Smoke Boat Sailor - Dick Barbieri

This book was written by a man who served aboard the USS Bang during the years of 1961-64. He starts off by telling the story of the submarine before he was on board, and a bit about his childhood and what led him to be a part of the Navy. The purpose of the book is clear. His father would tell him stories and quiz him later. "Someday, most people will forget who we were and what we did and why. I want you to remember." It's why I read memoirs and tell my kids about these interesting people. They're going to be responsible for what the next generation remembers.

Once the author gets into the Navy, the book is more anecdotal. Serious stories are in there as well as humorous ones. A couple stories may make the animal lover cringe, but overall, none of them are too long. They held my interest pretty well, and the writing style was easy to read.

I read a review from someone questioning the truth of the the author's stories. The author does mention in the forward that "time has blurred some detail," but his stories were reviewed by his friend, Tom, who was on the ship at the same time he was. The Captain for most of the time he was on board was also consulted and helped provide some dates. The main thing I keep in mind when I read a memoir is that I'm reading colored memories. It's like the experiment where you talk to ten people at the scene of an accident and you get ten different accounts. There are going to be some overlapping elements to the stories, but no two will be exactly the same. Without reading multiple accounts from multiple people, there's just no way to get a clear and exact picture of what happened. In this case, I believe the author was relating his memories. Are they 100% accurate? Probably not, but I'm not approaching it as a historical account.

I liked the anecdotal nature of this book, and I learned a lot about submarines and the way they worked that I didn't know before. I appreciated how the author would shine a light on the people that made an impression on his life. Good Book!