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Alvin Kernan, seeing no prospects in his native Wyoming, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in the spring of 1941. As a seaman on the U.S.S.
Enterprise, he saw the destruction and smelled the fires still burning as the aircraft carrier returned to Pearl Harbor from maneuvers on the day after Japan's surprise attack. Years later he would see and smell much the same thing in Japanese harbors. In the time between, Kernan had some exceptional adventures, which are chronicled in
Crossing the Line. This reflective memoir is utterly unpretentious in providing an engaging view of ordinary Americans at war. Leaving the grand historical themes for other writers, Kernan tells us what it was really like for the sailors in the fleet, during fierce combat as well as during some lively recreation.
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From Publishers Weekly
This unpretentious memoir is a significant contribution to the growing body of literature on life as an enlistee in the U.S. armed forces of WWII. Kernan joined the Navy in 1940 at 17 to escape Depression-era Wyoming. He spent most of the war on aircraft carriers: the Hornet at Midway; the Lexington, one of the first carriers to operate night fighters; and finally the escort carrier Sewanee. Kernan's pride in serving on them is evident. His description of boot camp and shipboard routines suggest that, for him, the Navy's often scoffed-at routines were a system that made sense, particularly in combat.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
