Navy Mustang: From Seaman to Officer, a Quarter Century in the United States Navy [Paperback]

Edgar DeLong (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 19, 2008

When fifteen-year-old Edgar DeLong convinced his family to let him join the United States Navy in 1944, he didn’t know what his future would bring. In Navy Mustang, DeLong details what his adventure-filled life is like from the day he enlists to when he retires twenty-six years later, including earning the designation of United States Navy Mustang.

DeLong describes his experiences in the World War II battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He gives a first-person account of the Bikini atomic bomb tests and never-before-revealed stories about the bomb. He tells of his travels throughout the world, including how young Germans received an American sailor riding a bike down the Rhine, why you should learn to play chess if you want to meet people from all over the world without having to speak their language, and what it was like to hang out with the priests from the Vatican during the reign of Pope Pius XII.

Loaded with photographs and detailed dates, DeLong shows the pros and cons of what it was like to live as a sailor and an officer during the last quarter of the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Edgar E. DeLong served twenty-six years in the United States Navy, beginning his career as an enlisted man and retiring as a lieutenant commander. He is a freelance writer and volunteer. DeLong and his wife, Ruth, live in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (February 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595477372
• ISBN-13: 978-0595477371
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,954,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's not just a job..., May 25, 2008

By 

David Boisselle (Chesapeake, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Navy Mustang: From Seaman to Officer, a Quarter Century in the United States Navy (Paperback)

Navy Mustang: From Seaman to Officer, A Quarter Century in the United States Navy
By Edgar E. DeLong
Review by Lt. David Boisselle, U.S. Navy

"It's not just a job, it's an adventure!" This Navy recruiting tagline aptly describes Ed DeLong's memoir, "Navy Mustang: From Seaman to Officer, A Quarter Century in the United States Navy." DeLong, a retired lieutenant commander and combat veteran of the Iwo Jima and Okinawa landings in World War II, sweeps us into the arc of his life, from running off to join the circus at age 13, to enlisting in the Navy at age 15 (abetted by his parents who helped fudge his age), through his rise "up from the ranks" (thus earning a commission as a "mustang" officer), and numerous adventures in exotic ports of call.

Ed DeLong's unabashed enthusiasm and love for the Navy and its traditions are the reasons I loved this book. His voice harkens back to a day when sailors worked hard and played hard, officers and their spouses made social calls on their commanding officers, and happy hour at the officers club on Friday afternoon was the place to be.

"Navy Mustang" will appeal to readers of military history and those who simply love a good "sea story." DeLong tells many tall tales from his travels around the world. One from North Africa involves DeLong's witnessing the apparent execution of an insubordinate French Foreign Legion soldier by his sergeant. He devotes a fun chapter to his bicycle trip with a shipmate from their naval base in occupied Germany to Zurich, Switzerland in 1950. "I'd like to see how the German people really are," said DeLong to his trip buddy Don Harris. Other stories illuminate the trials and tribulations of military family life: the long separations from loved ones, cross-country household moves, and the people DeLong and his wife Ruth met from Norfolk to San Francisco and the places in between.

The book is somewhat marred by poor editing, mostly punctuation as opposed to the author's grammar. Like any good sea story, however, the narrative may not be perfect, but it never fails to compel you to listen. If you'd like a rollicking, humorous, and even poignant sample of one sailor's adventure "up from the ranks," this book is for you.

5.0 out of 5 stars Served aboard the USS WORCESTER, February 1, 2011

By 

jamaillet PO1 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Navy Mustang: From Seaman to Officer, a Quarter Century in the United States Navy (Paperback)

This was the most wonderful book I ever had the pleasure of reading. Once I started I could not put it down.
I had the opportunity of serving aboard the same ship Commander DeLong served on. We went ashore together many times. His command of the communications department was outstanding. I wish him the best in the years to come.

Joe Maillet
Hammonton, NJ
Radioman First Class