Heroes All

Even before the attack on Pearl Harbor and America's official entry into WWII, America's maritime forces launched convoys to support our Allies in Europe through the Lend-Lease Act which gave then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt authority to send equipment and food to the war effort without violating our position of neutrality. Once the war was declared on the United States by Nazi Germany, and the Allies agreed upon a "Europe First" Strategy, convoy operations became the main enabling effort in the war. While this was going on, the United States military was planning and then executing the largest amphibious operations in the history of warfare, culminating in the landings in Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. During that timeframe, the names of Patton, Eisenhower, and Montgomery were immortalized. Less well known to the average American were the naval leaders in the Atlantic and Mediterranean campaigns. But this story is not about well-known figures in history, this is the story of the real heroes in any conflict: the young men who went to war and did their part.

Heroes All is a story of a single amphibious ship and her crew amongst the thousands of ships that took part in the war. The sailors that served on the Landing Ship, Tank, or LST, were truly unsung heroes in WWII and they remain so today. However, the young sailors that served on these ships were the critical enabler in the bloody battles that followed on land. With incredible fortitude, these young men did their duty and delivered men and supplies ashore again and again.

Heroes All is a wonderful tribute to a tiny slice of America's Greatest Generation. As I read the book, I could sense Donna's mission was to tell the story to honor her father. She succeeded."

Andrew L. Lewis, Vice Admiral, USN (retired)