Cold War Sea Stories

The true story of a young naval officer learning about life at sea and life in general while serving on ships bird dogged by Soviet trawlers. The author served on the USS Observation Island supporting the Polaris Missile program and on the USS Peregrine supporting the global submarine tracking system known as SOSUS.

An unexpected benefit of publishing the book has been hearing from old shipmates and crew that have offered even more details to the story that I didn't know about.  Hints of sabotage, main engine breakdowns, and even the ship being towed from Japan to Hawaii.  Additionally, I have gained a better understanding of the big picture of other ship operations going on at that time. I wish I had the benefit of these stories when writing the book, but perhaps they can be shared here.

My little book, it's short, only 98 pages, is an easy read and I hope you find it entertaining. It takes place in the late '60s during the cold war.  I've learned since publishing the book that my ship, USS Peregrine, was docked alongside, USS Banner, and USS Pueblo in Japan.  This was a few months prior to Pueblo being captured by the North Koreans.  Banner, Pueblo's sister ship had been harassed in the China Sea.  None of our little ships were adequately funded or staffed and yet we operated far from the regular fleet, thinking always that if we got in trouble, the Navy would rescue us like the cavalry riding in.  The Pueblo incident told us that was not the case. Also, if you have more to offer about the stories, don't hesitate to join in the discussion.