The Archerfish, a diesel powered Balao-class submarine crafted in the 1940s, won a unique, heroic place in military history and the memories of her crew members. Here is her story: from her assembly in New England and her dedication by Eleanor Roosevelt’s personal secretary, to her service in World War II, where she broke the back of the Japanese Navy, and her critical role in the Cold War.
Here, too, is the story of her crew, who waited years to serve on the Archerfish. In their own words, these men tell how, against all odds, they sent a Japanese aircraft carrier to the ocean floor. Heroic actions, exotic ports, B-girls, perilous shore leaves, and the fascinating details of life aboard a sub—it’s all here. An extraordinary real-life odyssey, Gallant Lady is a vivid, unforgettable portrait of a submariner’s life.
KEN HENRY retired from the U.S. Navy in 1974 as a senior chief engineman. He was one of the first volunteers accepted for Operation Sea Scan aboard the USS Archerfish. He lives in South Florida. DON KEITH is a successful broadcaster and critically acclaimed novelist. His debut novel, The Forever Season, was named 1997 fiction award winner by the Alabama Library Association. He lives with his wife in Indian Springs Village, Alabama.
Award-winning and best-selling author Don Keith was born in 1947 and has lived in the South all his life. He attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa where he received his degree in broadcast and film communication with a minor in English and literature. While working as a broadcast journalist, he won awards from the Associated Press and United Press International for news writing and reporting. He was also the first winner of Troy State University's Hector Award for innovation in broadcast journalism. As an on-the-air broadcaster, Don won the Billboard Magazine "Radio Personality of the Year" in two formats, country and contemporary. Keith was a broadcast personality for over twenty years in Birmingham and Nashville, and also owned his own consultancy, co-owned a Mobile, Alabama, radio station (WZEW-FM), and hosted and produced several nationally syndicated radio shows.
His first novel, THE FOREVER SEASON, was published by St. Martin's Press in the fall of 1995 to commercial and critical success. It called heavily on Keith's own athletic and academic experiences. Reviewers praised its unique approach and powerful story. The novel won the Alabama Library Association's "Fiction of the Year" award in 1997, joining works likewise honored from Harper Lee and others, and was re-issued in the fall of 2002 by the University of Alabama Press as part of its prestigious Deep South Books series. His second novel, WIZARD OF THE WIND, was based on Keith's years in broadcasting. As was the first book, the second work was published under the imprint of widely praised New York editor Robert Wyatt as A Wyatt Book for St. Martin's Press. Keith next released a series of young adult/mens' adventure novels co-written with Kent Wright. They are set in stock car racing and titled THE ROLLING THUNDER STOCKCAR RACING SERIES. The works were released in paperback by Tor Books, as audiobooks by Durkin-Hayes Publishing, and in hardback by Econo-Clad Books.
Don's next novel, a thriller co-written with former nuclear submarine commander George Wallace, FINAL BEARING, was released by Forge Books of New York City in April 2003 and quickly became a national bestseller and great reviews. A mass-market paperback edition is also available and a Kindle edition is now available from Amazon.com. A sequel to that novel, which is set for publication as an audio book in November 2011 and in hardback in 2012, has been optioned by a major film studio and a motion picture is in the works.
Keith's first non-fiction work, GALLANT LADY, the true story of a remarkable World War II submarine, the USS Archerfish, was written with the significant help of former Archerfish crewmember Ken Henry. It was published by Forge Books in June 2004. A trade paperback edition was published in 2005 and an audio version was released by Blackstone Audiobooks.
Don's next work of military history, IN THE COURSE OF DUTY, was published by the Caliber imprint of Penguin USA. The book deals with another amazing WWII submarine, the USS Batfish, her heroic efforts in the Pacific and the wonderful story of how she came to rest today high and dry in a former bean field in Muskogee, Oklahoma--the middle of the Dust Bowl and the Cherokee Nation.
In 2006, he published FINAL PATROL, another Caliber/Penguin release, which tells the personal, behind-the-scenes stories of each of the 17 WWII submarines that are open to the public around the country as museum ships. Each of the non-fiction submarine books were offered as featured selections of The Military Book Club.
Also in 2006, Cumberland House Press released Don's unique series of vignettes about legendary college football coach "Bear" Bryant titled THE BEAR: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF COACH PAUL "BEAR" BRYANT.
Don's next work was THE ICE DIARIES, the untold story of America's first nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus, and her historic Cold War trip to the North Pole in 1958. The book was co-written with Captain William R. Anderson, the skipper of Nautilus on that world-changing, top-secret voyage. The book was submitted for consideration for the Pulitzer Prize.
The next work was another true story of a series of events aboard the World War II submarine USS Billfish. WAR BENEATH THE WAVES reveals the previously untold story of how a young officer took charge of a submarine during a vicious depth-charge attack and, with the help of a couple of chiefs and brave crewmembers, saved the boat. It, too, is pubished by Caliber/Penguin and is also available in an audio-book version.
Don's next non-fiction historical work will be UNDERSEA WARRIOR, the remarkable story of Commander Dudley "Mush" Morton, a young submarine skipper who literally--and almost single-handedly--changed the course of submarine warfare. And he did it in only ten months as the captain of a submarine.
Don also writes under the pseudonym of Jeffery Addison and has published three novellas, co-written with Edie Hand, THE LAST CHRISTMAS RIDE, THE SOLDIER'S RIDE, and THE CHRISTMAS RIDE: MIRACLE OF THE LIGHTS. Each is an inspirational story of life's ride, the rough patches we run into along the way, and how we overcome them with faith, family and friends.
Don lives in Indian Springs Village, Alabama, with his wife, Charlene. He is also an active "ham" radio operator (call sign N4KC), is a member of the Alabama Writers' Forum and actively supports local and statewide literacy efforts. Don's web site is www.donkeith.com.
