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Donald R. Foxvog

The Last Voyage of the SS Henry Bacon Hardcover – October 15, 2001

by Donald R. Foxvog (Author), Robert Alotta (Author)

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The Last Voyage of the Henry Bacon is a story of heroic courage and valor and self-sacrifice. The last voyage of the Liberty ship SS Henry Bacon saw the crew put the lives of 19 Norwegian refugees above their own. The Bacon was the last Liberty ship to be sunk by the GermanLufwaffe on the Murmansk Run from Scotland to Murmansk, Russia. The ship fought valiantly against superior forces, and downed more German planes than any other Liberty ship. The SS Henry Bacon was born, lived and died in war: commissioned November 11, 1942; and sank February 23, 1945. When the ship went down, her proud captain and chief engineer were standing at the helm. This is her story.The Last Voyage of the Henry Bacon is filled with touching personal episodes, well-written and documented, drawn from conversation and correspondence with the surviving merchant seamen and Navy gunners. All of the accounts have been verified by declassified Navy and Maritime Commission records.

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Paragon House
Publication date

October 15, 2001
Dimensions

5.9 x 1.1 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1557788014
ISBN-13

978-1557788016
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A deadly and harrowing true story filled with heroic sacrifice and sad tribute, The Last Voyage of the SS Henry Bacon is highly recommended reading for anyone with a strong interest in naval history and a unique contribution to personal, academic, and community library World War II studies collection.―The Bookwatch, March, 2002.

...brings to life the real dangers of a liberty ship crew in the Artic Sea north of Russia during World War II....a gripping tale of brave men at sea in the service of their country, working valiantly for the war effort and being ignored by their own government when medals were handed round.―Mike Ramsey in The Roanoke Times, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2002.

...Far more than an ordinary story as the narrative includes the American Merchant Marine, US Navy Armed Guard, Norwegian civilians and their daring rescue by Royal Navy destroyers, voyages to Russia, life in Murmansk and finally Convoy RA.64. All these ingredients have been woven into the meticulously researched account by the authors who were determined that this little known story of tragedy and heroism should be made known in its entirety.... A highly recommended readable book and a fine example of thorough research.―Richard Cornish, The Review, a quarterly journal of the Naval Historical Collectors and Research Association

"The authors transport the reader back to 1945 and the situation that the participants faced in that bleak Arctic Sea, through the use of oral histories, personnel interviews, and official reports. The Last Voyage of the SS Henry Bacon is a gripping sea story and conveys the imagery of what it was like to be merchant sailors and civilians caught up in the horror of the Second World War."―Professor Salvatore R. Mercogliano, Department of History, Methodist College

About the Author

Donald R. Foxvog has been writing all his life. Before his retirement, he worked for United Press, the Congressional Quarterly, and at several newspapers. Foxvog has served as a Congressional speech writer and performed freelance writing jobs for government agencies.

Dr. Robert I. Alotta has been writing and getting published since the age of 14. He has written countless articles for academic journals and major and minor newspapers and magazines. Additionally, he has authored nine historical non-fiction works. His doctorate is in American military history. Dr. Alotta currently teaches history at Blue Ridge Community College, Weyers Cave, VA. He is also the director of education and information services for the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office and their webmaster.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Paragon House; 1st edition (October 15, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1557788014
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1557788016
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.26 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.9 x 1.1 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,974,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18,877 in World War II History (Books)
- #73,256 in United States History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
15 ratings

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4.3 out of 5

15 global ratings

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Johnny Wilde

Heroic voyage

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 29, 2021

Verified Purchase

Had the pleasure to meet Dick Burbine who is mentioned several times in the book. An amazing man, 3 war veteran, and still alive and going strong at 96. He's out chopping wood almost daily. His story of survival is amazing. The story of the Henry S Bacon and their mission would make a great movie.

4 people found this helpful

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Erik in Seattle

Fascinating book, excellently written

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 29, 2012

Verified Purchase

I am the grandson of the US Navy Gunnery Officer, Lt John Sippola, described in this book. I had heard a few stories growing up about him, but very little on how he died; it was just too painful for my grandmother, and my mother (actually referenced in this book, though not by name) was too young. This very well researched book provided a great deal of information and details about the final sailing of the SS Henry Bacon and the events leading up to it. It is a great tribute to the brave men who sailed aboard her. The book gives excellent background on the general circumstances that the Bacon found herself in, and how they fit into the broader picture of the closing months of the war in Europe. I would very much like to thank Donald Foxvog and Robert Alotta for writing this book.

3 people found this helpful

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Debbie

Our Merchant Mariners - truly honorable

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 27, 2016

Verified Purchase

One of the most powerful books out there depicting the heroics of the Merchant Marines. Most people don't know a thing about the Merchant Marines, and they've never gotten recognition for the role they play in our battles on the high seas. They are the first responders of the waterways. They go ahead of the Navy, risking their lives --UNARMED -- without any way to protect themselves or their ships. The brave men of the SS Henry Bacon is a true testament to the level of commitment these heroes display.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Damaged Item, problem not rectified

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 31, 2020

Verified Purchase

Bought as brand new 2 copies of this book as gifts. One was fine but the second came with a damaged book cover. I returned the book with the damaged cover. The seller resent a book in a plastic bag labelled "new item" with out any book cover. It honestly looks like the same book resent without the book cover. All packaging was undamaged and untampered with. My loss

One person found this helpful

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Knut Mortensen

A very useful and good book, from the ending of World War II

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 3, 2014

Verified Purchase

I am a member of the Family Simon and Berit Mortensen, born in 1951. I have heard about the convoi and Henry Bacon. This book is very important to me, and without the brave americans and englishmen it is a fact that there might have been losses of Norwegians too.

2 people found this helpful

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Lois B Marbach

Great piece of history

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 16, 2016

Verified Purchase

It was a great historical account. My dad was on that ship and I would love to speak to the authors about it one day
.

One person found this helpful

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Scott Bradley

Looking forward to reading this book.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 21, 2022

I have not read the book yet, but intend to as I recently met Mr. Richard Burbine, one of the merchant marine survivors who knew my great uncle Lt. John C Sippola. I too want to thank the authors who took the time to write about this bittersweet moment in history.

2 people found this helpful

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Toolie

Interesting and Informative

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 14, 2016

This book is the true story of one of the many of U.S. Liberty ships produced, commissioned, and lost during WW2. It is a tale of courage, combat and sacrifice that is both interesting and informative. It has all the elements of war at sea; vivid descriptions of the chaos of combat, personal heroics, compassion, and human tragedy. There is also some insight into the human condition in the Soviet Union during the war and the Soviet attitude toward and treatment of their allies during WW2. For me, personally, this was one of the more interesting aspects of the book.

The leaders of the Soviet Union had been suspicious of the motives of the West since the October Revolution during WW1 and the subsequent support of the White Russians by the United States and its WW1allies. Even during WW2 with the U.S. government pouring billions of dollars of material support into the Soviet Union the Soviets refused to share important intelligence with us and went so far as to sequester American pilots and aircraft forced to make emergency landings in Soviet controlled territory. This book describes how this distrust even extended to the thousands of American and British seaman risking life and limb to keep the Soviets supplied and the near paranoia that existed in the Soviet Union during the war.

There are also a few interesting insights into the brutality of the Communists in the U.S.S.R. toward their own soldiers and civilians. This was not unknown in the West at that time, but due to the tenuous nature of our alliance against Hitler the western allies’ propaganda machine tried to suppressed all mention of this treatment. In fact, an argument can be made that the treatment of the Russian/Slavic people living under Stalin in the Soviet Union was much worse than the treatment of the ethnic Germans living under Hitler in Germany.

“The Last Voyage of the SS Henry Bacon” is not so much an epic tale of WW2 combat at sea as it is a human interest story that centers on the crew and civilians of one small ship in a great war. There were thousands of such stories during WW2 and the authors of this book did justice to this one. If you are unaware of the contribution made by the men of the Merchant Marine during the war I recommend you read this book. Even if you are knowledgeable about the Merchant Marine you will find the telling of this particular story both inspiring and poignant.

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