Only $32.50!

A FAMILY SAGA —
Flush Deck Destroyers, 1917 - 1955

by John L. Dickey II LCDR USN (Ret.)

This is a comprehensive study of the 273 flush deck, four stack destroyers built between 1917 and 1922. Forty of these ships, urgently needed to fight the Kaiser’s U-Boats commissioned before WWI ended and 28 of them served in European waters before that war ended. During the 1930’s, 93 of them were scrapped, along with hundreds of older ships. Click here for details.

Three years before he died, “Tony” gave the Fellowship permission to reprint the COMIC BOOK which is in its 4th printing. Some excerpts are proudly presented in this brochure. If you’re an oldster, you’ll chuckle as memories return. If you’re a youngster, you’ll chuckle as you learn how your dad or granddad withstood the rigors of days gone by.

In late 1929 and early 1930 forces afloat saved 60 of the ships in a little known effort that was accomplished without the need of additional taxpayers dollars. This story and many others are told in the pages of this study.

By the time WWII began in Europe, only 169 of the ships had survived the hard use, political idealism and accidents.

In 1940, 50 of them were traded to the UK for base sites in the western hemisphere, and 37 days before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought America into the war, U-562 sank REUBEN JAMES (DD 245). Sixty five minutes before enemy carrier aircraft struck ships in Pearl Harbor and blasted installations on Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, the USS WARD (DD 139) sank a midget submarine attempting to enter the harbor.

Four of the old destroyers serving in the Asiatic Fleet gave the nation her first naval victory - the Battle of Makassar Straits, 24 Jan. 1942, a fact all but forgotten today. EDSALL (DD 219) sank the first full sized Japanese submarine, 20 Jan. 1942 and ROPER (DD 147) sank the first U-Boat in the Atlantic, 12 Apr. 1942.

Whether serving as Destroyer, High Speed Transport (APD), Seaplane Tender (AVD), Light Minelayer (DM) or High Speed Minesweeper (DMS), the ships gave a good account of themselves. A chronology of WW II details the actions that earned the ships more than 422 Battle Stars, 21 Presidential Unit Citations and 94 Navy Unit Commendations. Their officers and crews were awarded everything from the Medal of Honor to the Purple Heart.

As the war ended, so too ended the Family Saga. No ship remained as a museum, display ship or curiosity. Some few relics HAVE survived, largely unknown to even those who served in the ships. They do not appear in any official or unofficial list, but they are detailed in this study. Soft cover - 8-1/2” x 11” - 247 pages of text plus 30 page table of statistics - 8 line drawings - 1 Track Chart and 31 photographs.