Crash Boat: Rescue and Peril in the Pacific During World War II

by George D. Jepson

Overview

After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, young Americans lined up at recruiting stations across the nation. Crash Boat is the compelling story of an armed United States air-sea rescue boat crewed by volunteers during World War II in the South Pacific. Only months earlier, they had been civilians, living the best years of their lives. In the Pacific, they conducted dramatic rescues of downed pilots and clandestine missions off of enemy-held islands at great peril and with little fanfare. George D. Jepson chronicles these ordinary young men doing extraordinary things, as told to him by Earl A. McCandlish, commander of the 63-foot crash boat P-399. Nicknamed Sea Horse, the vessel and her crew completed over thirty rescues at sea, weathered typhoons, fought a fierce gun battle with Japanese forces, experienced life from another age in isolated native villages, carried out boondoggle missions, and played a supporting role in America’s return to the Philippines.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493059232
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	04/15/2021
Pages:	248
Sales rank:	1,072,118
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

George D. Jepson, editorial director for McBooks Press, previously worked as a journalist and corporate communicator. As a freelance writer and editor, he was a regular contributor to WoodenBoat magazine and various other publications. Jepson worked in the maritime book trade for more than two decades and founded Quarterdeck, a journal dedicated to celebrating maritime literature and art. He holds degrees in English and history, as well as an MBA. Jepson and his wife, Amy, live in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Earl A. McCandlish grew up in Dutchess County, New York. During World War II, he commanded the 63-foot air-sea rescue boat P-399—nicknamed Sea Horse—in the South Pacific with the 13th Army Air Force, earning the Bronze Star for “meritorious achievement.” McCandlish also received the Conspicuous Service Medal from the State of New York. He held an IAO degree from the State University of New York at Cornell and was a former town official in Poughkeepsie, where he resided until his death in 2000.

Table of Contents

Introduction George D. Jepson ix

Maps xii

1 New Orleans 1

2 Wilmington 10

3 San Francisco 19

4 Fiji to Guadalcanal 22

5 Personal Bomb 38

6 Another Storm 46

7 Special Mission 50

8 Paradise Found 55

9 Island Wedding 68

10 On to Finschafen 76

11 Mrs. Roosevelt 82

12 The British 84

13 Los Negros 89

14 Hollandia 96

15 On the Line 103

16 Sansapor 107

17 Morotai 110

18 Battle of Galela Bay 117

19 Baker's Red Hair 122

20 Task Group 78.2 130

21 The Philippines 138

22 VE Day 143

23 Polka Dots and Pagadian 147

24 Zamboanga 157

25 Señor Atalano and the Underground Press 168

26 Rescue Appeal 177

27 Nearing the End 186

28 Final Sail 190

29 Destination America 196

Afterword 200

Acknowledgments 206

Bibliography 208

Appendix A Dair N. Long and the Homegrown War Effort 209

Appendix B 63-Foot AAF Rescue Boat 213

Index 219

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Just when you thought every possible aspect of World War II in the Pacific had been covered to exhaustion,  this fresh new memoir of crash boat service in Guadalcanal, New Guinea, and the Philippines turns up. Told in a no-nonsense but vivid style by the skipper of P-399, this is a true tale of service in an air-sea rescue boat, with storms at sea, daring rescues of crashed planes both ashore and at sea, and the welding together of a crew under wartime stress. A terrific read.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        – David Poyer, author of Overthrow and Violent Peace "Crash Boat is a best seller waiting to happen. It’s an amazing blend of the Greatest Generation learning about the South Pacific overplayed with international politics and a brutal war. The writing is seamless, with the reader drawn in on page one … not to be put down until the end. Stand by to be a couch potato with this one. You won’t regret it.     One learns the customs and traditions of the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) crash boat service as they stand by to rescue aviators from the Solomon Islands to the Philippines in 1944 and 1945. Along the way, the story marvelously lingers with the Melanesian natives who often worked for the U.S. forces. But what got me was the way McCandlish and his crew reached out to those natives who not very long before, were head-hunters. Over the years they had been known for this and there were initial fears when meeting them. But all went well and it was interesting to see how the crew of P-399 spread their good will.     Of particular interest is when, nearing the war’s end they were stationed in Zamboanga, in the far western end of the Philippine Island of Mindanao. These people were Moros and generations before had fought General “Black Jack” Pershing. Very tough,  they were still active headhunters and on occasion, dined on their enemies. And yet this American crew went beyond themselves, to befriend them, all against a backdrop of a hideous war.       All true to life, this work is very enjoyable, you won’t be disappointed."                                                                                                                                                         — John J. Gobbell, author of the Todd Ingram Series "This would make a bloody good novel!"                                                                    — Douglas Reeman, author of A Prayer for the Ship "Wartime memoirs are often action-packed and full of “derring do.” This one is different — in a good way. While it does detail the operations which the crew of SEAHORSE conducted, it is more the story of a group of brothers and their everyday life. Life in a war zone aboard a small wooden vessel can be challenging. Quarters are cramped, duties are shared, supplies are often sparse. Still, you have to function as a team to get through it all. The “skipper” reminisces about this in a very descriptive, but comfortable manner. But life occurs outside the confines of the boat and the telling of those experiences is what makes this memoir different. The better part of the text deals with the crew's interactions with the indigenous population and provides wonderful insight into the nuances that need to be addressed properly when very different cultures must deal with each other under difficult circumstances. A good read."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              — Al Ross II, co-author of Allied Coastal Forces

Editorial Reviews

Just when you thought every possible aspect of World War II in the Pacific had been covered to exhaustion, this fresh new memoir of crash boat service in Guadalcanal, New Guinea, and the Philippines turns up. Told in a no-nonsense but vivid style by the skipper of P-399, this is a true tale of service in an air-sea rescue boat, with storms at sea, daring rescues of crashed planes both ashore and at sea, and the welding together of a crew under wartime stress. A terrific read. —David Poyer, author of Overthrow and Violent Peace Wartime memoirs are often action-packed and full of "derring-do." This one is different—in a good way. It is the story of a group of brothers and their challenging life in a war zone aboard a small wooden vessel. The Skipper reminisces about the crew's interactions with indigenous populations and provides wonderful insight into the nuances that need to be addressed when very different cultures must deal with each other under difficult circumstances. —Al Ross II, coauthor of Allied Coastal Forces

From the Publisher

This would make a bloody good novel!

Douglas Reeman

Wartime memoirs are often action-packed and full of "derring-do." This one is different—in a good way. It is the story of a group of brothers and their challenging life in a war zone aboard a small wooden vessel. The Skipper reminisces about the crew's interactions with indigenous populations and provides wonderful insight into the nuances that need to be addressed when very different cultures must deal with each other under difficult circumstances.

Al Ross II

Just when you thought every possible aspect of World War II in the Pacific had been covered to exhaustion, this fresh new memoir of crash boat service in Guadalcanal, New Guinea, and the Philippines turns up. Told in a no-nonsense but vivid style by the skipper of P-399, this is a true tale of service in an air-sea rescue boat, with storms at sea, daring rescues of crashed planes both ashore and at sea, and the welding together of a crew under wartime stress. A terrific read.

David Poyer

A vivid, intimate, and poignant record of 18 months of combat service in the South Pacific.. .. This book stands with Dick Keresey’s memoir, PT 105, as an essential record of small-craft combat in the South Pacific.

WoodenBoat magazine

Crash Boat is an amazing blend of the Greatest Generation learning about the South Pacific overlaid with international politics and a brutal war. The writing is seamless, with the reader drawn in on page one. Stand by to be a couch potato—you won’t be disappointed.

John J. Gobbell