Heroes In Dungarees

A World War II merchant seaman, John Bunker takes a thorough look at the American merchant marines' significant contributions to the war effort. There are plenty of fascinating facts about their extensive supply operations, but the focus of the book is on the men and their often-heroic actions. Bunker draws from his own experiences to describe the action at sea and also includes the personal stories of many other civilian participants. It is an engaging portrayal of the courage, bravery, and ingenuity demonstrated by these merchant seamen. All theaters of operation using U.S. merchant ships are covered; in addition, Bunker provides information on events before the country entered the war when efforts were being made to build more ships and to recruit the men necessary to crew the huge fleet.

Here are 14 more heroes next door--dramatic stories of Wisconsin veterans who served their country during World War II.

This comprehensive volume provides a wealth of information with annotated listings of more than 3,500 titles--a broad sampling of books on the war years 1939-1945. Includes both fiction and nonfiction works about all aspects of the war. Professional resources for educators aligned to the educational standards for social studies; technical references; periodicals and electronic resources; a directory of WWII museums, memorials, and other institutions; and topics for exploration complement this excellent library and classroom resource.

“Vividly drawn and emotionally gripping." —Daniel James Brown, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Boys in the Boat From the author of The Ghost Ships of Archangel, one of the last unheralded heroic stories of World War II: the U-boat assault off the American coast against the men of the U.S. Merchant Marine who were supplying the European war, and one community’s monumental contribution to that effort Mathews County, Virginia, is a remote outpost on the Chesapeake Bay with little to offer except unspoiled scenery—but it sent an unusually large concentration of sea captains to fight in World War II. The Mathews Men tells that heroic story through the experiences of one extraordinary family whose seven sons (and their neighbors), U.S. merchant mariners all, suddenly found themselves squarely in the cross-hairs of the U-boats bearing down on the coastal United States in 1942. From the late 1930s to 1945, virtually all the fuel, food and munitions that sustained the Allies in Europe traveled not via the Navy but in merchant ships. After Pearl Harbor, those unprotected ships instantly became the U-boats’ prime targets. And they were easy targets—the Navy lacked the inclination or resources to defend them until the beginning of 1943. Hitler was determined that his U-boats should sink every American ship they could find, sometimes within sight of tourist beaches, and to kill as many mariners as possible, in order to frighten their shipmates into staying ashore. As the war progressed, men from Mathews sailed the North and South Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, and even the icy Barents Sea in the Arctic Circle, where they braved the dreaded Murmansk Run. Through their experiences we have eyewitnesses to every danger zone, in every kind of ship. Some died horrific deaths. Others fought to survive torpedo explosions, flaming oil slicks, storms, shark attacks, mine blasts, and harrowing lifeboat odysseys—only to ship out again on the next boat as soon as they'd returned to safety. The Mathews Men shows us the war far beyond traditional battlefields—often the U.S. merchant mariners’ life-and-death struggles took place just off the U.S. coast—but also takes us to the landing beaches at D-Day and to the Pacific. “When final victory is ours,” General Dwight D. Eisenhower had predicted, “there is no organization that will share its credit more deservedly than the Merchant Marine.” Here, finally, is the heroic story of those merchant seamen, recast as the human story of the men from Mathews.

Thousands of cargo ships sailed in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of World War II manned by young men who braved blockades, torpedoes, and bombings to deliver vital supplies to the Allied forces and make victory possible. These mariners have received little if any credit; they are the forgotten group of "the greatest generation." Merchant Mariners at War offers firsthand accounts of the wartime experiences of veterans who graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy--the largest supplier of ships' officers in WWII. Gathered over more than a decade at the academy in Kings Point, New York, the interviews offer a unique portrait of the young officers who delivered the vital war materiel and provide a valuable window into the world of the merchant marine during WWII. The stories often include startling accounts of privation and endurance. Their stories give voice to a new perspective on WWII maritime history. Chapters cover such subjects as Liberty ships, U-Boats, the Battle of the Atlantic, D-Day, the Philippines, the vast Pacific, and the Murmansk Run. Throughout the book, interesting anecdotes from the veterans enliven the narrative and add to its contribution to the historical record--heretofore non-existent.

A Companion to World War II brings together a series of fresh academic perspectives on World War II, exploring the many cultural, social, and political contexts of the war. Essay topics range from American anti-Semitism to the experiences of French-African soldiers, providing nearly 60 new contributions to the genre arranged across two comprehensive volumes. A collection of original historiographic essays that include cutting-edge research Analyzes the roles of neutral nations during the war Examines the war from the bottom up through the experiences of different social classes Covers the causes, key battles, and consequences of the war

Amborski presents the voyage, personal accounts, bravery, drama, history, rescue, and survival stories of the men who participated in the battle of the SS Stone Street in World War II.

An authoritative chronicle of the lesser-known World War II Battle of the Atlantic documents the costly battles fought by U.S., Canadian, British, and German forces for control over the Atlantic sea lanes, in an account that draws on archival research and veteran interviews to tally the casualties suffered on both sides of the conflict. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.