The Reminiscences of Capt. Franklin F. Shellenbarger, USMS (Ret.): 1920-2008

This memoir covers Shellenbarger’s service in both the Navy and the merchant marine. He enlisted in the Navy in 1938 and before his enlistment expired in 1941 he was assigned to the old sailing ship USS Constellation, the battleship USS Colorado (BB-45), the destroyer USS Herbert (DD-160), the light cruiser USS Helena (CL-50), and the flag allowance for Commander Battleships Atlantic Fleet. After leaving the naval service, he worked for the Glenn L. Martin Company building aircraft. During World War II he was first a student and then an instructor at the Maritime Officers Training School, New London, Connecticut. He had wartime service on board the Liberty ships SS John R. McQuigg, Reverdy Johnson, and Linn Boyd. In the decades that followed he was a deck officer for American South African Lines, American Export Lines, and American Export-Isbrandtsen. In the early 1960s he was chief mate, acting master, and ship superintendent of the nuclear-powered passenger-cargo ship NS Savannah. His experience as master of cargo or cargo/passenger ships included the SS Extavia, Flying Spray, Exiria, Export Champion, Export Ambassador, Container Forwarder, Container Dispatcher, Flying Fish, Export Agent, and Export Courier. Captain Shellenbarger's seagoing career ended in 1979, and he subsequently testified as an expert witness in legal cases. From 1994 to 2003 he was president of the Marine Society of New York.

Paul Stillwell is an independent historian and retired naval officer. He worked for thirty years at the U.S. Naval Institute as an oral historian and editor of Naval History magazine. He is the author or editor of fourteen books, including four on battleships and an award-winning volume on the Navy’s first African American officers, The Golden Thirteen. His 2021 book Battleship Commander: The Life of Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee Jr. also received acclaim. He lives in Arnold, Maryland.