Bloodstained Sea: The U.S. Coast Guard in the Battle of the Atlantic, 1941-1944 [SIGNED FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING]

Walling, Michael G.

Published by International Marine / McGraw- Hill, Camden, Maine, 2004

About this Item

As new condition navy blue boards with silver spine lettering contained in a fine condition non price-clipped color photographic dust jacket. Includes Author Dedication; Preliminary Page Quotes; Introduction; Appendices consisting of: U.S. Coast Guard Fleet During World War II, U.S. Military and German Navy Ranks, The Allied Convoy System, USCGC Alexander Hamilton Citation, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fireside Chat, and The Atlantic Charter; Glossary; Notes; Sources; Acknowledgments and Index. Illustrated with a section of black-and-white photographic plates and a double-page preliminary page map. Signed, inscribed and dated (21, February 2005) by the author with black pen at the lower section of the blank first free front endpaper to the Secretary of the USCGC Ingham Association. The secretary's card is neatly affixed to the upper section of the same blank first free front endpaper (see photographs). "Michael Walling plies new waters in this World War II saga, snatching our venerable Coast Guard's history from the depths of obscurity and preserving the exploits of these brave men for future generations." -- David Morris, author. ". Walling's story of valor and sacrifice is one that Americans must never forget." -- Robert F. Cross, author. Walling brings the bloody Battle of the Atlantic alive in this action-filled vivid portrait of the U.S. Coast Guard's Secretary-class cutters during World War II. A five-star book!" -- Dr. Martin Davis, author and executive director of the Destroyer Escort Historical Museum. ". one of the most riveting accounts of naval combat history I've seen, and a valuable reference for any military and naval enthusiast." -- Vince Patton, Master Chief Petty Officer, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.). "The heroes you've never heard of . They were trained for and dedicated to saving lives and preventing disasters at sea, but they were needed for war. And between 1941 and 1944, the officers and crews of the U.S. Coast Guard undertook one of the most difficult and dangerous tasks any group of sailors has ever had to face -- escorting convoys of merchant ships filled with desperately needed supplies from the United States to Europe, across a U-boat-infested Atlantic." -- from the rear outer jacket. "In November 1941 America was not yet officially at war. Nevertheless, under orders from President Roosevelt, sailors of the U.S. Coast Guard painted their gleaming white cutters battleship gray and steamed into action against the menacing U-boats of the Third Reich. Blodstained Sea recounts how, over the next four years, these men -- normally dedicated to saving lives and resuing ships in distress -- would be locked in one of the longest and bloodiest running sea battles in history. Americans called it Torpedo Junction; to the Germans, it was Devil's Gorge. By any name, the North Atlantic of the early 1940s was one of the most dangerous fronts in a catastrophic war. Called upon in desperate times, seven of the Coast Guard's finest ships -- the sleek, efficient, tough 327-foot Secretary Class cutters -- plied these unforgiving waters to protect convoys of troops and much-needed supplies. Hunting U-boats, rescuing survivors from frigid waters, they met every challenge and undertook any task necessary to ensure that the Atlantic remained open to Allied shipping. Here, for the first time ever, author and former Coast Guard officer Michael Walling relates the full saga of these vessels and their intrepid crews. Through eyewitness accounts based on hundreds of interviews with crew members; personal diaries, notes, and letters; and each cutter's logbooks and patrol reports, Walling plunges you into the thick of battle, re-creating some of the most desperate encounters, heroic rescues, and harrowing missions of the Second World War. Told largely in the voices of the men who lived it, this unforgettable tale is peppered with anecdotes about life aboard ship during wartime." - excerpt from the jacket flaps. Seller Inventory # 007133

Bibliographic Details

Title: Bloodstained Sea: The U.S. Coast Guard in ...

Publisher: International Marine / McGraw- Hill, Camden, Maine

Publication Date: 2004

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: As New

Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition