Capt. Alex R. Larzelere, USCG (ret.), “is a retired U.S. Coast Guard captain and a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, whose career included service in seven cutters, five of which he commanded.”  He is the author of The Coast Guard in World War I: An Untold Story; The Coast Guard at War: Vietnam, 1965-1975; and, The 1980 Cuban Boatlift. Castro's Ploy - America's Dilemma.

According to the book description of The Coast Guard in World War I: An Untold Story, “Foreword by Adm. James M. Loy, USCG Commandant, 1998-2002 The U.S. Coast Guard suffered the highest percentage of losses of any American armed force in World War I, yet until now the extent of the Coast Guard's involvement in that war remains little known to the public. The author, an experienced Coast Guardsmen himself, makes extensive use of such primary sources as personal journals and letters, cutter logs, reports of commanding officers, personnel records, and interviews to compile this historic, first-time-ever account. To bring the history to life Alex Larzelere draws on his extensive seagoing background and fills the book with action narratives that document the heroism of men like Lt. Fletcher Brown, Warrant Officer Midgett, and their crews, who went to the rescue of ships torpedoed by German U-boats.

The Coast Guard was transferred to the Navy when war was declared in 1917. A small service of less than 5,000, it was made up of highly experienced cuttermen, sorely needed for the U.S. Navy's rapidly expanding fleet. This book describes the activities of the guardsmen and their units in the war zone and at home, from the time they were mobilized and transferred until the service was returned to the treasury department in August 1919. As explained by Larzelere, their many operations give readers a full appreciation of their contributions to the war effort.”

According to a reader of The Coast Guard at War: Vietnam, 1965-1975, “Very few Americans realize the U.S. Coast Guard is a military organization and has fought in all the wars of the United States. Capt. Alex Larzelere, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.) has written one of the very few excellent accounts of the service in combat. Captain Larzelere, as a young officer, commanded patrol boats in Vietnam so is able to bring his perspective to this book on the Vietnam conflict. Larzelere has done a great service to those who wish to study how this nation's smallest armed force performed during the long and divisive war. The small amount of publicity the U.S. Coast Guard received from their efforts in Southeast Asia came from the patrol boats and high endurance cutters. In this account, however, the author covers all the activities, from explosive loading details, shipping advisors and aids to navigation duties. Furthermore, what makes the account even more valuable is Larzelere's interviews with many of the U.S. Coast Guardsmen who served in Vietnam.”