night, occasionally toppling, and even lodges a knee and ankle under pipes so he'll stop rolling and be able to sleep. Taylor forces himself to use nautical terms, which helps readers unfamiliar with the jargon. Dramatic conflict comes mostly in the form of Haigal, an officer who hassles Taylor. Not surprisingly, there's little female presence. But the few women who appear, including the matriarch of a family aboard a junk (a boat used, in this case, for fishing) and a table of Navy nurses at a club, add nothing to the plot, as they're all nameless. The most exhilarating sequences involve Taylor in action, as he and his crew elude patrol boats and dodge mines. But even back on the destroyer, Taylor, Shannon and the rest face stressful episodes such as a typhoon and the dreaded hang fire--when a discharged gun doesn't fire, leaving a projectile that could explode at any moment. Less harrowing than the usual war novel but equally gripping.

Kirkus Reviews