Overview

Mike Bak served as a quartermaster in the Fletcher-class destroyer USS Franks (DD-554) from 1943 to 1946. He is representative of an entire generation of enlisted men who grew up during the Depression and whose only active duty was during World War II and the immediate postwar period. He tells of his boyhood in New Jersey; navy training; and the various campaigns in which the Franks participated. His ship specialized in plane guard duty and rescued more than 20 downed aviators. Bak gives a real feel for the excitement and flavor of wartime destroyer duty. After his discharge from the Navy, Bak excelled as a salesman, being honored by Olivetti USA with the establishment of a permanent sales award in his name.

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9781682690628

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Paul Stillwell is an independent historian and retired naval officer. He worked for thirty years at the U.S. Naval Institute as an oral historian and editor of Naval History magazine. He is the author or editor of fourteen books, including four on battleships and an award-winning volume on the Navy’s first African American officers, The Golden Thirteen. His 2021 book Battleship Commander: The Life of Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee Jr. also received acclaim. He lives in Arnold, Maryland.

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