PT boats loom large in the popular imagination of World War II. In March 1942, a PT boat evacuated Gen. Douglas MacArthur, his family, and top staff from the Philippines, which inspired the war movie They Were Expendable, directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. John F. Kennedy became a war hero while commanding PT-109, which collided with a Japanese destroyer and was sunk in August 1943. But the story of PT boats has never been told in the depth and detail that their exemplary service deserves. Naval historian C. J. Skamarakas uses one Pacific PT boat squadron to tell the story of PT boats in action in World War II. Eighty feet long, PT boats were designed to launch torpedoes against enemy ships five and ten times their own size. But defects in the torpedoes and the boats’ speed and maneuverability ultimately shifted the boats’ mission to patrolling and breaking up Japanese shipping and reinforcements. In the waters of the Southwest Pacific as part of MacArthur’s offensives in New Guinea and the Philippines, Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 25 completed these missions and also executed other operations for which they weren’t specifically trained, including inserting commandos behind enemy lines, air-sea rescue, raids on enemy positions, reconnaissance of potential sites for amphibious landings, coordination of air strikes in support of ground forces, meetings with guerrilla leaders, recovery of prisoners of war, diversionary activities, and psychological operations. Today we would call many of their missions “special ops.” The Japanese called PT boats “mosquitoes” and “devil boats.” The Devil Boats recounts the unique contributions of one motor torpedo boat squadron and through it tells the story of PT boats in the Pacific War. With drama and excitement, as well as careful attention to detail, the book fills a void in the history of the U.S. Navy in World War II.

This book is the first comprehensive history of an important, but mostly overlooked, element of the World War II Patrol Torpedo (PT) boats: the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Training Center (MTBSTC) in Melville, Rhode Island. While not every sailor who served on PT boats went through the training at MTBSTC, every PT sailor was affected by what went on there. The MTBSTC created the PT boats' operational policies and tactics, as well as weapons and equipment experimentation and development. Even the orders the men received for their PT boat assignment were dictated by the MTBSTC. Most of the books written about PT boats have only a passing reference to the MTBSTC. This lack of detailed information on the Training Center has left a large hole in the overall printed history of PT boats. This book fills that gap. This book documents the Training Center from its beginnings when the land was undeveloped swampland, through its growing pains during construction and expansion during the war. It traces the problems of developing a training curriculum from scratch, the struggles to keep the training current, up through the point when the training reached its peak of proficiency just as the war ended. It provides insight into what life was like for the sailors that spent two to three months going through the training program and of those who were stationed at the Training Center as instructors or staff personnel. This book also details the Training Center's post-war career and its current development as a thriving marina and boat building enterprise. This book is culled from the MTBSTC's wartime correspondence files and other deck logs, published and unpublished books, articles, and reports; and interviews with PT boat veterans who underwent the training at the MTBSTC. It is lavishly illustrated with archival, private, and public photographs, most of which have never been published before. This book completes the written history of the PT boats in World War II.

NAVY MEN PRESIDENTS NOVELS BY ED DELKER. Eternal Flame Trilogy. Red Teagan, the ninety year-old former Secretary of the Navy during the Kennedy Administration, sends a letter to the Chief of Naval Operations stating a Navy Man was responsible for President Kennedy's death! Two Navy Intelligence officers are dispatched to Red Teagan's home and learn Secretary Teagan was Jack Kennedy's closest and truest best friend no one ever heard about. Red takes the Navy officers on an enthralling twenty-two year journey from when he first met the future president till the fateful day a rouge operation, Eternal Flame, claims President Kennedy's life. The trilogy is a buddy story between true best friends filled with mystery, action, adventure, love, and plenty of humor. WWII provides many men and women opportunities and destinies never thought possible. Tremendous social changes for both men and women from 1942 to 1964 provide the backdrop for these strong male and female characters. After reading the trilogy, one test reader said they constantly dreamt about what the characters will do next. A fourth installment of the Navy Men Presidents, REDEMPTION, covering the Johnson presidency is in the works. With six Navy Men Presidents in the last half of the Twentieth Century, there are many more buddy stories to tell. Book 1- Eternal Flame Trilogy, Love*Laughter*Courage. Red Teagan starts his cautionary tale describing himself and Jack Kennedy as typical young men of their generation seeking love, surviving on laughter and finding courage to cope with the horrors of war. A chance meeting on a remote South Pacific island during WWII by Red and Jack with three other junior Navy officers, Johnson, Nixon and Ford opens all of their eyes to great possibilities, a future that would not be possible if not for the war. A native mystic decrees Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford are men destined to become President but their collective destiny flows through Jack's destiny. The native mystic anoints Red as Jack's Spirit Keeper responsible for protecting Jack and keeping him true to his destiny as the first Navy Man president. Book 2 - Eternal Flame Trilogy, Mastema. The future Navy Men Presidents return home and resume their peacetime lives and careers. Red works behind the scene on Jack's campaign for Congress. Nixon, Johnson and Ford also rapidly advance their political careers. However, evil followed Red and Jack home from the war in the Pacific and threatens Jack's life. Red and other veterans from the war battle a serial killer called Mastema. When Mastema plays psychological games with the Navy Men, the battle becomes personal spawning a manhunt by law enforcement and intelligence services across the globe. Book 3 - Eternal Flame Trilogy, Operation Eternal Flame Destiny Achieved. Red helps preserve Jack's presidency by effectively working in the background. He is viewed as a Kennedy wartime crony by the establishment and not taken seriously. Regardless, Jack appoints Red Undersecretary of the Navy. When the CIA identifies a rogue operation within the U.S. Government with the mission to assassinate Jack, Red once again marshals the Navy Men and wartime comrades. Forces within the Government undercut Red's efforts and Red enlists the help of his two young aides and "off the books assets" to head off the former Marine sniper, Lee Harvey Oswald. The remaining Navy Men Presidents rally to preserve Jack's legacy.

For researchers in business, government and academe, the ""Dictionary"" decodes abbreviations and acronyms for approximately 720,000 associations, banks, government authorities, military intelligence agencies, universities and other teaching and research establishments.

Lt. Ted Meredith, USNR, PT Boat Officer Young men fought the battles of World War II. Life with the 10 man crew aboard PT 129 in New Guinea. Encounters with Admiral Bulkeley, General MacArthur, John Wayne and young Lt. Jack Kennedy. History of PT boats in W.W. II. Weekly letters written to his mother 50 years ago describe daily life and the strong bonds developed by officers and crew on those special 80 foot boats. More: map, index, illustrations and bibliography. 244 page paperback. Author's Bio: J.E. Ted Meredith Explorer, Scholar, Scribe, Management consulting leader, retired partner PricewaterhouseCoopers, frequent speaker and author of professional articles. Harvard Business School M.B.A. (Distinction), Harvard College B.A. 1942, Mercersburg Academy. Former President Institute of Management Accountants, Peter Tare, Inc. (ex-PT Boat officer)