Bolivar Peninsula, at the entry into Galveston Bay, attracted a colorful parade of characters including pirates, military adventurers, smugglers, settlers and oil drillers. In isolated environs everybody did what they wanted, and for years there was only one sheriff who never arrested a soul except a girl who refused to dance with him. Old-timers add their escapades to the narration.

They Made Their Own Law: Stories of Bolivar Peninsula

History

Wiggins, Melanie

Americas

iUniverse

At the beginning of America's involvement in World War II, Galveston Island was a recreation center for area servicemen. Every evening throngs of soldiers, sailors, and Marines strolled along the seawall, basking in the warm sun and soft gulf breezes. Red, pink, and white oleanders bloomed in all their glory, sea gulls squawked overhead, and gentle waves swished over sandy beaches. It was paradise on earth. Small wonder that German U-boat commanders couldn't believe their eyes when they stealthily entered the Gulf of Mexico that year. All navigational lights glowed, and towns and cities along the coast shone brightly, illuminating every American ship traveling by. On Galveston Island the summer tourist season had just begun when Harro Schacht, commander of U-507, sailed up to the mouth of the Mississippi River and blew up eight ships. Catching Americans totally unprepared for a Gulf attack, twenty-four German submarines entered the Gulf of Mexico between 1942 and 1943 and attacked both American and Allied ships, sinking fifty-six merchant ships and damaging fourteen more. In May, 1942 alone, the blitz of the 'Gulf Sea Frontier' gave German U-boats their greatest victories to that date in the war. From then until peace in 1944, Allied shipping in the Gulf sailed freely, secure from attack--but not until this surprising onslaught raised national patriotism to new heights and brought the war so close to home. Based on interviews with U.S. Navy, Merchant Marine, and German U-boat veterans, translated war dia

Torpedoes in the Gulf: Galveston and the U-Boats, 1942-1943 (Texas a & M University Military History Series)

Military

Texas A & M Univ Pr

At the beginning of America's involvement in World War II, Galveston Island was a recreation center for area servicemen. Every evening throngs of soldiers, sailors, and Marines strolled along the seawall, basking in the warm sun and soft gulf breezes. Red, pink, and white oleanders bloomed in all their glory, sea gulls squawked overhead, and gentle waves swished over sandy beaches. It was paradise on earth. Small wonder that German U-boat commanders couldn't believe their eyes when they stealthily entered the Gulf of Mexico that year. All navigational lights glowed, and towns and cities along the coast shone brightly, illuminating every American ship traveling by. On Galveston Island the summer tourist season had just begun when Harro Schacht, commander of U-507, sailed up to the mouth of the Mississippi River and blew up eight ships. Catching Americans totally unprepared for a Gulf attack, twenty-four German submarines entered the Gulf of Mexico between 1942 and 1943 and attacked both American and Allied ships, sinking fifty-six merchant ships and damaging fourteen more. In May, 1942 alone, the blitz of the "Gulf Sea Frontier" gave German U-boats their greatest victories to that date in the war. From then until peace in 1944, Allied shipping in the Gulf sailed freely, secure from attack--but not until this surprising onslaught raised national patriotism to new heights and brought the war so close to home. Based on interviews with U.S. Navy, Merchant Marine, and German U-boat veterans, translated war diaries, and declassified military documents, Torpedoes in the Gulf tells a fascinating personal story with two sides. Readers will marvel at behind-the-scenes accounts of German U-boat spy maneuvers and as Galvestonians, fearing for their lives, raced to fortify their island, convinced at last that they were truly at war.

Torpedoes in the Gulf: Galveston and the U-Boats, 1942-1943 (Volume 40) (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series)

Texas A&M University Press

Rice Univ Pr

Twenty-two German U-boat veterans tell their chilling stories in a collection of their combat experiences in World War II, recorded by the author during several years of travel throughout Germany, during which she also gained access to personnel records, photos and secret diaries. Original.

U-Boat Adventures: Firsthand Accounts from World War II

Naval Inst Pr

The story of how HMS Seal's crew miraculously escaped death in their flooded submarine but are forced to surrender to the Germans and endure five years as prisoners of war while bombs rain on Germany.

Fatal Ascent: HMS Seal, 1940

Spellmount

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wiggins, Melanie. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Wiggins, Melanie

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wiggins, Melanie. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

They Made Their Own Law: Stories of Bolivar Peninsula

Torpedoes in the Gulf: Galveston and the U-Boats, 1942-1943 (Texas a & M University Military History Series)

Torpedoes in the Gulf: Galveston and the U-Boats, 1942-1943 (Volume 40) (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series)

They Made Their Own Law: Stories of Bolivar Peninsula

They Made Their Own Law: Stories of Bolivar Peninsula

U-Boat Adventures: Firsthand Accounts from World War II

Fatal Ascent: HMS Seal, 1940