Gary Burns is a retired U.S. Marine and historian whose passion is telling the personal stories of veterans. He divides his time between homes in the Texas Hill Country and the mountains of Eastern Kentucky.

“represents an extremely raw, emotional, unfiltered, and highly subjective account...rich...excellent...extremely valuable...engaging...not to be missed”—Northern Mariner; “the author does a fine job of illustrating the ship’s service and combat record.... Combining elements of military and social histories, Burns expertly weaves together a web of short, intermingling biographies of the men of LCS 52. The inclusion of high-resolution images including official navy photographs and personal snapshots acquired from a crew member’s private camera helps readers better visualize the well-armed gunboat on which much of the story takes place. World War II history buffs and those interested in twentieth-century military, social, and cultural history will find Burn’s work to be a comprehensive and satisfying read. The author has effectively immortalized the memories of LCS 52 and its fighting crew forever”—H-Net Reviews.

• AcknowledgmentsviiiIntroduction1. The Maiden Voyage2. How Did We Get Ourselves into This?3. Practicing the Trade4. Life at Sea5. Black Sand and Suffering6. By Land and Sea: The Battle for Okinawa7. Birds of Prey8. Downfall to Fallout9. Ex-Kamikazes and Mysteries of the Orient10. Rebuilding Lives11. Death of 5212. Roll Call LCS 52Chapter NotesBibliographyIndex

Gary Burns is a retired U.S. Marine and historian whose passion is telling the personal stories of veterans. He divides his time between homes in the Texas Hill Country and the mountains of Eastern Kentucky.

“represents an extremely raw, emotional, unfiltered, and highly subjective account...rich...excellent...extremely valuable...engaging...not to be missed”—Northern Mariner; “the author does a fine job of illustrating the ship’s service and combat record.... Combining elements of military and social histories, Burns expertly weaves together a web of short, intermingling biographies of the men of LCS 52. The inclusion of high-resolution images including official navy photographs and personal snapshots acquired from a crew member’s private camera helps readers better visualize the well-armed gunboat on which much of the story takes place. World War II history buffs and those interested in twentieth-century military, social, and cultural history will find Burn’s work to be a comprehensive and satisfying read. The author has effectively immortalized the memories of LCS 52 and its fighting crew forever”—H-Net Reviews.

• AcknowledgmentsviiiIntroduction1. The Maiden Voyage2. How Did We Get Ourselves into This?3. Practicing the Trade4. Life at Sea5. Black Sand and Suffering6. By Land and Sea: The Battle for Okinawa7. Birds of Prey8. Downfall to Fallout9. Ex-Kamikazes and Mysteries of the Orient10. Rebuilding Lives11. Death of 5212. Roll Call LCS 52Chapter NotesBibliographyIndex

Gary Burns is a retired U.S. Marine and historian whose passion is telling the personal stories of veterans. He divides his time between homes in the Texas Hill Country and the mountains of Eastern Kentucky.

“represents an extremely raw, emotional, unfiltered, and highly subjective account...rich...excellent...extremely valuable...engaging...not to be missed”—Northern Mariner; “the author does a fine job of illustrating the ship’s service and combat record.... Combining elements of military and social histories, Burns expertly weaves together a web of short, intermingling biographies of the men of LCS 52. The inclusion of high-resolution images including official navy photographs and personal snapshots acquired from a crew member’s private camera helps readers better visualize the well-armed gunboat on which much of the story takes place. World War II history buffs and those interested in twentieth-century military, social, and cultural history will find Burn’s work to be a comprehensive and satisfying read. The author has effectively immortalized the memories of LCS 52 and its fighting crew forever”—H-Net Reviews.

• AcknowledgmentsviiiIntroduction1. The Maiden Voyage2. How Did We Get Ourselves into This?3. Practicing the Trade4. Life at Sea5. Black Sand and Suffering6. By Land and Sea: The Battle for Okinawa7. Birds of Prey8. Downfall to Fallout9. Ex-Kamikazes and Mysteries of the Orient10. Rebuilding Lives11. Death of 5212. Roll Call LCS 52Chapter NotesBibliographyIndex