Saving Big Ben: The Saga of the U. S. S. Franklin, the Navy's Most Decorated Ship in Naval History

Saving Big Ben is a true story of the carrier U.S.S. Franklin, CV 13, the most damaged ship that survived in World War II. The Franklin was so severely damaged in the Sea of Japan by Japanese bombs and her own exploding bombs and missiles that she was nearly abandoned and allowed to sink. The men in her crew would not let this happen! Captain Leslie Gehres defiant words, "Abandon her? Hell no! She's still afloat!" typify the great valor and tenacity of the officers and men of Franklin's intrepid crew. Through their courageous efforts the Franklin earned the title of "the ship that would not be sunk." Her officers and men were awarded the greatest number of decorations ever conferred on a single ship in the history of the United States Navy. These included two Congressional Medal of Honor Awards (one to a Roman Catholic Priest). Nineteen men were awarded the Navy Cross Medal, twenty-two were awarded the Silver Star, one hundred and fourteen the Bronze Star. Saving Big Ben is the historic, true story of the struggles that wrenched "Big Ben" back from the jaws of death and saved her to fight again. Much of the detail for the plot came directly from the Deck and Action Logs of the U.S.S. Franklin that were declassified by the Navy Department in the early 1960s.

In Saving Big Ben, the Franklin sails into combat with many of the other famous ships in the 3rd and 5th Fleets; ships like the legendary carriers Enterprise, Lexington, Yorktown, Hornet, Wasp, and Saratoga; renowned battleships like the Missouri, Iowa, New Jersey, South Dakota, Washington, and California. In the story they engage in many of the momentous battles fought in the Coral Sea, Leyte Gulf, the Philippine Sea and the Sea of Japan.

True-life heroes, such as General Douglas MacArthur, Admiral Chester Nimitz, Admiral Raymond Spruance, Admiral Willian "Bull" Halsey, Admiral Marc Mitscher and Admiral John "Slew" McCain (to name just a few), are all a part of the story. They are featured in their real-life roles as Commanders and Commanders-in-Chiefs-- IN some of the great battles of the war in the Pacific. In this context, Saving Big Ben is a concise, "living" history of the day's action against the Japanese in Word War II.

There is also a love story that depicts some of the events and values of that historic time. The love, courage, devotion and fidelity demonstrated by John Oxler and Sandy Hearn will be of interest to readers today, who live in an age where these words-- and words like heroism, valor and intrepidity-- are unfortunately sometimes not much more than words in a dictionary. This was a remarkable era-- arguably the most honorable and dedicated period in our history.