Just a Sailor: A Navy Diver's Story of Photography, Salvage, and Combat [Mass Market Paperback]

Steven L. Waterman (Author), Steve Waterman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2000

  EYES UNDER THE WATER

When Steve Waterman left home in 1964, he was looking for the most exciting job the U.S. Navy had to offer. So Waterman became an underwater photographer, joining an elite group that numbered only fifteen men in the entire navy--men always on call for unusual and interesting assignments.

Yet it was the time Waterman spent in Vietnam with Underwater Demolition Team-13 that deserves special respect. Existing in a state of adrenaline driven alertness, UDT-13 men carried out their harrowing missions. Stealthily, silently they crept through Vietnam's waterways, never knowing if the next bend in the river concealed VC patiently waiting to spring a fiery, murderous ambush.

Employing the wit and unvarnished honesty that got him into trouble more than once during his thirteen years in the navy, Waterman unfolds a compelling tale of an ordinary sailor who chose to serve his country during one of the most controversial, challenging times in its history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Written with humor, a wealth of detail, and some gripping combat scenes, Steven L. Waterman's memoir of his unique experience as a navy diver is a vivid, true picture of life in the Vietnam-era military."
--W. E. B. GRIFFIN
   New York Times bestselling author of Brotherhood of War

From the Inside Flap

  EYES UNDER THE WATER

When Steve Waterman left home in 1964, he was looking for the most exciting job the U.S. Navy had to offer. So Waterman became an underwater photographer, joining an elite group that numbered only fifteen men in the entire navy--men always on call for unusual and interesting assignments.

Yet it was the time Waterman spent in Vietnam with Underwater Demolition Team-13 that deserves special respect. Existing in a state of adrenaline driven alertness, UDT-13 men carried out their harrowing missions. Stealthily, silently they crept through Vietnam's waterways, never knowing if the next bend in the river concealed VC patiently waiting to spring a fiery, murderous ambush.

Employing the wit and unvarnished honesty that got him into trouble more than once during his thirteen years in the navy, Waterman unfolds a compelling tale of an ordinary sailor who chose to serve his country during one of the most controversial, challenging times in its history.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1 edition (October 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804119376
• ISBN-13: 978-0804119375
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,417,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Authentic Voice, January 3, 2001

By 

Larry W. Bailey (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Just a Sailor: A Navy Diver's Story of Photography, Salvage, and Combat (Mass Market Paperback)

Thirty years after the events depicted so vividly in "Just a Sailor," I not only met Steve Waterman but learned that our trails had crossed in both California and Virginia. It is through that circumstance that I am able to vouch for the authenticity of this fascinating book.

I like authenticity in literature, whether fiction or non-fiction. As a matter of record, many, if not most, of the SEAL genre of books lack authenticity. Here, then, comes Waterman, a non-SEAL who did a lot of SEAL things, writing a book that tells the gospel truth about the way things were in the Teams (and the rest of the Navy, for that matter) during the 1970's.

Waterman's authentic portrayal of Navy life in the '70's, in its own way, rivals Harper Lee's depiction of life in the Depression South in "To Kill a Mockingbird." Having lived in both the Navy and the South during the periods written about, I can vouch for the authenticity of both works and favorably compare the two. Waterman may not be a literary giant, but he both knows how to tell an exciting tale and lay it all out there for the reader to visualize.

"Just a Sailor" makes fascinating reading for students of the Viet Nam War, for historians, and for readers who simply want a hard-to-put-down read. Don't miss it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just A Sailor is a Straight Shooter's Story, October 24, 2000

By 

Robert Bernstein (St. George, Maine USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Just a Sailor: A Navy Diver's Story of Photography, Salvage, and Combat (Mass Market Paperback)

I give this book five stars because it's one of a kind and no other book can compare to it. Steve Waterman tells his story with pure, unadulterated honesty. We don't get questionable details and ham-fisted opinions like we do with so many other true-accounts of military service. Steve's prose is straightforward and conversational. He puts you in his shoes and takes you on a trip from the floor of a truck camper in Maine to the deck of the Navy's politically correct submarine rescue platform, with dozens of interesting, and, at times, harrowing stops in between, including a tour in Vietnam. Steve wanted to leave Maine and find something special, and he did -- he became one of only 15 Navy combat photographers. (There are only 15 of these guys at any one time in the Navy.) Read this book and you'll come away with some new insights into military service. Find out what it's like to have the job of combat photographer and handle the various types of equipment; engage in marine salvage; go on a treasure hunting expedition; serve with the UDT-13 in Vietnam; take part in an underwater habitat experiment and more. Steve's recollection of his service in the Navy is remarkably honest and telling.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars UDT diver, February 1, 2003

By 

microjoe - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Just a Sailor: A Navy Diver's Story of Photography, Salvage, and Combat (Mass Market Paperback)

Waterman tells his autobiographical story in such a modest manner, it is easy to forget how brave he is. A member of the Underwater Demolition Teams that were a precursor to NAvy Seals, he did things few in the world can claim. This book is full of personal and factual info on his UDT experiances. But it is also a tale of his experoiances as an underwater cameraman, salvage operator, and commercial diver. Very intersting book, good photos even in the paperback. Highly reccommend for those interested in this subject!!