Crash Boat: Rescue and Peril in the Pacific During World War II

After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, young Americans lined up at recruiting stations across the nation. Crash Boat is the compelling story of an armed United States air-sea rescue boat crewed by volunteers during World War II in the South Pacific. Only months earlier, they had been civilians, living the best years of their lives. In the Pacific, they conducted dramatic rescues of downed pilots and clandestine missions off of enemy-held islands at great peril and with little fanfare. George D. Jepson chronicles these ordinary young men doing extraordinary things, as told to him by Earl A. McCandlish, commander of the 63-foot crash boat P-399. Nicknamed Sea Horse, the vessel and her crew completed over thirty rescues at sea, weathered typhoons, fought a fierce gun battle with Japanese forces, experienced life from another age in isolated native villages, carried out boondoggle missions, and played a supporting role in America’s return to the Philippines.

George D. Jepson, editorial director for McBooks Press, previously worked as a journalist and corporate communicator. As a freelance writer and editor, he was a regular contributor to WoodenBoat magazine and various other publications. Jepson worked in the maritime book trade for more than two decades and founded Quarterdeck, a journal dedicated to celebrating maritime literature and art. He holds degrees in English and history, as well as an MBA. Jepson and his wife, Amy, live in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Earl A. McCandlish grew up in Dutchess County, New York. During World War II, he commanded the 63-foot air-sea rescue boat P-399—nicknamed Sea Horse—in the South Pacific with the 13th Army Air Force, earning the Bronze Star for “meritorious achievement.” McCandlish also received the Conspicuous Service Medal from the State of New York. He held an IAO degree from the State University of New York at Cornell and was a former town official in Poughkeepsie, where he resided until his death in 2000.