Michael G. Walling is an internationally recognized World War II expert and the author of books on naval and military history, historical fiction, personal stories and poetry. Based in Hudson, Massachusetts, he has spent more than five decades collecting and preserving the stories of veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan — as well as pilots, merchant seamen and civilian personnel with NATO and EUFOR.
A contributing author to the U.S. Naval Institute’s Naval History magazine, Mike has also appeared on the History Channel and PBS as an aviation and naval-history expert. His work and research have been featured in numerous publications and media outlets, including AL.com, American Heroes Radio, the Coast Guard Channel, Coast Guard Compass, The Lowell Sun, and Nashoba Publishing.
“Before I was 30, I’d been in everything from an Arctic hurricane to a rum factory in Haiti.”
A life before the byline
Mike went to sea for a living — “truly the second biggest crap game in the world.” He has seen the Northern Lights and the Green Flash. The words “Boarding Party” and “Prize Crew” may evoke pirates and bloody cutlasses; for Mike, reality was a .45-caliber pistol backed up by M16s and .50-caliber machine guns.
He has known the love of a great woman and how heart-wrenching it can be to raise children. Through all of it, he learned that the most lasting stories are carried by the people who were there — if someone takes the time to listen.
Research & field work
Mike’s research has taken him across the United States and abroad — to Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Great Britain, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Russia — in pursuit of firsthand accounts that bring history to life.
Speaking engagements
Mike has shared this work with audiences across the country, including:
- Battleship Cove
- Fort Devens Museum
- Maine Maritime Museum
- National WWII Museum, New Orleans
- Naval Order of the United States
- Naval War College
- U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association
- Veterans’ reunion groups nationwide