On June 25, 1950 the North Korean Peoples Army crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea. The United Nations, primarily the United States, came to South Korea's aid. Because America had largely dismantled its Army and Navy after World War II, the Navy needed to quickly take 110 WW-II destroyers out of mothballs, return them to fleet service and staff them with crews. Many young men answered their country's call and joined the Navy -- among them was a young music school student named Archie T. Miller. This book depicts his sailor's story of adventures in the "Tin Can" Navy. Plucked from a comfortable civilian life Miller and his shipmates adapted to the spartan conditions of life at sea in a small hard riding ship. The discipline, responsibility, danger, travel and camaraderie of those four years forever changed their lives. The crew of USS Wren traveled over 50,000 miles completely around the world while taking their ship to Korea. This book describes life in a small ship in smooth and rough seas while operating with Fast Carrier Task Force 77 off the coasts of Korea, dodging and sinking mines, conducting antisubmarine operations and searching for North Korean ships above the 38th parallel in blinding snowstorms. Home from Korea, Wren aided a burning troopship, rode out hurricanes, visited Havana, participated in fleet exercises and trained midshipmen. Wren also blockaded Puerto Barrios while the CIA overthrew the freely elected government of Guatemala. The Wrens lived the slogan "Join the Navy and see the world" -- and still treasure their experiences. They were funny, scary, awe inspiring, sobering and exciting. They still talk about them -- they call them Sea Stories. And this book is those stories.
About the Author: Archie T. Miller Born in Jersey City, NJ in 1930, Archie grew up in Arlington, VA. He studied Music at Brevard College (North Carolina) for 2 years. He left college and joined the Navy during the winter of 1950/51 at a rather desperate point in the Korean War when UN forces were being driven south in retreat down the Korean peninsula. He went to Boot Camp at Great Lakes and attended the U, S, Fleet Sonar School in Key West, FL. Miller was stationed at the Naval Torpedo Testing Range Piney Point, MD and served in U.S.S. Wren DD-568. After four years in the Navy, he studied Electronic Engineering Technology for two years at the Capital Radio Engineering Institute in Washington, DC and went to work for RCA. Miller started work as a technical writer, ultimately managing Technical Publications operations and managing various technical and engineering organizations. In his first several years with RCA Archie worked on projects involving Naval Electronics and Shipboard Gun and Missile Systems. For many years he was a member of the U.S. Naval Institute. Archie is retired and is living in Central New Jersey with his wife Judy.