Chico Naval historian and retired U.S. Navy Commander David D. Bruhn brings to life the unheralded story of Stockton's contribution to the war effort in "War Bound From Stockton" ($34 in paperback from HeritageBooks.com). The Port of Stockton exists thanks to its deepwater channel; it "opened in 1933 as the first inland seaport in California." No fewer than ten shipyards built the boats.
There are eighteen chapters, 159 photographs, maps and diagrams, and appendices listing each vessel and its awards: "Twenty-three Stockton ships collectively earned thirty-eight battle stars, and one, a Presidential Unit Citation." That was yard minesweeper YMS-95, the award "the highest a unit may receive for heroism, and the equivalent of the Silver Star Medal for an individual."
"Unfortunately," Stockton Maritime Museum President David Rajkovich writes in the foreword, "Stockton played a big role in FDR's Executive Order #9066 when a temporary relocation center was established on the county fairgrounds. At its peak, over 4200 American citizens of Japanese ancestry from Stockton and San Joaquin County were detained until more permanent camps were built in Rowher, Arkansas." But, he adds, many internees, when they turned 18, joined the Army.
Because official records and naval diaries are missing or incomplete, Bruhn played detective to piece together the stories of the ships and their crews. He is well aware throughout of the devastation of war in the Pacific. The capture of Eniwetok Atoll cost 339 Americans killed or missing and the lives of 2677 Japanese. "Finally we killed them all," came the words of Lt. Cord Meyer, USMC. "There was not much jubilation. We just sat and stared at the sand."
Bruhn has rescued Stockton's story from "the dustbin of history" with his stunningly comprehensive research and careful and thoughtful war narrative.
