A BLUE SEA Of BLOOD
Deciphering The Mysterious Fate of the USS
Edsall
by Donald M. Kehn Jr.
Foreword by James T. Nix
New Hardback with dust jacket
286 pages, 37 black and
white photos, 2 maps, appendix,
USS Edsall
crew roster, glossary and index
New $19.95
On the morning of March 1, 1942, the American destroyer USS Edsall
(DD-219) split off from the USS Whipple (DD-217), her sister ship and
the tanker USS Pecos (AO-6) and headed in a northeasterly direction
toward the beleaguered island of Java. Under orders to deliver thirty-two
members of the Army Air Forces (AAF) to the southern port of Tjilatjap, she
was never seen or heard from again by U.S. forces. This is the tragic and
heroic story of the loss of the Edsall in the Java Sea in 1942. She
was just one of a handful of U.S. war ships that stood between the Japanese
and the Philippines. After World War II, near the remote Kendari airfield on
the Indonesian island of Celebes—an area known for numerous alleged Japanese
war crimes—U.S. authorities recovered a number of bodies. These remains were
eventually identified as Edsall crewmembers and AAF personnel. The
full story of what really happened to this destroyer, and the fate of her
crew and passengers, has never been told. Based upon exhaustive research of
the historical record, “A Blue Sea Of Blood” sheds light on this
enduring mystery, bringing to the surface one of the most heroic naval
battles—as well as one of the most tragic outcomes of World War II.
New 2008 Hardback edition, with dust jacket. 286 pages, 37 black and
white photos, 2 maps, appendix,
USS Edsall
crew roster, glossary and index.
New Book
--- $19.95
"A BLUE SEA OF BLOOD" by
Donald M. Kehn Jr. is an extensively researched book regarding the U.S.
Destroyer, "U.S.S. EDSALL (DD219), from its conception to its
honorable death on March 1, 1942 upon the high seas off the cost of Java
while engaged against a major task force of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Although the "U.S.S. EDSALL" was an outdated post WWI "4-stacker,"
she attacked a far superior force with such tenacity and daring that two
battleships and two heavy cruisers could not hit her (but once), from over a
thousand expended heavy naval rounds. The Japanese were finally forced to
revert to airpower in order to stop this "raving-mad" miniature destroyer.
Despite her crews bravery, her American samurai sailors ended up
suffering a much crueler death as prisoners of war and, were tragically
and...conveniently forgotten by both the United States and Japanese
governments. A very well researched incident by author, Donald Kehn and a
magnificent story about a Lilliputian ship, its gargantuan crew, and the
deceitful governments that used it's fate for their own schemes.
This was a great book... about great men." Joseph R. Calamia
"This is a
well-told tale of history, biography, and and high drama on the high seas.
It tells of the life and times of the USS Edsall, a four-piper
destroyer of the Asiatic Fleet. The author traces the history of the ship
and her crews from her launch in 1920 to her sinking in 1942. He integrates
the detailed history of the ship's operations with the greater events in
which she participated during the 20s and 30s. He especially makes clear the
high-level political / military decisions made during the late 30s that led
to the obsolescent ships of Asiatic Fleet serving as the sacrificial lambs
to buy a little time for the US Navy to recover from Pearl Harbor. The final
days of the Edsall and her squadron mates exhibit the full range of
action from the tedium of patrol to the heroism of men facing their moment
of truth. Edsall's final action against overwhelming force is
something a screenwriter would hesitate to put into a movie script."
L. Veid
ISBN # 978-0-7603-3353-2
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