The Moluccas Islands; the invasions of Leyte, Mindoro, and 
Luzon; Iwo Jima; Okinawa—these and other important naval 
actions of World War II are vividly recounted by an enlisted 
sailor and former journalist, Orvill Raines, in poignant and 
graphic letters to his wife.
   

The story of the young sailor and his shipmates aboard the 
destroyer Howorth, serving in the Pacific in 1944 and 1945, 
comes alive in Good Night Officially, first published in 1994. 
Edited and introduced by historian William M. McBride, the 
letters tell of the routine and boredom, fear and bravery of 
those who reclaimed the Pacific for the United States and its 
allies. They also tell a sweet and sad story of the love of 
Raines for his wife—sad, because Raines, posthumously 
awarded the Purple Heart, was killed in an air attack on 
April 6, 1945. This volume bears testament to the sacrifice and 
victory of Raines and his fellow "bluejackets."


"Remarkably expressive ... Raine's expressions of devotion are 
universal and poignant in the context of a war he would not 
survive. McBride has done an excellent job of putting the 
letters in historical context."—Publishers Weekly

_________________________________________________________

WILLIAM M. MCBRIDE is an associate professor of history at the 
U.S. Naval Academy. He is a former John M. Olin Fellow in 
military and strategic history at Yale University and was 
inaugural Shaeffer Distinguished Humanist while on the faculty 
of James Madison University. He served as a destroyer officer 
in the Pacific Fleet and is a life member of the Disabled 
American Veterans


A Reveille Book