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Valor and Courage: The Story of the USS Block Island Escort Carriers in World War II (Maritime Currents: History and Archaeology) Paperback – February 25, 2022

by Benjamin J. Hruska (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 12 ratings
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Recounts the stories of the USS Block Island CVE 21 and CVE 106 and their crews, many of whom served on both ships in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres

In Valor and Courage: The Story of the USS Block Island Escort Carriers in World War II Benjamin Hruska explores the history and commemoration of the USS Block Island—or, more properly, the Block Islands, as two escort carriers bore that name during WWII. The first, CVE 21, bears the distinction of having been the only American aircraft carrier sunk in the Atlantic Theatre after being torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of North Africa.
 
Of the CVE 21’s 957 crew members, six sailors were killed and eighteen injured in the strike, and four of the Block Island’s fighter pilots were lost later in the day searching for a safe place to land their planes. When the CVE 106 was commissioned to replace its predecessor, Captain Massie Hughes successfully persuaded the Navy to keep the CVE 21’s crew together in manning the new ship. After resurrection as the CVE 106, the Block Island was assigned to the Pacific theater where it fought until the end of the war. The saga of these two ships and the crew that navigated two very different theaters of war offers a unique lens on naval strategy and engineering as it evolved during WWII, especially as pertains to the escort carrier class—generally underappreciated both in naval studies and in public memory.
 
Using archival materials, dozens of oral histories, primary sources, and official records, Hruska traces the life of the Block Island from the CVE 21’s construction through its missions in the Atlantic, its work as an antisubmarine hunter, its destruction, and the lasting impact of those experiences on its crew. Hruska’s study juxtaposes traditional military history with an examination of the acts of remembrance and commemoration by veterans who served on the escort carriers, how those practices evolved over time, and how the meanings of personal wartime experiences and memories gradually shifted throughout that process.
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  1. Part of series
    Maritime Currents: History and Archaeology
  2. Print length
    288 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    University Alabama Press
  5. Publication date
    February 25, 2022
  6. Dimensions
    6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0817360697
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0817360696
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“In Valor and Courage, Dr. Benjamin Hruska tackles a daunting task—the full story of two WWII escort aircraft carriers bearing the same name. Thus, ‘Fighting Block Island’ became a byword for the ‘baby flattops’ that fought Germany in the Atlantic and Japan in the Pacific. But far more than ships and aircraft, Valor and Courage properly focuses on the men of both vessels who remain an inspiration for their current heirs operating nuclear-powered descendants and supersonic jets.”
—Barrett Tillman, author of On Wave and Wing: The 100-Year Quest to Perfect the Aircraft Carrier

“Valor and Courage is a captivating microhistory that weaves together personal narratives from crew members about their experience aboard Naval escort carriers in both the Atlantic and the Pacific campaigns of WWII. By compiling crew members’ accounts of daily life and the dramatic events of Naval battle within the context of interwar Naval industry and technology and the importance of aircraft carrier escorts during WWII, Hruska’s book documents the memory of these Naval veterans that is often difficult to locate in terrestrial cultural landscapes. Public historians, military historians and scholars of memory will appreciate Hruska’s exploration of the complications of memorializing events that happened at sea.”
—Melissa Bingmann, Associate Professor and Public Historian, West Virginia University
 

About the Author


Benjamin J. Hruska is a public historian who teaches at Basis Prescott Charter School in Prescott, Arizona. He is author of Interpreting Naval History at Museums and Historic Sites and contributor to Beyond Combat: Australian Military Activity Away from the Battlefield and Volunteering around the Block: Revisiting Block Island’s Manissean Heritage.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University Alabama Press; First Edition (February 25, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0817360697
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0817360696
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

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Benjamin J. Hruska

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
12 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Peridot
5.0 out of 5 stars Important History - Well Written
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2021
Verified Purchase
Dr. Ben Hruska has done an excellent job of researching and documenting this important military history. We gifted this book to a WWII Veteran who found the book to be easy to read and a valuable educational resource. A copy of this well written book has also been donated to our local military museum for their educational reading library.
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Lance
5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest Detail and Explination
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2022
My Grandfather served on the Block Island CVE 106 in the Pacific. He didn’t talk much about what he did or had gone through. Once when I was a kid he talked to me about how the aircraft were painted on his ship. This book is all I have of what he may have done or what he saw. The detail of the history of the escort carrier and how it evolved, the things the crew and the ship has to endure are impeccable.
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Carol Yoho
5.0 out of 5 stars This work is tied to who I am
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2022
My dad served on both Block Island Escort Carriers. I'd heard his personal story, and bits, footnoted as Cleveland T. Martin, are in this summary of the experience...but the book gave me a wider and deeper insight into the entire operation of these carriers and the whole of WWII. I really enjoyed it and will keep this copy as long as I'm alive.
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Dorothy G thurston
5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good Book
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2022
This was an excellent account of the experiences of all the men on the USS Block Island. My father served during the time of it's sinking and was on the new ship until the war ended. Thank you for writing it Benjamin.
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cmurrell
5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Details on Attacking U-Boats
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2021
This book tells the story of the USS Block Island, a small aircraft carrier known as an escort carrier, which were vital in winning the War in the Atlantic against German U-boats in World War II. I found this book to be the best book I have read on the details of the different methods used to attack and sink German submarines. Tragically, the USS Block Island was sunk by a U-boat off the coast of North Africa, with the loss of life. It was the only escort carrier sunk during the War in the Atlantic. The U.S. Navy, as it often did, named another ship after the sunken vessel, a new escort carrier, USS Block Island. Many of  the surviving crew members served on that vessel. To add interest for the reader, it served in the Pacific Theatre against the Japanese. This is a very well researched and written book.
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