Description

5,000 Miles Towards Tokyo, first published in 1945, is the story of four U.S. Navy escort-carriers forming Air Group 60, especially the Suwannee (a converted oiler and home to the author) in the South Pacific during 1943 and 1944. The Group played a vital role in every important Pacific invasion from the Gilbert Islands to the Philippines, with its pilots flying thousands of bombing missions and patrols. The book looks at daily operations aboard the ships, plus paints a bigger picture of the action taking place in the South Pacific such as the strategies and decision-making of high-ranking officers, such as Generals MacArthur and Halsey. Author Green Peyton (pseudonym for Green Peyton Wertenbaker) was a noted science-fiction writer prior to the War; during the conflict he served as an air combat intelligence officer aboard the USS Suwannee, the focus of much of this book. The author worked daily with the Hellcat pilots of his squadron. Included are 18 pages of maps and illustrations and a complete index. Green Peyton died on July 26, 1968.