Kamikaze Nightmare - USS Ommaney Bay CVE-79 World War II

"KAMIKAZE NIGHTMARE” By Ron Burt. The USS Ommaney Bay (CVE–79) was a Casablanca-class escort carrier. Commissioned in February 1944, the baby-flat top was quickly sent into World War II action in the Pacific. She eventually took part in the battle at Leyte Gulf, fighting the mighty Imperial Japanese Navy off the island of Samar. This book is about Pete Harold, the authors brother, who was a crewman aboard the CVE. In early 1945 Ommaney Bay was operating in the Sulu Sea, when a twin-engine Japanese suicide plane crashed into the starboard side of the carrier. Two bombs were released; one of them penetrated the flight deck and detonated below, setting off a series of explosions among the fully-gassed planes on the forward third of the hangar deck. The second bomb passed through the hangar deck, ruptured the fire main on the second deck, and exploded near the starboard side. The little carrier was doomed. By 6:50 that evening the entire topside area had become a blazing inferno and the crew was ordered to “abandon ship.” By the time the carrier sank, 95 men were lost, including two killed on an assisting destroyer. Pete Harold was one of the lucky survivors who was rescued by the cruiser USS Columbia (CL-56). Then the Columbia was hit by another kamikaze! This time Harold was seriously wounded, and twice pronounced dead. Later in life Pete Harold suffered Post Traumatic Shock Syndrome. 1995 first Softbound edition. 152 pages, 38 black and white photos, an appendix, no maps or index. Book is signed by the author!

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