{"product_id":"9781597978392","title":"Sunk in Kula Gulf: The Final Voyage of the USS Helena and the Incredible Story of Her Survivors in World War II","description":"\u003cbr\u003eThe early morning hours of July 6, 1943, found the USS \u003ci\u003eHelena\u003c\/i\u003e off the Solomon Islands in what would later be known as the Battle of Kula Gulf. But the ship’s participation in the battle came to a swift end when three Japanese torpedoes suddenly struck. One hundred and sixty-eight sailors went down with the ship, many never surviving the initial torpedo hits. As the last of the \u003ci\u003eHelena\u003c\/i\u003e disappeared below the ocean’s surface, the remaining crewmen’s struggle for survival had only just begun.\u003ci\u003eSunk in Kula Gulf\u003c\/i\u003e tells the epic story of the \u003ci\u003eHelena\u003c\/i\u003e’s survivors. Two destroyers plucked more than seven hundred from the sea in a night rescue operation as the battle continued to rage. A second group of eighty-eight sailors —clustered into three lifeboats—made it to a nearby island and was rescued the next day. A third group of survivors, spread over a wide area, was missed entirely. Clinging to life rafts or debris, the weary men were pushed away from the area of the sinking by a strong current. After enduring days at sea under the hot tropical sun, they finally found land. It was, however, the Japanese-held island of Vella Lavella and deep behind the front lines. The survivors organized and disappeared into the island’s interior jungle. Living a meager existence, the group evaded the Japanese for eight days until the Marines and U.S. Navy evacuated the shipwrecked sailors in a daring rescue operation. Using a wide variety of sources, including previously unpublished firsthand accounts, John J. Domagalski brings to life this amazing, little-known story from World War II.","brand":"Potomac Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47045388370160,"sku":"9781597978392","price":32.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781597978392_p0.jpg?v=1763809894","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781597978392","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}