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Rating: 
Summary: Unsung, but invaluable.
Review: German sea warfare was very effective in the early days of World War II, sending hundreds of Allied ships to the bottom and threatening the very existence of vital supply lines. The unarmed merchantmen were particularly vulnerable; sitting ducks for U-Boats, surface raiders, and aircraft alike. Typical of the times, American response was makeshift and haphazard, sending green kids and obsolete weapons to war aboard antique vessels. They did surprisingly well under the circumstances, and their successes and defeats laid the groundwork for what would become an Armed Guard of almost 145,000 gunners, radiomen, signalmen, and medics aboard some 6,000 ships.
In addition to their courageous service alone and in convoys to the far corners of the earth, often in appalling conditions, the Armed Guard was also present at such hotspots as Sicily, Anzio, Leyte, and Okinawa, taking casualties and inflicting damage on the enemy but attracting little public attention. This neglect continued after the war, with many veterans of hard service denied recognition and honor as combatants. Gleichauf's work, well researched and engagingly written, will serve as a fitting memorial to those brave men and their invaluable services.(The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not willingly "score" books.)
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