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After graduating from Montclair
State College, Michael G. Walling served in the U.S. Coast Guard for six years as a commissioned officer and a senior petty
officer. His assignments included buoy tending, search and rescue missions, drug law enforcement, and oceanographic operations
in the Arctic. As part of the Boarding Party and Prize Crew teams on two cutters, he participated in the seizures of a Panamanian
drug-runner and a Cuban fishing boat. In June 2004, Michael Walling’s first book, Bloodstained Sea: The U.S. Coast
Guard in the Battle of the Atlantic 1941-1944, was published by International Marine, a division of McGraw-Hill,
and received critical acclaim by reviewers and veterans. The Naval Order of the United States honored him with its 2005 Samuel
Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature. Past recipients of this prestigious award include David McCullough, Stephen Coonts,
Edward L. Beach (author of Run Silent, Run Deep), and former Navy Secretary John F. Lehman. It is given to an American author
“who by his published writings has made a substantial contribution to the preservation of the history and traditions
of the United States Navy.”
Michael G. Walling appeared on
the History Channel series Man, Moment, Machine episode about Andrew Higgins, the designer and builder of the vital landing
craft used in World War II, and, as a script consultant for the episode, reviewed the material for accuracy. On the lighter side, Michael Walling published,
in conjunction with Flat Hammock Press, a new edition of Sinbad of the Coast Guard,” the adventurous,
true story of the USCGC Campbell's mascot whose exploits during World War II became legend. Appropriately, Sinbad's
story was told by a fellow member of the Coast Guard, Chief George F. Foley, Jr., while the fine pictures were drawn by the
outstanding Coast Guard Reserve artist, George Gray. In November 2008,
his first novel Choke Points was published by Cutter Publishing. The plot centers on the real threats to US Maritime and Port
Security.
Walling is currently
a consulting historian with Underwater Admiralty Sciences, Inc., on the Clipper Discovery Project. His research involves the
Bermuda Sky Queen rescue in October 1947. He has interviewed passengers, aircraft crew, and Coast Guardsmen who participated
in the rescue. Walling has exclusive access to the pilot and the Coast Guardsman who organized and led the rescue. Michael
Walling has spent more than 45 years collecting stories from hundreds of World War II veterans. He and his wife, Mary, live
in Hudson, Massachusetts and Mike be contacted through his web site: www.mikewalling.com
According to the book description of
Choke Points, “It’s a simple plan – force the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq
by shutting down key US ports. No need for weapons of mass destruction, ordinary explosives easily obtained would do the job.
The complex part is for Coast Guard Lieutenant Mark Fletcher to stop it from happening. Faced with an unknown enemy from his
past and betrayal by his superior officers, Mark is caught in a labyrinth of deceit. His only allies are a retired Navy SEAL
and a beautiful African American helicopter pilot. Stretching from the treacherous shores of Iraq to inner circles of power
in Washington, DC, Choke Points leads the reader deep into the heart of the War on Terror and the real threats of attack on
the U.S.”
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According to the book description
of Sinbad of the Coast Guard: The Most Famous Sea Dog in History, “This is the adventurous,
true story of Sinbad whose exploits on board the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Campbell during World War II became legend. His chunky
black and tan figure was known in a hundred ports, from Greenland --where he nearly caused an international incident--to Africa,
where he was the guest at a Sultan’s Palace and as far away as Japan. Although famous to thousands of people in many nations, Sinbad was happiest at sea, treading
the decks of the sleek Campbell, where he was treated as just another member of the crew. Battles and hurricanes never dulled
his love of standing on the heaving deck with spray breaking over his wiry body. To Coast Guardsmen and sailors all over the
world he was a hero and a real salty dog!
Appropriately, Sinbad's story was
told by a fellow member of the Coast Guard, Chief George F. Foley, Jr., while the fine pictures were drawn by the outstanding
Coast Guard Reserve artist, George Gray. This new edition, the first in 60 years, adds photos of Sinbad, information about
the Campbell, and an Introduction by Mike Walling, author of “Bloodstained Sea, The U.S. Coast Guard in the Battle of
the Atlantic 1941-1944.”
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