Truth is the first casualty of war. Tom Carpentier knew this well. A WW-II destroyer commander, he had spent years as skipper of merchant vessels carrying war materials to Vietnam. But when his daughter, a Navy nurse, died under mysterious circumstances in Danang in December 1966, his attempt to learn what had happened was stonewalled at every turn. Becky Franks knew this too. Her father, George, was torpedoed aboard USS Reuben James (DD-245) on October 31,1941. Everything that she or her family learned was contained in a 46-word word telegram from the Navy Department. On July 4, 1968 fate united them. Tom’s ship, the Rita E. Sykes was loading munitions in Philadelphia, while Becky, a pacifist, marched in an antiwar protest at Independence Hall. The non-violent protest was hijacked by radicals and rioting resulted. Becky and her friends ran toward the port and into the arms of angry, violent longshoremen where Becky was severely injured. In desperation, she sought refuge aboard the Rita E and cowered, semi-conscious, on the main deck until the ship sailed. She was later discovered, and Tom came to her aid. In casual conversation, they discovered that they shared a common hole in the heart. Tom offered his assistance in discovering the circumstances of her father’s death, while investigating the death of his own daughter. Over the next weeks, with the assistance of Tom’s old shipmate at the Naval Historical Center in Washington, both learned that much of what they knew about their loved ones deaths was false. Not only was the information incorrect, but in both cases it became obvious that dishonesty and deceit at the highest level of government was directly responsible for their deaths. This is a work of fiction, but it is based upon verifiable, documented evidence. Extensive references are presented in the text and appendices.
