Archie T Miller

Sea Stories: the "Tin Can" Navy from Korea to the Cold War Archie T Miller

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.