Good Night Officially: The Pacific War Letters of a Destroyer Sailor : The Letters of Yeoman James Orvill Raines

From the time when he joined the US destroyer "Howorth" during the Pacific War in April 1944 until his death a year later in a kamikaze attack off Okinawa, Yeoman Second Class Orvill Raines wrote a series of letters to his young bride. Due to Raines's special relationship with the officer responsible for censoring, the correspondence was uncensored, and for this book the letters have been edited and set in their historical context. The letters reflect the horrific experiences of the thousands of American sailors involved in the fight against the Japanese, and conclude with Raines's final letter to his wife, which he instructed was to be opened in the event of his death.