A World War II Sailor’s Journey: The North Atlantic to the Sea of Japan by T. J. Piemonte, (110 pages perfect bound), ISBN: 1-931575-65-7. $10.00 plus $2.00 shipping and handling. The book covers the war years of a Coast Guard Sailor – beginning with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Now 80 years old, the author retraces his journey on board two ships – the destroyer escort USS KIRKPATRICK, DE-318 and LCI-83 (landing craft infantry). While serving on the DE he made twenty ocean crossings escorting and protecting convoys of ships heading to – and coming from – the European theater of war. He traveled over 150,000 miles in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and participated in the occupation of Japan. To order, send check or money order to: T.J. Piemonte, 9379 Mt. Pleasant Ave. D-7, Dover, NJ.07801. 

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About the Book
Various Excerpts
About the Author

Sailor's Journey

About the book

A World War II Sailor’s Journey is the story of one young man’s wartime experiences and his desire now – over sixty years later – to reflect on those historic times and to remind us to pay tribute to all who serve their country and to honor and pray for those who do not return. Enlisting in the U.S. Coast Guard when he was seventeen years old, the author takes us with him on his journey. And now – years later – the memories are still with him. The loss of USS Leopold DE-319, torpedoed near Iceland… sinking the German submarine U-550… the terrible hurricane of ’44… the occupation of Japan…and much more. It was as though a time capsule had been cracked wide-open and the years of memories flowed freely.

Various Excerpts

On the ninth day, just south of Iceland, contact was made with an enemy submarine that was “shadowing” the convoy. It was the beginning of a long and tragic night.

Our Division Commander’s strategy was to have all six destroyer escorts drop depth charges, at pre-determined times, in order to prevent the U-boats from gaining a firing position. 

Thus began the most terrifying fifteen hours of my life. We lost the race to avoid the hurricane. Now we had no choice but to ride the raging storm out and hope to survive. Fifty-foot mountainous seas and blinding sheets of water battered the KIRKPATRICK, making visibility practically impossible.

We were on maneuvers with U.S. submarines and other naval ships, training for the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland, when news of the surrender was announced over the ship’s intercom system.

The surrender immediately set into motion a tremendous task – the occupation of Japan. The USS KIRKPATRICK was assigned to escort ships that were carrying soldiers, marines and supplies to Kyushu, the southernmost of the Japanese home islands.
 
 


About the Author

The author entered the newspaper business in 1958 and published a local weekly in New Jersey for many years. He also established an advertising firm and was in business until he retired in 1990. He now lives with his wife in Northwest New Jersey.

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