Where Away

On 4th February 1942, the cruiser USS Marblehead was with an American-British-Dutch-Australian fleet patrolling the waters around the Dutch East Indies when thirty-six enemy bombers were sighted. In the ensuing battle, the Marblehead received two direct hits and fires swept through the ship. She listed dangerously to starboard and her rudder also jammed meaning that she stuck circling full speed to port. Even through the scorching heat of battle the gunners continued fighting and the crew helped the wounded and managed to bring the fires under control. It was after this deadly, near-catastrophic inferno that the Marblehead received its unofficial motto: “Battered but never broken.” Where Away is the remarkable account of the USS Marblehead and its epic, 16,000-mile odyssey from a battle in the Far East back to American shores. Author George Sessions Perry was a journalist and novelist who worked as a war correspondent through the course of the Second World War. His artful, elegant prose elevates the story and lends a bittersweet poignancy to this tragic, triumphant tale.