The Mathews Men : Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler's U-boats

**"Vividly drawn and emotionally gripping." —Daniel James Brown, #1 __New York Times__ bestselling author of __The Boys in the Boat__ One of the last unheralded heroic stories of World War II: the U-boat assault off the American coast against the men of the U.S. Merchant Marine who were supplying the European war, and one community's monumental contribution to that effort** Mathews County, Virginia, is a remote outpost on the Chesapeake Bay with little to offer except unspoiled scenery—but it sent one of the largest concentrations of sea captains and U.S. merchant mariners of any community in America to fight in World War II. __The Mathews Men__ tells that heroic story through the experiences of one extraordinary family whose seven sons (and their neighbors), U.S. merchant mariners all, suddenly found themselves squarely in the cross-hairs of the U-boats bearing down on the coastal United States in 1942. From the late 1930s to 1945, virtually... One Of The Last Unheralded Heroic Stories Of World War Ii: The U-boat Assault Off The American Coast Against The Men Of The U.s. Merchant Marine Who Were Supplying The European War, And One Community's Monumental Contribution To That Effort. One Of The Indelible Images Of World War Ii Is Of An Explosion At Sea--^ A U-boat Attack, A Ship In Flames, And An Ocean Full Of Men Swimming For Their Lives. The Mathews Men Tells The Story Of What It Was Like To Be On Those Ships In An Almost Unknown Epic Sea Battle That Took Place Just Off The Coast Of America. Its Heroes Were The Men Of The U.s. Merchant Marine, Celebrated At Long Last In This Book. Mathews County, Virginia, Is A Remote Outpost On The Chesapeake Bay. Its Men Had Gone To Sea For Generations, But In 1942, Mathews Mariners Suddenly Found Themselves In The Crosshairs Of A Lethal Fleet Of U-boats. The Germans Were Determined To Sink Every American Merchant Ship They Could, To Strangle The Flow Of Fuel, Arms, And Supplies To The Allies. The U.s. Navy Initially Lacked The Inclination And Resources To Protect The Unarmed Vessels, And The Carnage Was Staggering. Ships Were Sometimes Torpedoed Before The Eyes Of Tourists On American Beaches.^ ^nearly Every Family In Tiny Mathews Had A Personal Stake In The U-boat War, And None Had A Greater One Than That Of Captain Jesse And Henrietta Hodges And Their Seven Sons. The Hodges Family Would Experience The War From The Gulf Of Mexico To The Indian Ocean To The Arctic Circle. Drawing On Interviews With The Last Living Mathews Mariners, Family Records, Diaries, Letters, And Official Documents, Journalist William Geroux Describes How Men Survived Torpedo Explosions, Flaming Oil Slicks, Storms, Shark Attacks, And Harrowing Lifeboat Odysseys-- Only To Ship Out Again As Soon As They'd Returned To Safety. Merchant Mariners Often Died Terrible Deaths, And Suffered A Higher Casualty Rate Than Any Branch Of The U.s. Military Except The Marines--^ But Were Denied Veterans Benefits For Decades. This Is A Story Of Valor Without Glory, Of The Men Who Made Sure No Allied Invasion Force Was Ever Thrown Back Into The Sea For Want Of Supplies Or Weaponry. Merchant Mariners Landed At D-day And Delivered The Crew Of The Enola Gay To The Pacific, And When The War Was Over, It Was Merchant Marine Ships That Brought The Troops Home. Geroux Evokes In Vivid, Human Detail A War Beyond The Familiar Battlefields And Its Toll On The Families Back Home. Unrecognized By The Government, Unheralded In The History Books, The Achievements And Sacrifices Of The Merchant Marine Have Been Largely Ignored-until Now.--adapted From Dust Jacket. A Gift From The Predators -- Born To The Water -- The Devil's Shovel -- Missing -- Professional Survivors -- Off Hatteras The Tankers Sink -- Killing Ground To Battleground -- Avoid Polar Bear Liver -- Catastrophe -- Please Don't Tell Me -- Counterattack -- The Conveyor Belt -- War's End -- Legacy -- The Mathews Men And Women. William Geroux. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 321-375) And Index. One of the last unheralded heroic stories of World War II: the U-boat assault off the American coast against the men of the U.S. Merchant Marine who were supplying the European war, and one communitys monumental contribution to that effort Praise for The Mathews Men The German U-Boat war against American merchant men was deadly and dramaticin World War II, the U.S. Merchant Marine had twice the fatality rate of the U.S. Navy. William Geroux has unearthed a fascinating tale of one small coastal town caught in the thick of the fight, and he tells it with a sharp reporters eye and a real feel for the heroic men who went down to the sea in ships. Evan Thomas, author of Being Nixon and Sea of Thunder Mathews County, Virginia, is a remote outpost on the Chesapeake Bay with little to offer except unspoiled scenerybut it sent one of the largest concentrations of sea captains and U.S. merchant mariners of any community in America to fight in World War II. The Mathews Men tells that heroic story through the experiences of one extraordinary family whose seven sons (and their neighbors), U.S. merchant mariners all, suddenly found themselves squarely in the cross-hairs of the U-boats bearing down on the coastal United States in 1942. From the late 1930s to 1945, virtually all the fuel, food and munitions that sustained the Allies in Europe traveled not via the Navy but in merchant ships. After Pearl Harbor, those unprotected ships instantly became the U-boats prime targets. And they were easy targetsthe Navy lacked the inclination or resources to defend them until the beginning of 1943. Hitler was determined that his U-boats should sink every American ship they could find, sometimes within sight of tourist beaches, and to kill as many mariners as possible, in order to frighten their shipmates into staying ashore. As the war progressed, men from Mathews sailed the North and South Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, and even the icy Barents Sea in the Arctic Circle, where they braved the dreaded Murmansk Run. Through their experiences we have eyewitnesses to every danger zone, in every kind of ship. Some died horrific deaths. Others fought to survive torpedo explosions, flaming oil slicks, storms, shark attacks, mine blasts, and harrowing lifeboat odysseysonly to ship out again on the next boat as soon as they'd returned to safety. The Mathews Men shows us the war far beyond traditional battlefieldsoften the U.S. merchant mariners life-and-death struggles took place just off the U.S. coastbut also takes us to the landing beaches at D-Day and to the Pacific. When final victory is ours, General Dwight D. Eisenhower had predicted, there is no organization that will share its credit more deservedly than the Merchant Marine. Here, finally, is the heroic story of those merchant seamen, recast as the human story of the men from Mathews. “Vividly drawn and emotionally gripping." —Daniel James Brown, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Boys in the Boat From the author of The Ghost Ships of Archangel , one of the last unheralded heroic stories of World War II: the U-boat assault off the American coast against the men of the U.S. Merchant Marine who were supplying the European war, and one community’s monumental contribution to that effort Mathews County, Virginia, is a remote outpost on the Chesapeake Bay with little to offer except unspoiled scenery—but it sent an unusually large concentration of sea captains to fight in World War II. The Mathews Men tells that heroic story through the experiences of one extraordinary family whose seven sons (and their neighbors), U.S. merchant mariners all, suddenly found themselves squarely in the cross-hairs of the U-boats bearing down on the coastal United States in 1942. From the late 1930s to 1945, virtually all the fuel, food and munitions that sustained the Allies in Europe traveled not via the Navy but in merchant ships. After Pearl Harbor, those unprotected ships instantly became the U-boats’ prime targets. And they were easy targets—the Navy lacked the inclination or resources to defend them until the beginning of 1943. Hitler was determined that his U-boats should sink every American ship they could find, sometimes within sight of tourist beaches, and to kill as many mariners as possible, in order to frighten their shipmates into staying ashore. As the war progressed, men from Mathews sailed the North and South Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, and even the icy Barents Sea in the Arctic Circle, where they braved the dreaded Murmansk Run. Through their experiences we have eyewitnesses to every danger zone, in every kind of ship. Some died horrific deaths. Others fought to survive torpedo explosions, flaming oil slicks, storms, shark attacks, mine blasts, and harrowing lifeboat odysseys—only to ship out again on the next boat as soon as they'd returned to safety. The Mathews Men shows us the war far beyond traditional battlefields—often the U.S. merchant mariners’ life-and-death struggles took place just off the U.S. coast—but also takes us to the landing beaches at D-Day and to the Pacific. “When final victory is ours,” General Dwight D. Eisenhower had predicted, “there is no organization that will share its credit more deservedly than the Merchant Marine.” Here, finally, is the heroic story of those merchant seamen, recast as the human story of the men from Mathews. "Vividly drawn and emotionally gripping." ?Daniel James Brown, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Boys in the Boat One of the last unheralded heroic stories of World War II: the U-boat assault off the American coast against the men of the U.S. Merchant Marine who were supplying the European war, and one community's monumental contribution to that effort Mathews County, Virginia, is a remote outpost on the Chesapeake Bay with little to offer except unspoiled scenery?but it sent an unusually large concentration of sea captains to fight in World War II. The Mathews Men tells that heroic story through the experiences of one extraordinary family whose seven sons (and their neighbors), U.S. merchant mariners all, suddenly found themselves squarely in the cross-hairs of the U-boats bearing down on the coastal United States in 1942. From the late 1930s to 1945, virtually all the fuel, food and munitions that sustained the Allies in Europe traveled not via the Navy but in merchant ships. After Pearl Harbor, those unprotected ships instantly became the U-boats' prime targets. And they were easy targets?the Navy lacked the inclination or resources to defend them until the beginning of 1943. Hitler was determined that his U-boats should sink every American ship they could find, sometimes within sight of tourist beaches, and to kill as many mariners as possible, in order to frighten their shipmates into staying ashore. As the war progressed, men from Mathews sailed the North and South Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, and even the icy Barents Sea in the Arctic Circle, where they braved the dreaded Murmansk Run. Through their experiences we have eyewitnesses to every danger zone, in every kind of ship. Some died horrific deaths. Others fought to survive torpedo explosions, flaming oil slicks, storms, shark attacks, mine blasts, and harrowing lifeboat odysseys?only to ship out again on the next boat as soon as they'd returned to safety. The Mathews Men shows us the war far beyond traditional battlefields?often the U.S. merchant mariners' life-and-death struggles took place just off the U.S. coast?but also takes us to the landing beaches at D-Day and to the Pacific. "When final victory is ours," General Dwight D. Eisenhower had predicted, "there is no organization that will share its credit more deservedly than the Merchant Marine." Here, finally, is the heroic story of those merchant seamen, recast as the human story of the men from Mathews. From the Hardcover edition Mathews County, Virginia, is a remote outpost on the Chesapeake Bay with little to offer except unspoiled scenery -- but it sent one of the largest concentrations of sea captains and U.S. merchant mariners of any community in America to fight in World War II. The Mathews Men tells that heroic story through the experiences of one family whose seven sons (and their neighbors), U.S. merchant mariners all, suddenly found themselves squarely in the cross-hairs of the U-boats bearing down on the coastal United States in 1942. From the late 1930s to 1945, virtually all the fuel, food, and munitions that sustained the Allies in Europe traveled not via the Navy but in merchant ships. After Pearl Harbor, those unprotected ships instantly became the U-boats' prime targets. And they were easy targets -- the Navy lacked the inclination or resources to defend them until the beginning of 1943. Hitler was determined that his U-boats should sink every American ship they could find, sometimes within sight of tourist beaches, and to kill as many mariners as possible, in order to frighten their shipmates into staying ashore. As the war progressed, men from Mathews sailed the North and South Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, and even the icy Barents Sea in the Arctic Circle, where they braved the dreaded Murmansk Run. Through their experiences we have eyewitnesses to every danger zone, in every kind of ship. Some died horrific deaths. Others fought to survive torpedo explosions, flaming oil slicks, storms, shark attacks, mine blasts, and harrowing lifeboat odysseys -- only to ship out again on the next boat as soon as they'd returned to safety. The Mathews Men shows us the war far beyond traditional battlefields -- often the U.S. merchant mariners' life-and-death struggles took place just off the U.S. coast -- but also takes us to the landing beaches at D-Day and to the Pacific. "When final victory is ours," General Dwight D. Eisenhower had predicted, "there is no organization that will share its credit more deservedly than the Merchant Marine." Here is the story of those merchant seamen, recast as the human story of the men from Mathews