Unsinkable

October 5, 2020
Journalist Sullivan (Over the Moat) delivers an expansive, character-driven history of the USS Plunkett, a U.S. Navy destroyer that was “in on every invasion in Europe” during WWII and withstood a “savage” attack by German bombers at the Battle of Anzio in January 1944. Drawing on war diaries, action reports, and interviews, Sullivan tells the story through the eyes of five crew members: commander Ed Burke, gunnery officer Ken Brown, reserve officer Jack Simpson, and enlisted men Jim Feltz and John Gallagher, the author’s great-uncle. Tracking the Plunkett’s journey from its 1940 christening in New Jersey to its near-destruction at Anzio and its role in the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach (which director John Ford filmed from aboard the Plunkett), Sullivan packs the narrative with colorful character sketches and detailed descriptions of the ship’s inner workings, from the upper decks to the engine rooms. He also recounts visits to interview surviving sailors, now in their 90s, and relates the outsize impact of destroyers on the Allied war effort. The book culminates in a dramatic account of the attack at Anzio, Italy, when the Plunkett was hit by a 550-pound bomb and lost more than 50 men. Suffused with evocative language and intimate portraits of life in the U.S. Navy, this is a WWII history to savor.

Starred review from October 1, 2020
The captivating story of a World War II destroyer that saw plenty of action. While conducting research on the Plunkett, which was "all over the place, intersecting with the greatest events and personages of the war," Sullivan discovered that several crew members were still alive, so he interviewed nonagenarian veterans, as well as their children and grandchildren, in addition to his diligent combing of archives, journals, and ship's logs. The result is a vivid portrait of the sailors, wives, girlfriends, and families and their world, in which the Plunkett's battles often seem like interludes. As is typical in war, tedium was the norm, excitement came at rare intervals, and one horrendous incident ensured the ship's place in history. Launched in 1940, the Plunkett was one of 514 destroyers that fought WWII; 71 were lost, the most of any ship. Even before war broke out, the Plunkett escorted convoys to Britain across the North Atlantic. In November 1942, it accompanied a massive fleet and army that crossed to North Africa during Operation Torch. In July 1943, the Allies invaded Sicily, and the Luftwaffe sank many Allied ships--but not the Plunkett, which also narrowly escaped damage during the invasion of the Italian mainland at Salerno. Matters changed on Jan. 24, 1944 in the sea off Anzio, where a swarm of attackers seemed to target the Plunkett. Countless bombs missed, but one struck, causing terrible damage and killing 53 men. Sullivan delivers a gripping account of what followed as the men fought the fires, rescued survivors, retrieved bodies and body parts, and limped into harbor. After three months of repairs in the U.S., the ship returned to Europe to serve again. Sullivan has done his homework, and readers will enjoy his generous digressions into biography, courtship, shore-leave horseplay, shipboard politics, and a postwar summary. An outstanding addition to the still-active genre of WWII histories focusing on a single unit, ship, or bomber.

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2020
One of many destroyers in America's WWII armada, the USS Plunkett served in the Mediterranean during critical months of the war, supporting troops first in the Atlantic and North Africa, then in the invasions of Sicily and the Italian mainland. Protecting both merchant convoys and larger warships, the Plunkett eventually came under heavy attack from German planes at the battle for Anzio, and there its officers and crew exemplified heroism in fighting. Author Sullivan interviewed some of the surviving crew in their later years, and their recollections add immediacy to his description of life aboard the ship and the amazing survival of the Plunkett from direct bomb hits. In great detail, Sullivan recreates the heat and chaos of the crew's epic struggles to keep the Plunkett afloat, fighting onboard fires and preventing detonation of depth charges and ammunition as the ship burned. Readers, especially those with command of naval terminology, can virtually become part of the crew's frenzied reeling as they aided their injured, dying, and dead comrades and kept the Plunkett seaworthy.

COPYRIGHT(2020) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 13, 2020

The destroyer USS Plunkett, named for Rear Admiral Charles Peshall Plunkett, was commissioned in 1940, and spent time escorting Atlantic convoys and then moving to the Mediterranean. It served in North Africa and the Invasion of Sicily in 1943. The Battle of Anzio in 1944 ended its regular usage, as the ship experienced a violent, hours-long confrontation with German planes swarming the invasion force; after several near misses, a German bomb killed a third of the Plunkett's crew and led to the ship returning to Naples, then to the Unites States for repair. Later, in 1944, the ship offered fire support for D-Day. Journalist and author Sullivan's (Over the Moat) grandfather, Charlie Gallagher, served on the Plunkett, and when he started research on this book in 2016, only a few members of the crew were still alive. The focus is as much a narrative of the ship's crew and their recollections as it is the story of the ship and its active wartime career. Included are solid recounts of sailors' lives on the ship, based on interviews and diary records. An appendix lists those who were killed in action at Anzio and others who were missing in action. VERDICT An accessible maritime history for libraries with extensive World War II collections.--Edwin Burgess, Kansas City, KS

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