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    All the Gallant Men: An American Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor
    All the Gallant Men: An American Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor
    All the Gallant Men: An American Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor
    Audiobook5 hours

    All the Gallant Men: An American Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor

    Written by Donald Stratton and Ken Gire

    Narrated by Mike Ortego

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    The New York Times bestselling memoir of survival and heroism at Pearl Harbor

    “An unforgettable story of unfathomable courage.” —Reader’s Digest

    In this, the first memoir by a USS Arizona sailor, Donald Stratton delivers an inspiring and unforgettable eyewitness account of the Pearl Harbor attack and his remarkable return to the fight. 

    At 8:06 a.m. on December 7, 1941, Seaman First Class Donald Stratton was consumed by an inferno. A million pounds of explosives had detonated beneath his battle station aboard the USS Arizona, barely fifteen minutes into Japan’s surprise attack on American forces at Pearl Harbor. Near death and burned across two thirds of his body, Don, a nineteen-year-old Nebraskan who had been steeled by the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, summoned the will to haul himself hand over hand across a rope tethered to a neighboring vessel. Forty-five feet below, the harbor’s flaming, oil-slick water boiled with enemy bullets; all around him the world tore itself apart.

    In this extraordinary never-before-told eyewitness account of the Pearl Harbor attack—the only memoir ever written by a survivor of the USS Arizona—ninety-four-year-old veteran Donald Stratton finally shares his unforgettable personal tale of bravery and survival on December 7, 1941, his harrowing recovery, and his inspiring determination to return to the fight.

    Don and four other sailors made it safely across the same line that morning, a small miracle on a day that claimed the lives of 1,177 of their Arizona shipmates—approximately half the American fatalaties at Pearl Harbor. Sent to military hospitals for a year, Don refused doctors’ advice to amputate his limbs and battled to relearn how to walk. The U.S. Navy gave him a medical discharge, believing he would never again be fit for service, but Don had unfinished business. In June 1944, he sailed back into the teeth of the Pacific War on a destroyer, destined for combat in the crucial battles of Leyte Gulf, Luzon, and Okinawa, thus earning the distinction of having been present for the opening shots and the final major battle of America’s Second World War.

    As the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack approaches, Don, a great-grandfather of five and one of five living survivors of the Arizona, offers an unprecedentedly intimate reflection on the tragedy that drew America into the greatest armed conflict in history. All the Gallant Men is a book for the ages, one of the most remarkable—and remarkably inspiring—memoirs of any kind to appear in recent years

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateNov 22, 2016
    ISBN9780062652065
    Author

    Donald Stratton

    Born in 1922, Donald Stratton grew up in Red Cloud, Nebraska. Upon graduating high school in 1940, he enlisted in the United States Navy, and reported for duty on the battleship USS Arizona. After more than a year of recuperation following the Pearl Harbor attacks, Stratton reenlisted in the Navy and was commissioned to the destroyer USS Stack. From 1944-45, he served in the Pacific at the naval campaigns for New Guinea, the Philippines, and Okinawa. He has been married to his wife, Velma, for sixty-six years. They live in Colorado Springs.

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    Reviews for All the Gallant Men

    4.5/5

    51 ratings6 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I have read a few first-hand accounts of war experiences, including The Diary of Anne Frank, some of Kipling's stuff and From Green Bay to the Persian Gulf, written by SSG Walter Coyle, an NCO I served with. Some of these, are difficult reads. This one is not, in the sense that the language is relatively simple.This books is a good window into the mind of a young WWII veteran in general and a survivor of the Arizona in specific. I was, in a sense, very much like Donald Statton once upon a time when I was signing my name to a military contract.. I knew nothing of the world and though I was adventure bound, I had no idea of what that meant.Had I read this book in 1975, I might at least have gone out into the world a little more alert than I did.
    • 5/5
      I need to buy this for my library. It is an easy read that will appeal to my boys who love war stories. Bonus that it is a memoir with a photo insert section. It made me cry in places, the horror and heartbreak of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor was well written and detailed enough to get to me but not make me ill. The poem that Eleanor Roosevelt carried around in her wallet for the rest of her life is worth reprinting here.

      Dear Lord,
      Lest I continue
      My complacent way,
      Help me to remember that somewhere,
      Somehow out there
      A man died for me today.
      As long as there be war,
      I must answer
      Am I worth dying for?
    • 4/5
      All The Gallant Men: An America Sailor’s Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor, Donald Stratton, Ken Gire, authors; Mike Ortego, narrator.Donald Stratton was 94 years old (now 97) when he wrote his memoir to commemorate the December 7th, 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor. He believed, as the quote he references says, “when a person dies, it is like a library burns down.” He wanted to preserve his memories of that day for future generations. Pearl Harbor was an attack on this nation by a country that was actively engaged in duplicitous peace talks with America’s envoys. Japan’s act of war was a sneak attack of enormous magnitude for which they would ultimately pay dearly, but so did America. The book points out not only their heinous behavior, but it also shows the naïveté of the government, during this time, when Hitler was rising to power and advancing across Europe. We were asleep at the wheel, basking in an arrogant attitude of superiority, assuming we were safe even though all the signs of this act of war were on the horizon. Had there not been failures in communication, perhaps the dead and wounded of Pearl Harbor would not have numbered so many.Donald is a survivor of the attack that “will live in infamy”, in the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He carries his battle scarred body and memories with him everyday. Brought up in the Plains, poor, but faithful, he and his family were a tight knit unit with the belief that no matter what happened, G-d would provide for their welfare. Devout, they attended church in the best and the worst of times. The Sears Catalogue was their lifeline to the rest of the world, and it was through those pages that he learned what else was available to those who were better off, to those who lived elsewhere; he learned what was available to those who were not sharecroppers living basically from hand to mouth, using potato sacking for clothing and subsisting on kitchen gardens. With two younger brothers and a sister, he lived in four rooms with an outhouse. There were two bedrooms, a wood stove for cooking and a stove in the fireplace used for heat. Yet they remained content as a family unit.The times were different then and so it seems was the outlook on life. America was loved by patriots all over the United States, and they would eagerly step up to the plate when needed for its survival. Today, times seem a bit different. Today patriotism, especially associated with nationalism, is considered a “dirty word”; our flag is often disrespected, and those who profess love for the country are sometimes called “deplorables”. After reading his book, I can only hope that when the call comes to defend our shores, there will be men and women who are as brave as he was, who will stand up for what is just and right, and who will exhibit the valorous behavior that Stratton did.Donald’s story is one of deep devotion to his country. Even though he was gravely burned in the Pearl Harbor attack, as soon as he was able, he reenlisted and went back to fight with his “band of brothers”. His desire is to keep the memory of Pearl Harbor alive, as we must keep the memory of 9/11 alive, because forgetting might help to lay the groundwork for another sneak attack on our country. To me, his message affirms and asserts that we must be prepared, and we must be ready to defend ourselves and our great nation.The narrator of this book spoke in a measured town which conveyed the story without undue emotional involvement, therefore making the reenactment of that horrific day tolerable and comprehensible for the reader. The story of Stratton is both moving and inspiring. I hope the young adults of today, who have been coddled and brought up to expect life on a silver platter, will be up to the task if it ever arises.
    • 4/5
      Captivating memoir from a survivor of the USS Arizona.
    • 4/5
      5533. All the Gallant Men An American Sailor's Firsthand Account of Pearl Harbor, by Donald Stratton with Ken Gire (read 18 Feb 2018) The main author of this book was born 14 July 1922 in Inavale, Neb. and when he was 17 he enlisted in the Navy. He was assigned to the USS Arizona and this book tells of what he went through on Dec 7, 1941. The account of his narrow escape and the terrific injuries he received is well told and is wrenching and almost incredible. He had a long period of recovery from his injuries, his weight going down to 74 pounds. After he had recovered from his horrific injuries he was discharged, and for a time went back to Red Cloud, where his parents lived. But in 1944 he was able to reenlist in the Navy and saw action in the Pacific again. He married in 1950 and his career as a civilian was very strenuous, even though he had residual effects from his Pearl Harbor injuries. He was in his nineties when he wrote, with help, this book. Over the years he has often returned to Pear Harbor. I found this an a gripping story and one has to admire him for his heroic work in the war and for his strenuous life since. It is as good an account of what happened to him at Pearl Harbor as one could hope to read.
    • 5/5
      finished [All The Gallant Men] by [[Donald Stratton with Ken Gire]]. This book moved me to tears more than once. I have been reading about World War II and this is the second book I've read in a month about Pearl Harbor. This book is the first memoir of a survivor of the attack of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. It gives you a first hand account of what it was like on that day, during the attack. The actions of the servicemen and civilian personal that day were exceptional. The attack was something that we should never forget. I highly recommend this book and rate it 5 stars.