Abstract:
Part One During WWII, the U.S.S. DOYEN (APA-1) voyaged more than 100,000 miles, participating in many Pacific battles including bloody Saipan and Iwo Jima. Its crew and passengers were members of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Army–all members of what Tom Brokaw has termed “the greatest generation.” In retelling his first work, Attack Transport author, Lieutenant Commander L. A. Marsden, captures what the men of the DOYEN saw and felt–from loneliness and boredom to the horror and waste of war. Added to the original text are seven new chapters and many memoirs from individual crew members. It constitutes a candid and emotional glimpse into the minds and experiences of the Navy veterans of WWII and illustrates the unbounded optimism and humor that will forever characterize the American fighting man. Part Two Avoiding the scrap yard after the war, the DOYEN was resurrected to duty from 1957 through 1972. It served as training vessel, dormitory, classroom and cruise ship for the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. New crew, new era and new mission pumped new life into the DOYEN, now renamed the BAY STATE. These boisterous and carefree Midshipmen were a striking contrast to the crew of the DOYEN, but many of their experiences were quite similar. Revel in their stories and adventures as the BAY STATE carried them to the oceans of the world.