The first authoritative history of any of the more than 350 attack 
transports or attack cargo ships of World War II, Combat Loaded: 
Across the Pacific on the USS Tate contains gripping combat 
narratives alongside the sometimes heartwarming, sometimes 
tragic details of daily life on board the ships of Transport Squadron 
17 during the waning days of World War II.

    Author Thomas E. Crew interviewed over fifty veterans of the 
Tate, including all her surviving officers. Crew weaves a rich 
tapestry of voices, combining it with extensive analysis of the 
Tate's daily action reports and ship's logs, accented by lively 
letters of the period from private collections—including previously 
unpublished accounts of the last days of famed war correspondent 
Ernie Pyle.

    Crew also presents a rare unit-level perspective of joint 
operations involving the infantry fighting ashore and the navy 
transports that sustained them with their vital combat cargo. The 
resulting richly illustrated work presents perhaps the most 
comprehensive account to date of the experiences and courageous 
contributions of those who served on amphibious transports during 
World War II.

_________________________________________________________

THOMAS E. CREW has worked for the Naval Oceanographic 
Office for almost twenty years. He lives in Long Beach, Mississippi. 
This is his first book.


Number 108: Texas A&M University Military History Series


What people are saying about this book

"What makes Combat Loaded successful is emphasis on context 
and the personal side of war, including reflections of the author's 
father, who served on the Tate. It contains ample detail for students 
of military history but tempers the technical with the range of human 
emotions, from tragedy and depression to humor and pride. And 
throughout, the narrative flows effectively and dramatically. The book 
is the first for Thomas E. Crew, longtime staff member of the Naval 
Oceanographic Office, but given his talent for weaving details of 
history with complexities of humanity, it should not be his last."
—East Texas Historical Journal, Fall 2007

". . . an interesting and welcome addition to the literature of the United 
States Navy during World War II in the Pacific.  It is the personal 
interjections, along with the historical backdrop, and technical nature 
of the narrative that makes Combat Loaded such an enjoyable read 
for any audience."—Nautical Research Journal, December 2007

"It is a well-written and researched account of shipboard life during 
the naval operations of the Pacific campaign. More important, it is 
an excellent example of recent scholarship to collect and preserve 
the deeds of the World War II generation."—United States Naval 
Institute, September 2007

"With superb maps and photographs throughout the text, Combat 
Loaded is a fascinating read. It is a rare combination of a ship's 
history, the recollections of her crew, and an analysis of the joint 
army-navy operations visible from her decks."—The Journal of 
Military History, July 2007

"Each and every ship's history adds another page and another 
dimension to our understanding of World War II and the America 
that fought it. . . . These voices are among the last we shall hear 
of the World War II generation as they fade into history's twilight."
—Mark P. Parillo, Kansas State University, author of The Japanese 
Merchant Marine in World War II

". . . an important contribution to naval history. . . . The author also 
does a good job of weaving technical issues in with the letters of 
and post-war interviews with the crew of the United States Ship 
Tate. He is also able to place the story and history in the larger 
context of the Pacific Theater, which gets less attention than the 
war in Europe."—Nick Sarantakes, U.S. Army Command and 
General Staff College, Ft. Gordon Campus