Give Me a Fast Ship
Ernest Evans and USS Johnston
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Naval Institute Press
Publishing:4th Dec '25
£21.99
This title is due to be published on 4th December, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Award-winning author, Thomas J. Cutler offers an in-depth and inspiring look at the truly heroic story of Ernest Evans and the crew of USS Johnston during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944.
The term “hero” is overused today, but the story of Ernest Evans and the crew of USS Johnston (DD 557) during the epic Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944 is one of true heroism that may be equaled but never surpassed in the annals of American naval history. Undaunted by a vastly superior Japanese task force bearing down on their ship, Commander Evans’ crew laid down a smoke screen, launched all torpedoes, and opened fire with the main battery of five, 5-inch guns, diverting the Japanese fleet’s attention from the vulnerable escort carriers under their protection. Evans’ courageous leadership earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor, and his indomitable fighting spirit made him a true legend in the U.S. Navy.
This inspiring book offers an in-depth look at Evans, the Johnston, and the ship’s crew. Award-winning author Thomas J. Cutler relies heavily on interviews he conducted with surviving crew members, as well as his own experiences while serving as an enlisted man in a similar destroyer. Readers can almost feel the sting of salt spray on their faces as Cutler presents a gripping account of Johnston’s year of service, from her commissioning to her sinking off Samar in October 1944. Often reading like a novel, this is a fascinating and poignant history of not only the ship and the crew, but of her Native American skipper who—forced to retreat in the early days of the war—fulfilled his commissioning day promise to “never again run from the enemy.”
Evans was a 1935 Naval Academy graduate serving as executive officer of the aging destroyer USS Alden in the far-off Asiatic Fleet when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Left virtually behind the lines as the Japanese rampaged their way around the Western Pacific, Alden was among only four U.S. warships to escape in the aftermath of the Battle of the Java Sea in February 1942. Spending the next year in frustratingly mundane operations until given command of the newly built Fletcher-class destroyer Johnston, Evans...
"Over three decades after publishing his classic The Battle of Leyte Gulf, Knox-medal winning naval historian Thomas Cutler returns us to the waters off Samar following the wake of Ernest Evans and the crew of USS Johnston in a dual individual/ship biographic journey that eclipses the late Jim Hornfischer’s classic Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors as testament to the heroism of a legendary captain and the destroyermen who fought under him. A must have book for the shelf of every Surface Warfare Officer!" —David F. Winkler, PhD, editor, Destroyers at War by Adm. James L. Holloway III, USN (Ret.)
"Few exploits in the annals of the U.S. Navy can surpass that of Captain Ernest E. Evans and the crew of USS Johnston (DD-557) during the cataclysmic World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf. In the spirit of John Paul Jones, these men and their ship readily went “in harm’s way” against great odds and with self-sacrifice to turn back a battleship-heavy fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. In Give Me a Fast Ship, Tom Cutler, a former officer and enlisted sailor, destroyer crewman, and combat veteran, speaks with great authority on the subject. Cutler’s insightful analysis of Evans’ experience as a Native American from Oklahoma, Naval Academy graduate, and destroyer commander in the early days of the Pacific war makes clear how his determined leadership, dedication to service, and courage inspired the sailors of Johnston to give their all. Give Me a Fast Ship is a stirring account that will undoubtedly become a standard work on the modern history of the U.S. Navy". —Edward J. Marolda, author of Admirals Under Fire: The US Navy and the Vietnam War
"The story of USS Johnston along with her captain, Ernest E. Evans and crew at the Battle of Leyte Gulf is one of World War II’s great tales of heroism and sacrifice. Historian and war veteran Thomas J. Cutler tells this thrilling story with verve but even better is his deep look at what made Evans and his crew capable of such deeds. He has produced a wonderfully nuanced and uplifting story of values and motivations disguised as a thrilling war story. Highly recommended." —Vincent P. O’Hara, author of Torch and The Greatest Naval War ever Fought
"The story of Ernest Evans and the fighting and sinking of the USS Johnston is one of the most heroic stories ever told of men at war at sea. Thomas Cutler, who has served on navy ships as an officer and enlisted man, fought in Vietnam and taught generations of Annapolis midshipmen, is the perfect man to tell it. Give Me a Fast Ship is a spell-binding tale—thrilling, moving, memorable." —Evan Thomas, author of Sea of Thunder
ISBN: 9781682477991
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
264 pages