The movie to which you are referring is the 1956 "Away All Boats." It's
the story of a Navy APA (Attack Transport). These ships carried LCVPs,
a few LCMs to carry troops (about a battalion, as I recall) and equipment
ashore. In the story, the Belinda is hit by several Kamikazes. Listing
heavily and unable to steam, she is taken under tow by her landing craft.
It's a pretty good movie based on an outstanding book of the same name
written in 1954. I'm proud to say that the author of the book, Ken Dodson,
was a friend, though it was late in his life that we became friends. Much of
the story is true, based on his experiences aboard the U.S.S. Pierce (APA
50). He was the real "MacDougal." The Pierce completed nine major assault
landings in the Pacific. The Navy thought Dodson's book
was so good that they made it required reading for commanders of ships
engaged in amphibious operations.
Dodson was a true seaman, having gone to sea in 1924. By the end of the
1930s, he was captain of a freighter, rising from deckhand to chief officer
in about 14 years. In 1940, he joined the Naval Reserve and went active in
1942. Before going active in the navy, he had some hair-raising experiences
running an unarmed freighter around the Pacific after the Dec. 1941
declaration of war, including a close call with the Japanese fleet that
attacked Pearl harbor. His ship, the Cape Flattery, ended up making a
10,300 mile diversion to avoid being sunk.
During his life, Ken established a personal friendship with Charles and
Anne Lindbergh (they met when his ship carried them and their plane back to
the USA after a Trans Pacific flight). Poet/author Carl Sandberg was another
famous friend. Sandburg encouraged Dodson to write "Away All Boats" after
publishing some of Dodson's letters home in "Remembrance Rock," an emotional
book about
letters home from servicemen.
Ken passed away in 1999 at the age of 91, just days after completing his
last book, "The Poet and the Sailor." He had suffered with Parkinson's and a
heart problem, plus complications from injuries received in the war. He was
a great guy, with a million
fascinating stories that he told quietly, but only after you asked to hear
them. He was not a blowhard. He was a great letter writer, too. He wasn't
particularly happy with the movie, BTW, but I guess when you've been there
and done that, a movie's got to seem silly!
The Naval Institute Press recently republished "Away All Boats" in
hardback. I'm told it's required reading a the Naval Academy. It was, by
far, the best of his six books.
Jim Allen
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