For as long as an American naval force has existed, black sailors have served it with bravery, distinction, and little or no recognition. They have since earned praise for service in the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Civil War, and more recently, they were integral to the development of the U.S. Submarine Service. Their roles limited by segregation, black submariners nonetheless were a key element of the "Silent Service" throughout World War II. With desegregation came expanded opportunities, and black submariners witnessed the birth and evolution of the nuclear-powered submarine, and some of the tensest moments of the Cold War. These men paved the way for those who followed--their contributions deserve recognition, and their stories deserve to be told. This exploration of the role of African American submariners chronicles their service from World War II through the Cold War era. An historical overview of black sailors and the evolution of the Steward's Branch, to which black sailors were eventually restricted, precede descriptions of becoming a steward and a submariner, and of life as a submariner during World War II. An account of black submariners in post-war service during desegregation, the development of the nuclear submarine, and throughout the Cold War follows. Oral histories of more than fifty black submariners who served in World War II and post-war form the heart of the book. Photographs of the men profiled, including wartime photographs, complement the text. Appendices outline the naval steward rating system, list all black submarine stewards serving in World War II, top stewards by number of war patrols, and those lost or killed during wartime service. Rear Admiral Melvin G. Williams, Jr., submarine fleet commander and son of one of the men profiled, provides a foreword.

This work tells the full story of the weapons, including fighter-planes, tanks, ships, and guns, that America produced during the war to defeat the Axis powers, and how they were "sold" to those at home through the countless advertisements that appeared in popular magazines. Though well-known companies such as General Motors, Ford, Kelvinator, and B.F. Goodrich, and a whole host of others, could no longer sell their products to consumers, they instead turned their factories towards supplying the Arsenal of Democracy. In order to keep their names in the public spotlight, these companies advertised in great detail the weapons they were building; Cadillac touted its efforts in supplying components for Sherman tanks and P-38 Lightning fighters, Ford no longer built cars in Detroit, but B-24 Liberator bombers and Jeeps, while the home appliance company Kelvinator built aircraft components and flame-throwers. The story behind these advertisements, many of them stunning visuals which are here reproduced in color, is a unique aspect of World War II history that will both surprise and delight.

Evidence of the early history of African Americans in New England is dramatically found in the many ancient burying grounds and cemeteries of the region, oft-times in locations that are hidden and were once largely forgotten. In this work, the first of its kind to discuss these important burying places found in each of the New England states, the reader will discover the burial sites of many African Americans, both the enslaved and the free, and gain an understanding as to how they came to their final resting places. The lives of well-known early African Americans such as Venture Smith and Elizabeth Freeman are discussed in the context of these burial sites, as are the lives of many other ordinary individuals, including military veterans, business men and women, common labourers, and children, all of whom led equally fascinating lives. Through an examination of these historic sites and the interesting gravestones found within the reader will learn of the clues hidden in plain site that help to document the lives of black New Englanders and gain a better overall understanding of the African American experience in New England from the 1640s down to the early 1900s.

New Hampshire, despite its small size, played a significant role in the American Revolution. The deeds of the state's soldiers and other notable citizenry have been well documented but the contributions of the black population have never been fully explored until now. The largest part of this book consists of the service records of all known black soldiers with ties to New Hampshire: 139 who served in New Hampshire's forces, 34 who served in New Hampshire and another colony's forces, and 51 who served in another colony's forces but lived in New Hampshire at some point in their lives. The work also provides information on life for blacks in New Hampshire before and during the American Revolution, and information on campaigns and engagements that blacks from New Hampshire were known to have taken part in.

Merriam Press Military Monograph 86. Fourth Edition (February 2012). While Waclaw Lapkowski was an experienced pilot who became one of Poland's aces during the war, his early demise, like that of so many others, has relegated his achievements to the back pages of history, making them nearly forgotten. It is the author's hope that, in some small way, this work will help preserve the memory of a little known pilot who fought, not only for his own country, but also for France and England during the early, dark days of World War II. The second reason for producing this work is the unique use of official combat and operations reports from the Royal Air Force (RAF). Many of those who are interested in World War II aviation and fighter aces have read the biographies, and first-hand accounts of air combat contained within, of such men as Douglas Bader, Witold Urbanowicz, Adolph Galland, and Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, to name just a few. But what of those "aces" that did not survive to tell their story? How are they to be remembered? In the case of those who served with the RAF, the answer is, in part, through the use of official combat reports and related documents. While these official RAF and Polish Air Force (PAF) records do not sound particularly exciting, a glance at the surviving records quickly proves otherwise. Indeed, the title of this book consists of a borrowed phrase from one such report, and is a small example of the many dramatic events recorded within, often in the pilot's own words. While these reports have been an important source for many works on the RAF and PAF and its achievements during the war, never before, to the author's knowledge, have official combat reports been presented to the reading public in their original form. Though not originally intended for public view, they nonetheless make for exciting and informative reading and will be of interest not only to those with a passing interest in World War II aviation, but to the serious student as well. While the author was unable to obtain combat reports for all of Lapkowski's flights, those that were procured for September 1940 and June 1941 are of particular interest as they highlight all of the "kills" that he made while serving in the RAF. What the author found out, from the official combat reports, and various published sources, uniquely combined with available archaeological artifacts, was fascinating. What emerged from the records is a story worth telling. Waclaw Lapkowski, though not famous like such other Polish aces as Stanislaw Skalski, Jan Zumbach, or Urbanowicz, had an interesting and distinguished career. He was in the thick of battle at the outset of the war, when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and saw subsequent service during the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain in 1940. He achieved air victories in two out of three of these campaigns, and is one of only a handful of men, less than 150 in number, who served in all three campaigns. To borrow a phrase from the British, Waclaw Lapkowski truly was one of "The Few," men whose skill and bravery helped stem the tide of German aggression and made Allied victory possible, at the cost of their own lives. Contents: Acknowledgments; Introduction; The Source-Combat Report Form F; The German Invasion of Poland, September 1939; The Battle of France, May-June 1940; The Battle of Britain, August-September 1940; Shot Down over London, September 1940; Cross-Channel Operations, January-May 1941; Achieving Ace Status, June 1941; Final Flight, July 1941; Battle of Britain Revisited; Awards for Distinguished Action by Polish Pilots; Biographies of Polish Pilots; Waclaw Lapkowski's Combat Claims; Bibliography; 5 illustrations; 30 photos; 18 combat reports; Pilot's flight log.

Before the advent of the automobile, railroads crossed the United States, making relatively quick travel possible for the masses. This book chronicles the development of metal truss and related bridges in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont from the 1860s to 1940. Highlighted are the various bridge types and their inventors, the historical changes in the highway and railroad networks that resulted in these bridges being built, the rise of state bridge-building agencies, developments in the field of civil engineering as they related to bridge construction, and preservation trends. While many notable metal bridges of the past are discussed in context with these topics, the book's main focus is a detailed account of the remaining historic bridges.