Sweet Pea at War: A History of USS Portland

By William Thomas Generous Jr.

Book Overview

"Few ships in American history have had as illustrious a history as the heavy cruiser USS Portland (CA-33), affectionately known by her crew as 'Sweet Pea.' With the destructionof most of the U.S. battleship fleet at Pearl Harbor, cruisers such as Sweet Pea carried the biggest guns the Navy possessed for nearly a year after the start of World War II. Sweet Pea at War describes in harrowing detail how Portland and her sisters protected the precious carriers and held the line against overwhelming

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813191211
• ISBN13: 9780813191218
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 8.9"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Excellent

Great book, too bad none of the heavies outside of USS Salem never made it into memorials, I would love to have seen one.

So Sweet to own a book about Sweet Pea, USS Portland

My grandfather TK Erickson served as a five inch gun "talker" on the USS Portland in world war two. He died in New Mexico about 15 years ago, and I've missed hearing his stories. In remembrance of him, I built a working radio controlled model of the USS Portland, but was never able to find any books about the ship. When I ran across this book, I immediately had to purchase it. The book is a high quality, and it provides a true account of each battle star earned by the crew of the Sweet Pea. From the pre-war years when Portland escorted FDR on the USS Houston, to the final battles in the Pacific War, and finally the big Navy day celebration in Portland, Maine, this book lays it all out. My grandfather gave me a newspaper clipping from Navy day in Maine, and it was so cool to read more about that event, which obviously meant so much to the crew. Like any other book about historical events, this one is not perfect, but regardless this book is a treasure as one of the few books about one of the most significant ships of the US Pacific Fleet in world war two.

Don't miss this one

This book finally shows what the USS Portland was all about. The book is a page turner, it kept me interested and made me cry. The author brought to life the environment on this ship as well as the comraderie aboard her. I had always wondered what had happened to her, now I know. I think everyone who wants to learn about WWII, needs a copy of this book.

A must read!

What an awesome book! I was really sad when I came to the end. I wanted to read more about Sweet Pea and her courageous crew. This book should be made into a movie. An amazing book, about an amazing ship. Dr. Generous thank you for sharing the story with us!

Good read!

Generous opens the world of the Navy to those of us civilians, with personal stories full of drama and humor. And he writes with a refreshingly clear & direct style...Strongly recommended! :)