Before Mike was 30, he'd been in everything from an Arctic hurricane to a rum factory in Haiti. He'd gone to sea for a living - truly the second biggest crap game in the world. It was a place where the only chip in the game was your life and it was on the table every time you got underway.
Mike's job history reads like a Doctor Strange comic book from the 1960's. He's sold insurance, encyclopedias, computers and commodity options. Jobs have included scuba diving, retail sales, computerized embroidery, marketing marine navigation software to mega-yachts in Florida, telemarketing and building models of everything from sailing ships to weapons systems.
On the docks of Boston, his tires were flattened by an ice pick wielding competitor when Mike got an order for ship supplies before he did.
Helping to bring a sailboat back from the Bahamas, he experienced the copper taste of fear for the first time and there was gray in his hair when he reached shore.
He's been blessed by the Northern Lights, sailed through Prince Christian Sound at the tip of Greenland, a land so old that you expect to see Leif Ericcson pull out from the next fiord, seen the Green Flash as the sun set behind the Leeward Islands and watched dolphins play in a tug's bow wave in the Gulf of Mexico.
The words "Boarding Party" and "Prize Crew" evoke images of pirates and bloody cutlasses. Reality for him was a .45 pistol and backed up by M16's and .50 caliber machine guns.
One time on ship if I had zigged instead of zagged, they would have buried me in two pieces.
He's known the love of a great woman and how heart wrenching it can be to raise children.
All this and a buck gets him a cup of coffee.
On the docks of Boston, his tires were flattened by an ice pick wielding competitor when Mike got an order for ship supplies before he did.
Helping to bring a sailboat back from the Bahamas, he experienced the copper taste of fear for the first time and there was gray in his hair when he reached shore.
He's been blessed by the Northern Lights, sailed through Prince Christian Sound at the tip of Greenland, a land so old that you expect to see Leif Ericcson pull out from the next fiord, seen the Green Flash as the sun set behind the Leeward Islands and watched dolphins play in a tug's bow wave in the Gulf of Mexico.
The words "Boarding Party" and "Prize Crew" evoke images of pirates and bloody cutlasses. Reality for him was a .45 pistol and backed up by M16's and .50 caliber machine guns.
One time on ship if I had zigged instead of zagged, they would have buried me in two pieces.
He's known the love of a great woman and how heart wrenching it can be to raise children.
All this and a buck gets him a cup of coffee.
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“Bloodstained Sands: US Amphibious Operations in World War II”
For the men who served in America's Amphibious Forces during World War II, the conflict was an unceasing series of D-Days. They were responsible for putting men ashore in more than 200 landings throughout the conflict, most against well-entrenched enemy positions. Bloodstained Sands: US Amphibious Operations in World War II tells the story of these forgotten men for the first time, tracing their operational history from Guadalcanal to Casablanca, Sicily, Normandy, Iwo Jima and finally Okinawa. The men's stories are told in their own voices, with fascinating accounts from Underwater Demolition Teams, Attack Transport crews and many other unsung heroes of World War II.
First-hand interviews, entries from personal diaries and Action Reports create a unique history, perfectly complemented by historic illustrations and detailed maps. These are timeless tales of determination, sacrifice, and triumph of the human spirit - tales of US Amphibious Forces that for too long have gone forgotten and untold.
"As we lowered our ramp and the soldiers started to charge, they were met with streams
of machine gun bullets … Enemy snipers had hidden nests on the forward slopes with
cross fire taking in every inch of the beach … We will never forget the sheer guts,
heroism, and fighting ability of the American Infantry man when the going was tough."
of machine gun bullets … Enemy snipers had hidden nests on the forward slopes with
cross fire taking in every inch of the beach … We will never forget the sheer guts,
heroism, and fighting ability of the American Infantry man when the going was tough."
~ Harry Kennedy, an LCVP crewman on the Coast Guard-manned Attack Transport USS Samuel Chase
Now Available
"Enduring Freedom, Enduring Voices: US Military Operations in Afghanistan"
Using the voices of the men and women who have fought in America's longest, sustained war entailing combat operations The Hand of War for the first time weaves together the documented history of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan with their experiences.
The war in Afghanistan has transformed not only the U.S. military's structure, but the lives of every soldier, sailor, marine, coast guardsman, and airman who served there, many for multiple tours. The personnel include Regulars, Reservists, and National Guard thrust into a hostile country where Death can strike at any moment.
He has posted Situational Reports (SITREP) of the trips his Facebook page.