Red Sky in Morning: A Novel of World War II

351 Pages·2008·0.9 MB·English

by  Patrick Culhane

P A T R I C K C U L H A N E
I N M E M O RY O F MY FA T H ER ,
WH O LI V E D TH E TA LE
Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.
Red sky in morning, sailor take warning.
ITALIAN PROVERB
I learned about machinery,
I learned how men behaved under pressure,
and I learned about Americans.
HERMAN WOUK
on his Na vy service during World War II

Contents
Epigraph iii
Author’s N ote vii
Chapter 1
Ensign Peter Maxwell came slowly awake, teased by the expanse… 1
Chapter 2
To Seaman Ulysses Grant Washington (Sarge to his friends), San… 27
Chapter 3
The orders had come through yesterday: the Fantail Four had… 57
Chapter 4
Not long after reveille, the Fantail Four learned why Ensigns… 79
Chapter 5
The night Pete Maxwell had gone out clubbing with Sarge… 101
Chapter 6
Seaman Marvin Hannah had only just arrived at Port Chicago… 125
Chapter 7
Much to the relief of Seaman Ulysses Grant Washington, everything… 149
Chapter 8
At full speed, empty, and running for her life, the… 171
Chapter 9
Heading down the stairs, fighting the sway of the ship… 191
Chapter 10
Pete Maxwell could never get used to the cramped hell… 205
Chapter 11
Pete Maxwell couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten or… 231
Chapter 12
Bullets clanged into the ship’s bulkheads and whinged off the… 255
Chapter 13
Pete Maxwell flew out of Vince’s cabin and took the… 275
Chapter 14
Considering how wrong he’d been about Vince Rosetti, Pete
considered… 293
Chapter 15
On a beautiful sunny Sunday, just as morning was blurring… 319
A Tip of the Cap 333
About the Author
Other Books by Patrick Culhane
Credits
Cover
Copyright
About the Publisher
AU T H O R’ S N O T E
This novel uses the historical setting of World War II, draw-
ing upon experiences in the life of the author’s father. None-
theless, liberties have been taken and known errors of fact
have been included to suit the story.
The USS Liberty Hill Victory is a fictional ship based in
part upon the real USS Red Oak Victory. With the exception
of public figures mentioned in passing, the characters herein
are fictional; with the exception of the Port Chicago disaster
and various major naval and military battles mentioned, the
events in this novel are similarly fictional.
Readers are advised that the theme, time frame, and
characterizations of this novel reflect offensive attitudes of
the day, including unpleasant language in matters of race
and sexual orientation.