They Were Expendable was written about World War II while the war was still fresh and new to its American readers.

Presented as one long chapter by author W.L. White, the book was first published in 1942, less than a year after the events it describes. For it, White interviewed four survivors of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a PT boat unit stationed in the Philippines when the U.S. was attacked in Pearl Harbor and entered the war against Japan.

The subjects here are Lt. John D. Bulkeley, Lt. Robert Kelly, Ensign Anthony Akers and Ensign George E. Cox Jr., all of whom were interviewed by White in Rhode Island. Their story is gripping, interesting stuff, although a cursory review of the history involved shows their knowledge and memories of the events in question weren't always entirely accurate.

It's presented in the book as one long conversation -- as if White sat down with the men, told them to recollect the war and jotted it all down verbatim. I doubt it transpired that way, but it makes for an interesting read. And they're certainly honest about their lack of awareness about some of the details; for instance, Kelly's war-time romance with "Nurse Peggy" (later identified by historians as Beulah "Peggy" Greenwalt) ends when he participates in a mission transporting General Douglas MacArthur to Australia, leaving her and many others behind to face the Japanese invasion. He, of course, has no way of knowing what happened to her; it turns out she was captured and spent 33 months as a prisoner of war.

Where it fails in history, the book succeeds admirably in detailing the thoughts, feelings and actions -- usually dangerous, often heroic -- of the MTB squad's officers and crew. Readers get a first-hand taste of the action from men who were there, and that's some worthwhile reading. It's a quick and easy read that will leave you with a tantalizing taste of real war-time action.