Reviews for Tin Can Man

The average rating for Tin Can Man based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-01-16 00:00:00 Alan Pennington If you're looking for a politically correct account of WWII, don't read this. He just tells it as it was & this is the 1940s. Jernigan tells an honest account of his time in the US Navy from a teen during the Great Depression to serving through the entire war & even briefly about not know what the hell to do with himself once he was mustered out after the war. He had no experience as an adult in civilian life. Luckily, he found the right woman & seems to have settled down. His boot days sounded very similar to my own & his daily life in service, barring the battles, varied only in details from my own for all that I was in the Army. By this, I judge it a very honest account & he doesn't paint himself out to be a hero. Just a regular guy who was proud of his service & didn't fill his shorts in some situations where I think I might have. I don't know why anyone would want to be in an engine room of a ship in combat. That's even worse than a tank. Shudder! He listed ships & men, often right out of a naval dictionary at times. They didn't mean a lick to me, but didn't last too long. Much of the story was made up of short vignettes, a paragraph or two, about some incident or another. Some were funny, others sad, but all showed the days he lived through well. This was WWII, so homosexuality was a crime. Mexicans & other people of color served on the ships only as servants for the officers. He didn't seem prejudiced against them, but wasn't an advocate for them, either. He just mentions them along with everything else. I'm not sure that I was always pleased by the thoroughly matter of fact tone, but that's the voice we got. This happened & that, good or bad, joyous or horrible. Highly recommended.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-01-09 00:00:00 Rachel Painter This is an excellent and honest book. It is a memoir by the author of his time in the Navy. I say honest because he paints himself warts and all. I could see myself serving with this man easily. The book is a very easy and interesting read. I served in three Frigates, a carrier and a Sub Tender. His description of shipboard life is both familiar and yet easy to read. It isn't filled with a lot of jargon. If you would like to read one man's memories of WWII this is the book to read.