LCDR L. Peter Wren USNR (Ret.) entered the US Navy on December 28, 1941and completed “boot camp” in Norfolk, VA in January, 1942.  The highest rate achieved as an enlisted man was SK1/c.  He was commissioned as a line officer from Columbia University in April 1944 and assigned to the USS Coates DE 685 in the Atlantic Fleet.  He was transferred to the USS Bassett APD 73 in April 1945.  On July 26, 1945 the USS Indianapolis delivered the atomic bomb to Tinian Island for later dropping on Hiroshima.  The USS Indy was sunk by a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945 and 152 of the 317 survivors were rescued by the USS Bassett.  Wren was a boat officer pulling the survivors from the sea.  Wren was released from Naval service in April 1946 and completed his degree from Michigan State University in 1948.  He was recalled for the Korean War and served on the USS Halsey Powell DD 686 from January 1951 until December 1952.  He was released to the Fleet Reserve where he completed 20 plus years of service and retired as a LCDR.

Wren has written several other books, including a history of the Confederate Navy.  He has discussed his experiences at the rescue of the Indianapolis on several major television networks including A&E , The Discovery Channel, The History Channel and the National Geographic Channel.

As a past president of the US Navy League in Richmond, VA he organized the Sea Cadet Program in Richmond.  He and his wife Helen Morrissey Wren have five children, one of which has served as an US Navy doctor.

To date Wren has authored three books on WWII and one with a co-author.  The books are Those in Peril on the Sea, We Were There, World War II Revisited and Battle Born-The USS Nevada.

The Unsinkable USS Nevada BB-36 escaped from the Pearl Harbor attack to fire the opening shots on D-Day and went on to battle in the Pacific.  Oral histories are co-authored by a crewmember, Charles Sehe, PhD.  Learn how the casement batteries of the Pearl Harbor-sunken USS Oklahoma and USS Arizona were used in the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.  The cover was created by Mark Churms, entitled “USS Nevada”.  Published in 2007.

A collection of firsthand reports from POWs and GIs.  Within these pages the patriots speak on “freedom” won.   Read about these stories, Tea with Queen Julianna with a 13 year old girl, the Enola Gay’s spark plugs, the Kamikaze pilot that survived, the Notre Dame Championship Ring, the Normandy Beach diary, and many more personal experiences of note.   The cover artwork is by David W. McComb .  Published in 2005.

Read firsthand the untold stories of the USS Indianapolis tragedy by rescuers, survivors and others who speak on these pages.  Read how the USS Bassett crew members jumped into the shark infested sea to bring the weakened survivors to the rescue boats.  After the small boats were loaded with survivors for transport to the Bassett, one swimmer remained in the sea encouraging the hallucinating men to ” hang-on, rescue is coming.”   The cover artwork is by Mark Churms, a military artist, entitled “Twilight of Perseverance.” Published in 2002.

This book is a first person account from the men who were survivors, rescuers or others who aided in the rescue when the USS Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945 in the Philippine Sea.  This book is dedicated to the men of the USS Bassett who gave of themselves and of their possessions to bring reality back to the Indy survivors from the fear driven, death laden, hallucinations of the sea, sharks and sun.  One had to be at the rescue scene to know of the acts of bravery and compassion freely and tenderly given by these men on the USS Bassett.  Cover artwork is by William W. McCathern, Jr.   Published in 1999.  Backordered.