If you’ve not seen it, Apple TV+ has Greyhound, Tom Hanks homage to the escorts and merchantmen of the Battle for the Atlantic, Part 2. Greyhound is excellent.
Greyhound is the semi-fictional story of a four escort, 35 ship convoy in February, 1942. An American Fletcher-destroyer, Greyhound, two Royal Navy destroyers, Dickie and Harry, and a Canadian corvette Eagle are assigned to escort a convoy through the four-day gap in air cover between Canada and the United Kingdom. Beset by a Kriegsmarine wolf pack of five-six U-boats, the escorts battle to protect the cargo, munition, and troop ships that are their charges. It is a heck of a fight.
My Father was a merchant sailor during the Battle of the Atlantic, Part Two. Like many young men declared medically ineligible for military service he still chose to serve in a front line role. About once a month his wartime experience would manifest itself in his dreams. The most common one involved making a breathing hole in a skim of burning gasoline over top freezing water. He had that nightmare about once a month from 1941 to his death in 2000. The Johnnie Walker level always took a beating on those nights. Well Greyhound gave me an insight into his wartime experience that 21 years after his death helped me understand Father just a bit better.
Thank you, Mr. Hanks.
Greyhound is the semi-fictional story of a four escort, 35 ship convoy in February, 1942. An American Fletcher-destroyer, Greyhound, two Royal Navy destroyers, Dickie and Harry, and a Canadian corvette Eagle are assigned to escort a convoy through the four-day gap in air cover between Canada and the United Kingdom. Beset by a Kriegsmarine wolf pack of five-six U-boats, the escorts battle to protect the cargo, munition, and troop ships that are their charges. It is a heck of a fight.
My Father was a merchant sailor during the Battle of the Atlantic, Part Two. Like many young men declared medically ineligible for military service he still chose to serve in a front line role. About once a month his wartime experience would manifest itself in his dreams. The most common one involved making a breathing hole in a skim of burning gasoline over top freezing water. He had that nightmare about once a month from 1941 to his death in 2000. The Johnnie Walker level always took a beating on those nights. Well Greyhound gave me an insight into his wartime experience that 21 years after his death helped me understand Father just a bit better.
Thank you, Mr. Hanks.
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