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James J. Fahey
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Pacific War Diary, 1942­-1945: The Secret Diary of an American Sailor Paperback – January 1, 1992

by James J. Fahey (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 114 ratings
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This best-selling diary is one of the most extraordinary documents to emerge from World War II. Despite regulations, seaman James J. Fahey secretly compiled a diary on scraps of paper throughout the long World War II naval campaign in the Pacific. His diary describes an average sailor's daily life during wartime and records a personal view of a major historic event.
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  1. Print length
    416 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Houghton Mifflin Company
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1992
  5. Dimensions
    1 x 5.5 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0395640229
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0395640227
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Houghton Mifflin Company (January 1, 1992)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0395640229
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0395640227
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 1 x 5.5 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 114 ratings

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James J. Fahey

James J. Fahey

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
114 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

R. Robert
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2020
Verified Purchase
The book arrived early and in good shape. I would purchase from this seller again.
As for the content of the book, it's one of the very few diaries of an ordinary Sailor that made it into publication. Keeping diaries was not usually permitted so this gives the reader a rare look at daily life aboard a US Ship in the Pacific Theater. I only wish I had bought a copy years ago. If you want to get an idea of what a relative experienced in the Pacific aboard a ship, this is a good starter. Most soldiers and sailors of this war didn't share their service experiences. I'd give it 10-stars if I could.
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William S. Grass
5.0 out of 5 stars One-of-a-kind account of naval war in the Pacific
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2010
Verified Purchase
Pacific War Diary is the diary of James Fahey, an ordinary sailor from Waltham, Massachusetts, who served aboard the light cruiser Montpelier from the time it left the U.S. east coast in December 1942 until its return in December 1945. I first became aware of this diary when reading Paul Fussell's book Wartime, wherein Fussell uses many quotes from Fahey and numerous other firsthand accounts of WWII.

Fahey's diary is highly educative in revealing what life was like for a U.S. sailor aboard a warship in the Pacific theater of WWII. Most of the entries involve standing watch, getting sleep whenever possible, letters from home and making do with whatever food is available. When not at sea, there are the constant work parties and unloading and loading supplies and ammunition. At battle stations, Fahey helped man 40 mm antiaircraft guns. There is a particularly gruesome account of the aftermath of a Japanese kamikaze attack where Japanese body parts litter the deck of Montpelier.

As far as combat history, Fahey's account starts at the tail end of the Guadalcanal campaign at the Battle of Rennell Island. Then, the Montpelier participates in the slugging matches in the remainder of the Solomons: bombarding New Georgia, and at Bougainville, the brutal battle of Empress Augusta Bay. Finally, after the Solomons are secure and Rabaul is bypassed, Fahey and Montpelier join the task force invading Saipan, which also confronts the Japanese task force in the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944. Later, Fahey and Montpelier participate in the Philippine campaigns of Leyte, Mindoro, Luzon, Corregidor, Palawan and last of all Balikpapan in Borneo.

Fahey's experience of day-to-day routine, and even his participation in battles vary little from thousands of other sailors from WWII. The value of Pacific War Diary, therefore, lies in its uniqueness since there is to my knowledge no other published personal account of the war written by an ordinary seaman. The main reason for this is that diary keeping was banned and considered a security breach. Fahey even mentions once that he is probably the only sailor in the fleet keeping a diary.

Whether you have a relative who served as a sailor in the Pacific in WWII, or are interested in a first-hand account of several of the important naval actions in the Pacific, I highly recommend Pacific War Diary.
24 people found this helpful
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J. D. Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars "Lost Outpost": A Found Poem Review of "Pacific War Diary"
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2014
Verified Purchase
As a writer interested in this time period, I started reading this book as part of my research into the lives of Navy servicemen during WWII. But at a certain point it became something else--a literary experience. I began noting especially compelling lines, powerful in their starkness and simplicity. Instead of an expository review, I want to share a "found poem"--comprised of those passages, word for word as printed, from diary entries between November 10 and December 31, 1943. This is the only way I can think of to convey the lyricism of the book, beyond its value as an historical document.

***

"Lost Outpost"
*A found poem from James J Fahey's Pacific War Diary*

The sharks ate well today. Later,
darkness descended, and the rains came.
The stillness being broken by our blazing warships.
Give or take an inch and that one would have done it.

Another scorcher.
A 1,000 pound bomb glanced off the six inch turret,
went through the deck and exploded,
killing five and wounding fifty. All in all,
she was very lucky. They can
forget that island from now on.

The flooded compartments have sailors
floating around in their waters. They cannot
retrieve the bodies until dry dock is reached.

We sang hymns.
It brought back memories.
I could hear the birds singing in the jungle.
No white man has set foot on this island in twenty-five years.

About a month from now, summer begins.
When this one's completed, never again.
All of the flowers in the jungle must be blooming now.

We're hungry all of the time.
Towels have been exhausted from the small stores.
They should get on the ball, there is a war to be won,
and this is no fashion show.
Starving them out would seem to be the answer.

It looked as if a storm was in the making.
On watch, we were fascinated by a star that
kept changing colors. It would be red, then green,
then yellow and then white.

A movie was shown after the show.
The name of it was "Keeper of the Flame."

This must be the lost outpost.

It's New Year's Eve now, but to us, it's just another night.
One person found this helpful
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Frederick S. Goethel
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Books about World War II Navy Life to be Found
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2007
Verified Purchase
I, too, have a copy of the 1963 Avon paperback that I have been lugging all over the country for the past 30+ years. I read this in a high school history class in the early seventies, and immediately realized it was one of the best true war stories I had ever read. I have read my very tattered copy several more times since then, and have enjoyed it more with each reading.

The book is the diary of a young seaman aboard the USS Montpelier during action in the Pacific from 1942 through 1945. He kept the diary a secret because it was against Navy regulations to keep such a document and it was only printed years after the war ended.

Written in the language of a sailor, it is gritty and real. It does, at times become repetitive, but then again, life aboard a ship during the war was just that....days of sheer terror followed by weeks on endless boredom.

Read this book if you want to get a great perspective of the war from a sailors point of view. And, just read it if you want a fantastic read!
21 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Lisa Fagg
5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 22, 2020
Verified Purchase
Book arrived in good time and in very good condition. Great!
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M Byrne
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 6, 2012
Verified Purchase
Like listening to someone talking about them self. Like living in the times. Interesting to know what life was like back then.
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