Going Back: A Navy Airman in the Pacific War

Like millions of other young Americans in the 1930s, Charles Furey grew up surrounded by the images and memories of World War I, not knowing that he was part of a generation bred for another war. Pearl Harbor changed all that. In 1942 he enlisted in the Navy and, during the next three years, fought in a war that transformed him, the nation, and the world. From this time Furey has fashioned a superbly written memoir that follows him from his stateside training, his service as an aircrewman on a patrol bomber, and his long recovery from a fiery plane crash all the way to his poignant homecoming.

Along with harrowing accounts of air actions over the South Pacific and grim descriptions of wounded men in hospitals, the book includes many vividly portrayed characters and is marked by remarkable insight. Readers will long remember such men as Lieutenant Morrison, the man who loved Damon Runyon and whose small gesture forged an intense camaraderie among his crew, and Murphy, the Marine whose humor helped dull the pain of Furey's wounds. Nor will they soon forget the author's reflections on the fate that history had planned for him, his friends, and all those who came of age with him, or his stunning evocation of a period of great national change--and of the time before it.

The author provides a colorful yet honest recollection of the war years, addressing such timeless themes as loyalty, humor, family, and profound loss. His memoir is sure to strike a responsive chord in readers of all ages.