Overview

Mr. Vaessen grew up in California in the 1920s and 1930s. During the Depression he worked steadily at a variety of jobs to support himself and his family. Around 1938 he joined the Naval Reserve. This memoir describes the informal atmosphere of the program in that era. He worked at the Mare Island Navy Yard in 1940-41 as an electrician's helper. When he reported for active duty in 1941, he was stationed at the San Diego Destroyer Base. He opted for duty as a Fireman Second Class on board the target ship USS Utah (AG-16) a few months later, anticipating a quiet life around San Pedro, California. Instead, in September of that year the Utah deployed to Hawaii and never returned. She was torpedoed during the Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Vaessen, who was then serving in the ship's electrical division, was at his post belowdecks as the ship capsized. He kept the power going as long as he could, an act that enabled shipmates to have light as they sought to abandon ship. Vaessen himself was rescued through the bottom of the overturned hull of the Utah. For his actions during the attack, Vaessen was awarded the Navy Cross by Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet. In late 1942, as a newly advanced electrician's mate, Petty Officer Vaessen was in the commissioning crew of the minesweeper USS Starling (AM-64).

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9781682692530

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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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