Extraordinary Account of WWII's First Planned U.S. Naval Attack Featured in 'THE GUN CLUB'

The most talked about naval battle from World War II has always been the attack on Pearl Harbor, which sparked the United States to finally enter the war. Playing the central role in the war against Japan, the U.S. Navy grew rapidly from 1941 to 1945. While WWII saw many proudly fought battles against the Imperial Japanese Navy - including the Battle of the Coral Sea, Battle of Midway, Battle of the Philippine Sea, Battle of Leyte Gulf, and the Battle of Okinawa - a lesser known battle was the Navy's first planned battle featuring the U.S.S. Duncan.

In a new account of the first Allied warship to penetrate a Japanese battleline, The Gun Club: U.S.S. Duncan at Cape Esperance [October 1, 2017] by Robert Fowler, explores the crewmen's story from beginning to its tragic end.

From their first encounter with their celebrated captain and tyrannical executive officer to a deadly night in shark-infested waters, and finally a homecoming turned into a PR campaign, The Gun Club is a vivid, day-to-day account of life on a warship, told largely in the words of survivors.

"I attended half a dozen semi-annual Duncan events, and learned that a lot of ex-Duncan men had put a great deal of thought into trying to comprehend what befell them," says Fowler, who lost his father, Duncan's torpedo officer, during the battle. "Most of them had a piece of the puzzle and their own theory. Many of them tolerated me year after year as I refined my questions to build the full account of this influential, yet rarely discussed battle."

Including detailed retellings from the crew members themselves, The Gun Club explores the odyssey of the warship, from construction to sinking in battle. Following the lives of the crew from the day they report to the ship to the day they arrive home a year later, this unusual war history artfully captures the bravery of the men who fought in WWII through one of the most detailed and compelling accounts of a war cruise ever written.

"The Gun Club is exceptionally detailed," Fowler adds. "It's a history of the first year of the Pacific War as seen through the day-to-day life of one U.S. warship as told, for the most part, by the survivors. Anyone who reads popular histories should be interested - it's quite the nail-biter!"

ROBERT FOWLER is the son of the U.S.S. Duncan's torpedo officer, Lieutenant Robert Ludlow Fowler III, who died during the Navy's first planned battle of the Pacific War during World War II. Years later he would become an adopted member of the crew, as its surviving members confided in him for many years. His father's connection helped to unlock the memories of the former crewmen and, thanks to his own obsessive interest in every detail, Fowler confronted every lead to develop the incredibly detailed account of the U.S.S. Duncan and its crew found in his book, The Gun Club: U.S.S. Duncan at Cape Esperance. Fowler has also worked as a documentary filmmaker, off-Broadway producer, screenwriter, and director.

For more information, visit TheGunClubBook.com. The Gun Club is available via Amazon and wherever fine books are sold.

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