"Like many 18-year-olds who sign up to serve with the U.S. Navy, Petersen was looking for adventure when he enlisted. The difference between him and the average kid of 1950, when he enlisted, was that Petersen was African American. At the time military opportunities were limited for blacks, so it was remarkable that Petersen, revealed here as an intense go-getter, was admitted to the highly competitive naval aviation cadet program. He would go on to become the first African American pilot, then flag officer, then three-star general in the deeply conservative Marine Corps. Assisted by veteran biographer Phelps, Petersen relates his personal and career trajectory from wide-eyed kid to seasoned combatant. Although the presentation at times is overly detailed, with recollections of Petersen's acquaintances sprinkled liberally throughout. This work offers valuable insight into the evolution of both the military and the society at large through the experience of one man and his family. It's hard not to wince when Petersen describes being stopped for impersonating a military officer at a time when blacks in the service were presumed to be enlisted men. Other anecdotes are more benign, such as the time a puzzled young Korean woman tried to wipe the color from his face. To Petersen's credit, he includes much commentary from his first wife, Ellie, who is candid about the toll of being married to an ambitious pioneer. Through her, readers see the mettle of that rare breed of social groundbreakers." — Publishers Weekly

A true American story told by a self-described NewyoRican. It begins on the colorful island of Puerto Rico and goes on to New York City, where his story of assimilation into American life begins. "Arriving at the Isla Verde Airport in Puerto Rico, from New York was like going from a black and white' movie to a Technicolor movie." "Late night New York City joy rides in 'borrowed' cars seemed fun to a young boy." "Rail tracks above the Harlem night provided enough darkness for any crime to take place ... He intended to rob me." "The clatter and squeal of metal wheels on subway tracks were among instruments on the swaying subway cars, concocting one time musical pieces in my head." To trace a family's history, bringing events, places, and facts to light, would be interesting enough. Yet, Jose Bello's accounting, not only describes his reasoning of the twists and turns taken, but paints a tinctorial picture of emotions suffered and emotions savored in the course of human lives.

The Vietnamese Marines were a proud and well disciplined combat force, generally committed on short notice for independent or joint ground operations. They were the fire brigade of the Armed Forces of South Vietnam. Little has been known or written about one of the most elite combat units of the Vietnam War -- the Vietnamese Marines -- until now. This is their story and that of their American Advisors (CO VANs) who served with them; it is a book of lasting value with personal stories and photographs from the Marines who were there. While others abandoned and retreated, the Vietnamese Marines fought and died with their U.S. Marine Advisors by their sides -- not one major Vietnamese Marine Corps unit surrendered! This is not only the story of the Advisors and the U.S. Advisory unit but also, the history of the Vietnamese Marine Corps that evolved in 1954, from a few naval commando and French riverine force units, through nineteen years of never-ending combat into a highly elite military organization; a unit fiercely proud of its accomplishments and fighting ability, a unit that symbolized the title Marines. Warriors of the Sea is the book that finally tells the true story of the Vietnamese Marines and provides an insight into the courage, leadership, dedication and tenacity of another skilled group of Marines -- the US Marine Advisors -- who lived with, advised and trained their Vietnamese counterparts. It is through them that you are shown at close quarters the action, heartbreak and humor, violence and terror of combat alone. The heat, monsoon rains, smells and sounds with the strangeness of the Orient comes alive on each page. For Marines of all eras, it is a must for your library; for the historian, hobbyist, and the military enthusiast it is a collectors item. There are rare photographs, like the French Marine Advisors; original color plates of the Marine medals, patches, flags and uniforms. Anyone interested in Vietnam and the elite forces who fought there will relish the viewing and reading about the honorable heroics of the Sea Tigers and their American Advisors."

"We live together under the thick canopy, each searching for the other; the same leeches and mosquitoes that feed on our blood feed on his blood." John Edmund Delezen felt a kinship with the people he was instructed to kill in Vietnam; they were all at the mercy of the land. His memoir begins when he enlisted in the Marine Corps and was sent to Vietnam in March of 1967. He volunteered for the Third Force Recon Company, whose job it was to locate and infiltrate enemy lines undetected and map their locations and learn details of their status. The duty was often painful both physically and mentally. He was stricken with malaria in November of 1967, wounded by a grenade in February of 1968 and hit by a bullet later that summer. He remained in Vietnam until December, 1968. Delezen writes of Vietnam as a man humbled by a mysterious country and horrified by acts of brutality. The land was his enemy as much as the Vietnamese soldiers. He vividly describes the three-canopy jungle with birds and monkeys overhead that could be heard but not seen, venomous snakes hiding in trees and relentless bugs that fed on men. He recalls stumbling onto a pit of rotting Vietnamese bodies left behind by American forces, and days when fierce hunger made a bag of plasma seem like an enticing meal. He writes of his fallen comrades and the images of war that still pervade his dreams. This book contains many photographs of American Marines and Vietnam as well as three maps.

September 1962: On a moonless night over the raging Atlantic Ocean, a thousand miles from land, the engines of Flying Tiger flight 923 to Germany burst into flames, one by one. Pilot John Murray didn’t have long before the plane crashed headlong into the 20-foot waves at 120 mph. As the four flight attendants donned life vests, collected sharp objects, and explained how to brace for the ferocious impact, 68 passengers clung to their seats: elementary schoolchildren from Hawaii, a teenage newlywed from Germany, a disabled Normandy vet from Cape Cod, an immigrant from Mexico, and 30 recent graduates of the 82nd Airborne’s Jump School. They all expected to die. Murray radioed out “Mayday” as he attempted to fly down through gale-force winds into the rough water, hoping the plane didn’t break apart when it hit the sea. Only a handful of ships could pick up the distress call so far from land. The closest was a Swiss freighter 13 hours away. Dozens of other ships and planes from 9 countries abruptly changed course or scrambled from Canada, Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, and Cornwall, all racing to the rescue—but they would take hours, or days, to arrive. From the cockpit, the blackness of the Atlantic grew ever closer. Could Murray do what no pilot had ever done—“land” a commercial airliner at night in a violent sea without everyone dying? And if he did, would rescuers find any survivors before they drowned or died from hypothermia in the icy water? The fate of Flying Tiger 923 riveted the world. Bulletins interrupted radio and TV programs. Headlines shouted off newspapers from London to LA. Frantic family members overwhelmed telephone switchboards. President Kennedy took a break from the brewing crises in Cuba and Mississippi to ask for hourly updates. Tiger in the Sea is a gripping tale of triumph, tragedy, unparalleled airmanship, and incredibly brave people from all walks of life. The author has pieced together the story—long hidden because of murky Cold War politics—through exhaustive research and reconstructed a true and inspiring tribute to the virtues of outside-the-box-thinking, teamwork, and hope.

"Casemate has a long history of publishing high quality military history non-fiction. Lately, they have expanded their range of work to include well written novels using wartime settings." – WWII History MagazineAfter playing cat and mouse with a 10,000-strong Iraqi Armored Division to gain crucial intelligence, the Scouts of Marine 2nd Tank Division think they are on their way home, but their war isn't over. August 1990, 30,000 Iraqi troops have invaded Kuwait and are in a position to influence nearly half of the world’s oil supply. The United Nations condemn the aggression but it is clear that only military intervention is going to displace Saddam Hussein. Captain Joseph ‘Quarry’ Samuels and the Marines of Scout Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Division are tasked with discovering the strength and deployment of Iraqi troops. Quarry and his scouts are soon engaged in a game of cat and mouse with the 10,000-strong 108th Iraqi Armored Division. Operating behind enemy lines, they put themselves squarely in danger's way in order to collect the intelligence necessary to launch military operations. When hostilities end, with the greatest one-sided military victory of all time, the Marines deserve to be on their way home. However, Quarry remains in Kuwait to continue the deadly game with an old nemesis, but this time with a new ally on his side.

"Delve into this underwater world with ocean experts Sylvia A. Earle and Linda K. Glover, who have devoted their lives to understanding the ocean and who share their insights in this atlas, along with those of 27 other scientists and specialists. Other stunning data and imagery are revealed by the skills of expert photographers, cartographers, and illustrators. Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas distills decades of research, firsthand observations, scientific data, and analyses and engages and informs all who may want to more deeply explore the nature of this blue planet." "Accompanying the text are more than 100 maps, including 5 extraordinary new maps showing the nature of the seafloor of the major ocean basins in detail not published before. More than 170 photographs and three dozen illustrations provide new ways of looking at this amazing place, with a perspective on the past, present, and future of the ocean and on how it relates to human economies, health, security, and the very existence of life."--BOOK JACKET.