So close to home : a true story of an American family's fight for survival during World War II

Tougias, Mike 1955- (author.). O'Leary, Alison, (author.).

Summary: "On May 19, 1942, a U-boat in the Gulf of Mexico stalked its prey fifty miles from New Orleans. Captained by twenty nine-year-old Iron Cross and King's Cross recipient Erich Wurdemann, the submarine set its sights on the freighter Heredia with sixty-two souls on board. Most aboard were merchant seamen, but there were also a handful of civilians, including the Downs family: Ray and Ina, and their two children, eight-year-old Sonny and eleven-year-old Lucille. Fast asleep in their berths, the Downs family had no idea that two torpedoes were heading their way. When the ship exploded, chaos ensued--and each family member had to find their own path to survival." --

Item details

ISBN: 9781681771304
ISBN: 1681771306
Physical Description: print
xi, 238 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Edition: First Pegasus Books cloth edition.
Publisher: New York : Pegasus Books, 2016.
Copyright: ©2016

Contents / Notes

General Note:	Maps on lining papers.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-228).
Formatted Contents Note:	A tired old workhorse -- Ina and the South American venture -- Admiral Dönitz and his Grey Wolves -- Harro Schacht and U-507 -- The Grey Wolves and the Mississippi -- Moving ever closer -- Denied a safe port -- An uneasy feeling -- Torpedoes in the night -- The raft -- A most hopeless night -- Dawn -- Desperation -- Running out of time -- The shrimp boat and a surprise -- Ina -- Lucille -- Triumphant return to Lorient -- Morgan City and the hospital -- The Laconia: a sinking and a rescue -- Spies, duty, and the turning of the battle tide -- Passages so far from home -- Sonny.

Find similar items by subject

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Downs family
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