A masterpiece of World War II heroism, this book catches the spirit and tone of an incredible fighting ship, the USS Aaron Ward, a destroyer-turned-minelayer on the radar picket lines in the Pacific.

A spellbinding war memoir of a torpedoing and the fight for survival of 24 men in a lifeboat. Hank Rosen, Cadet-Midshipman aboard a Liberty ship, tells the dramatic story of 30 days adrift in the Indian Ocean."Gallant Ship, Brave Men" is an epic tale of heroism and sacrifice that builds suspense and proudly records the role of the Merchant Marine in World War II. "What an amazing story! I found it completely engrossing. Couldn't stop reading it, until I finished." Vice Admiral Joseph Stewart USMS, Superintendent United States Merchant Marine Academy

The New York Times bestselling memoir of survival and heroism at Pearl Harbor “An unforgettable story of unfathomable courage.” —Reader’s Digest In this, the first memoir by a USS Arizona sailor, Donald Stratton delivers an inspiring and unforgettable eyewitness account of the Pearl Harbor attack and his remarkable return to the fight. At 8:10 a.m. on December 7, 1941, Seaman First Class Donald Stratton was consumed by an inferno. A million pounds of explosives had detonated beneath his battle station aboard the USS Arizona, barely fifteen minutes into Japan’s surprise attack on American forces at Pearl Harbor. Near death and burned across two thirds of his body, Don, a nineteen-year-old Nebraskan who had been steeled by the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, summoned the will to haul himself hand over hand across a rope tethered to a neighboring vessel. Forty-five feet below, the harbor’s flaming, oil-slick water boiled with enemy bullets; all around him the world tore itself apart. In this extraordinary, never-before-told eyewitness account of the Pearl Harbor attack—the only memoir ever written by a survivor of the USS Arizona—ninety-four-year-old veteran Donald Stratton finally shares his unforgettable personal tale of bravery and survival on December 7, 1941, his harrowing recovery, and his inspiring determination to return to the fight. Don and four other sailors made it safely across the same line that morning, a small miracle on a day that claimed the lives of 1,177 of their Arizona shipmates—approximately half the American fatalaties at Pearl Harbor. Sent to military hospitals for a year, Don refused doctors’ advice to amputate his limbs and battled to relearn how to walk. The U.S. Navy gave him a medical discharge, believing he would never again be fit for service, but Don had unfinished business. In June 1944, he sailed back into the teeth of the Pacific War on a destroyer, destined for combat in the crucial battles of Leyte Gulf, Luzon, and Okinawa, thus earning the distinction of having been present for the opening shots and the final major battle of America’s Second World War. As the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack approaches, Don, a great-grandfather of five and one of six living survivors of the Arizona, offers an unprecedentedly intimate reflection on the tragedy that drew America into the greatest armed conflict in history. All the Gallant Men is a book for the ages, one of the most remarkable—and remarkably inspiring—memoirs of any kind to appear in recent years. *Library Journal

Story of Shaw's life and his heroic command of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, the first Negro unit raised in the North in the Civil War.

Political and Military Statements in Support of the Thousands of Merchant Mariners Including Those We Honor in This Book Braving the Wartime Seas "The Academy serves the Merchant Marine as West Point serves the Army and Annapolis serves the Navy . . ." (September 30, 1943, dedication of USMMA campus) President Franklin D. Roosevelt "The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril." Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill "This is a hundredth gone. Too damned many of these fine lads gone. Wish there was more we could do to minimize losses." Captain Richard R. McNulty, June 16, 1943 Note on report of death of a Cadet-Midshipman "They have brought us our lifeblood and they had paid for it with some of their own . . . they have delivered their cargoes to us who needed them so badly. In war it is performance that counts." Quotes from Douglas MacArthur, General of the U.S. Army "Yours was the first front on every ocean, and without you, no Army and Navy can survive . . . one of the vital teams participating will be recognized as the merchant seamen in dungarees . . . we of the Navy will salute you with a final 'Well done'." Admiral Harold R. Stark, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe "Our operations would not have been possible without the strong support of our Merchant Marine. These gallant officers and men maintained a bridge of ships across the Pacific, and bore their share of the Japanese attacks while unloading on distant islands where the struggle was still intense and the issue not yet decided." Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, U.S. Navy, Chief of Naval Operations Braving the Wartime Seas is the final book of the American Maritime History Project, a private nonprofit foundation. The quotations were drawn from www.usmm.org. Front cover was designed by Marek Mutch, Bay Village, OH.