Heroes in Dungarees: The Story of the American Merchant Marine in World War II [Hardcover]

John Bunker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

The most complete study ever published of the wartime America's merchant marine.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Bunker, a merchant seaman from 1942 to 1945, served in the Atlantic, Caribbean, Pacific, Middle East, and Mediterranean theaters and later enjoyed a distinguished career in maritime affairs before becoming a reporter for the Christian Science Monitor and San Diego Tribune. He died in 2003. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 369 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press; First edition (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557500932
• ISBN-13: 978-1557500939
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #581,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great overview of American Merchant Marine in WW II, May 3, 1999

By 

Daniel Horodysky (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heroes in Dungarees: The Story of the American Merchant Marine in World War II (Hardcover)

If you have time to read only one book about the Merchant Marine in World War II, John Bunker's "Heroes in Dungarees" is a terrific read! Bunker's book would make a great gift for anyone --- from high school student to senior citizen.

Bunker writes with the feeling and enthusiasm of one who was there: he served in engine room crews during the War. He writes with the accomplishment of a professional writer: he was a reporter for the Christian Science Monitor and the San Diego Tribune. His writing is wonderfully easy to read as he paints wonderful pictures of wartime at sea. Bunker begins by telling us a little about the ships: the Libertys, Victorys, tankers, and Hog Islanders. He tells us about the men of the Merchant Marine and Naval Armed Guard and their life on board.

Bunker then covers World War II action by region: Atlantic Seaboard, North Atlantic, Murmansk run, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Each chapter starts with a broad introduction, followed by examples. The stories are well thought out, with many direct quotes from the participants or eyewitnesses. Reading the stories is almost like watching a movie: we can see the German submarine circling, the Captain's reaction when he realizes attack is imminent, the battle of outgunned merchant ship vs. raider, the moments of chaos when the torpedo hits, the abandoning of the ship, and the fight for survival on rafts and lifeboats.

Bunker gives thrilling accounts of the heroic crews of the SS Stanvac Calcutta, SS Stephen Hopkins, SS Cedar Mills, and SS Henry Bacon. He chronicles the disasters extremely well: Convoy PQ 17, the bombing at Bari, SS Jean Nicolet, SS Bienville, and the ships lost without a trace.

However, readers of Heroes in Dungarees will need a good map or globe by their side, because the major shortcoming of the book is the lack of good maps. To appreciate the experiences of the mariners, you need good maps to follow their voyages and to visualize their travails in lifeboats and rafts.

The Appendix listing U.S. ships sunk during the War would have been more useful and illustrative if it included the cause of sinking: submarine, bomber, mine, etc. as well as the date and place of sinking. I was baffled by the fact that this Appendix ended with the sinking of the SS Black Point off Rhode Island on May 5, 1945, since there were over 30 more war casualties before war's end on Dec. 31, 1946.

Anyone reading Heroes in Dungarees will wonder why the men and women of the U.S. Merchant Marine had to fight for over 40 years for recognition as veterans.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Filled with stories of heroism and loss, February 4, 2002

By 

Andrew S. Rogers (Stamford, Connecticut) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Heroes in Dungarees: The Story of the American Merchant Marine in World War II (Hardcover)

Granted, a Liberty Ship doesn't have the firepower of a battleship, the reach and awe-inspiring bulk of an aircraft carrier, or even the swashbuckling glamour of a destroyer or PT boat. Still, after reading this exhaustively researched book, it's hard to believe many Americans apparently considered merchant mariners little better than draft dodgers (one merchant sailor who'd had seven ships torpedoed out from under him was thrown out of a club for 'not being in the service'). It took nearly fifty years for them to officially be accorded 'veteran' status.

The story of World War II can't be told, the war itself couldn't have been fought, without the merchant marine. Merchant mariners, in turn, suffered a higher percentage of casualties -- nearly one in four -- than any (other) American armed service. John Bunker, himself a former merchant mariner, has produced a book that tells the merchant marine story in detail ... in an awful lot of detail, in fact. Not really a history of the Maritime Service, or of the strategy of merchant shipping, a slightly more accurate subtitle might have been 'The story of American merchant mariners in World War II.'

733 American merchant ships were lost during the war, and Bunker sometimes seems determined to tell us about every single one of them. I sometimes found myself skimming over tales that, for all their heroism and undoubted drama, still sounded similar to others he'd already told. One chapter, for example, is about ships being torpedoed and men surviving on rafts in the icy waters of the North Atlantic. The next chapter is about ships being torpedoed and men surviving on rafts in the shark-infested Caribbean. The next is about ships being torpedoed and men surviving on rafts in the trackless wastes of the Pacific. Then came the one about ships that went down in storms...

Despite the repetitive nature of some of this, however, many memorable stories do stand out. Men like Gustave Alm, Cadet Edwin O'Hara, or Rexford Dickey, or the crews of the 'Stanvac Calcutta,' the 'Stephen Hopkins' (O'Hara's ship), or the 'Cedar Mills' can rightfully take their place in any collection of genuine war heroes. I encourage any student of the war to study this story of shamefully neglected American heroes.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They delivered!, June 13, 2001

By 

Chapulina R (Tovarischi Imports, USA/RUS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heroes in Dungarees: The Story of the American Merchant Marine in World War II (Hardcover)

This book is a wonderful tribute to the Wartime valor of the US Merchant Marine. These largely unheralded heroes delivered desperately needed supplies across perilous seas to our beleagered Allies and to "Uncle Joe", the enemy of our Enemy. FDR's stated willingness to sacrifice up to 90% of convoys, with "all hands and cargoes", proved a staggeringly accurate prediction. Yet Merchant seamen and Naval Armed Guard gunners -- all volunteers -- gallantly braved the Uboats, torpedo planes, and mines, as well as freezing winter storms and other hazards of the sea to fulfill their duty. Without them, the War could not have been won. They deserve recognition, and this marvelous book provides it! Here are their own descriptions of sailing, camaraderie, and life aboard ship. Here too are their harrowing anecdotes of war, heroism, and loss. My father was skipper of a freighter and a survivor of the Murmansk runs, and these stories remind me of his. "Heroes in Dungarees" would make a great gift. I intend to give copies to all my family and friends! Anyone who appreciates the subject of this book will also enjoy Humphrey Bogart's "Action in the North Atlantic" and Jan DeHartog's novel "Captain".