Iron and Fire: The Pacific War Story Captain Bruce McCandless
Iron and Fire: The Pacific War Story Captain Bruce McCandless  
Podcast: Echoes of War
Published On: Fri Sep 18 2026
Description: On December 7, 1941, Lieutenant Bruce McCandless ran through gunfire at Pearl Harbor to reach his ship, the USS San Francisco, just as the second wave of Japanese aircraft struck. It was the first day of a war that would carry him through nearly every major Pacific naval campaign — and decades later, his own words would almost be lost to history. In this episode of Echoes of War, host Greg sits down with Bruce McCandless III to discuss his newly published book, Iron and Fire: The Pacific War Story of Destroyer Captain Bruce McCandless — a firsthand World War II memoir recovered from his grandfather's papers and shaped for publication in time for the 85th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Rear Admiral Bruce McCandless was a Medal of Honor recipient who served aboard the heavy cruiser USS San Francisco (CA-38), one of the most decorated ships of WWII, before commanding the destroyer USS Gregory (DD-802). In this conversation, we cover his experience at Pearl Harbor, the brutal night surface battles of Guadalcanal and Cape Esperance, the naval war in the Solomon Islands, operations to drive Japanese forces from Attu and Kiska in the Aleutians, and the harrowing kamikaze attacks faced during the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. We also discuss how this manuscript was discovered decades after it was dictated, why it was set aside for so long, and what it was like editing a firsthand account of combat written by a family member and Naval hero. Whether you're a WWII history buff, a student of Pacific War naval history, or simply searching for authentic first-person military memoirs, this episode offers a rare, unfiltered look at the human cost of naval combat in World War II. 📖 Get the book: Iron and Fire: The Pacific War Story of Destroyer Captain Bruce McCandless 🎧 Subscribe to Echoes of War for more in-depth interviews with authors, historians, and veterans covering World War II, the Pacific Theater, and military history. Don't forget I have a Youtube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbp8JMZizR4zak9wpM3Fvrw/join or my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pacificwarchannel where you can get exclusive content like "What if Japan invaded the USSR during WW2?"   Please check out Bruce McCandless III's Book: Iron and Fire: The Pacific War Story of Destroyer Captain Bruce McCandless https://www.amazon.ca/Iron-Fire-Pacific-Destroyer-McCandless/dp/B0G6SH3F2K