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First SEALs : the untold story of the forging of America's most elite unit / Patrick K. O'Donnell.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Boston, MA : Da Capo Press, 2014Edition: First editionDescription: xi, 290 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 0306821729 (hardback)
  • 9780306821721 (hardback)
Other title:
  • First SEALs, the untold story
Subject(s):
Contents:
Prologue: "Cavities in the Lion's Mouth": the birth of underwater combat swimming -- Area D -- The race to design a rebreather -- Combat swimmers -- Silver Springs -- Sea -- Crazy Yanks: The maritime unit's beachhead in Egypt -- Pirate Yachts and spies of the cloth -- "Haggling, bribing, fines, delays, inspections, bullshit -- Treasure Island -- The "Yankee", Operation Audrey, and the Boot -- "The Little Pearl Harbor" -- The Ultimate Rescue -- Back to Albania -- No Picnic - The Kelly Plan -- Ossining -- Swimmer Commandos -- Air -- The Dupont Mission -- "I was promised this mission, and I want it" -- Land -- Vienna Captivity -- "Decima MAS" strikes back -- The Eighth Army detachment -- Stella -- Indiana Jones -- Surviving -- Mauthausen -- Last Acts - God Bless America -- Sunset -- "This is the first time I've ever been in the movies -- Epilogue -- The First SEALs after the War.
Summary: "The rich history of SEAL Team 6 that captured Osama bin Laden stretches back to World War II when US intelligence officials formed a team of special-operation combat swimmers. Under the leadership of Captain Jack Taylor, a California dentist, the Maritime Unit (MU) started training in 1942, learning underwater and covert operation techniques, as it developed an array of James Bond-like new equipment, including the recently invented underwater breathing apparatus, limpet mines, silent electric motors, and a collapsible eight-foot submarine. Finally deployed in 1944, the unit conducted some of the most daring, behind-enemy-lines operations of the war in Italy, where they linked up with fearsome Italian commandos. In one of its greatest coups, they captured the plans--and the architect--of Germany's famed Gothic Line, resulting in the Eighth Army's partial breakthrough. Filled with unforgettable characters, including the unit's charismatic leader, a Hollywood star, and a gritty New York City gas station owner, The First SEALs cinematically narrates one of the greatest untold stories of World War II and links their storied past to today's gloried US Navy SEALs"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 940.5486 O26 Available 33111007908409
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Beginning in the summer of 1942, an extraordinary group of men--among them a dentist, a Hollywood movie star, an archaeologist, California surfers, and even former enemies of the Allies--united to form an exceptional unit that would forge the capabilities of the Navy's Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams. Known as the Maritime Unit, it comprised America's first swimmer-commandos, an elite breed of warrior-spies who were decades ahead of their time when they created the tactics,technology, and philosophy that inspire today's Navy SEALs.

The pioneering men of the Maritime Unit conducted some of the most daring operations behind enemy lines and even survived one of the Third Reich's infamous concentration camps. But after the war, their astonishing record of activity and achievement was classified, lost, and largely forgotten...until now. In First SEALs , Patrick K. O'Donnell unearths their incredible history--one of the greatest untold stories of World War II.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Prologue: "Cavities in the Lion's Mouth": the birth of underwater combat swimming -- Area D -- The race to design a rebreather -- Combat swimmers -- Silver Springs -- Sea -- Crazy Yanks: The maritime unit's beachhead in Egypt -- Pirate Yachts and spies of the cloth -- "Haggling, bribing, fines, delays, inspections, bullshit -- Treasure Island -- The "Yankee", Operation Audrey, and the Boot -- "The Little Pearl Harbor" -- The Ultimate Rescue -- Back to Albania -- No Picnic - The Kelly Plan -- Ossining -- Swimmer Commandos -- Air -- The Dupont Mission -- "I was promised this mission, and I want it" -- Land -- Vienna Captivity -- "Decima MAS" strikes back -- The Eighth Army detachment -- Stella -- Indiana Jones -- Surviving -- Mauthausen -- Last Acts - God Bless America -- Sunset -- "This is the first time I've ever been in the movies -- Epilogue -- The First SEALs after the War.

"The rich history of SEAL Team 6 that captured Osama bin Laden stretches back to World War II when US intelligence officials formed a team of special-operation combat swimmers. Under the leadership of Captain Jack Taylor, a California dentist, the Maritime Unit (MU) started training in 1942, learning underwater and covert operation techniques, as it developed an array of James Bond-like new equipment, including the recently invented underwater breathing apparatus, limpet mines, silent electric motors, and a collapsible eight-foot submarine. Finally deployed in 1944, the unit conducted some of the most daring, behind-enemy-lines operations of the war in Italy, where they linked up with fearsome Italian commandos. In one of its greatest coups, they captured the plans--and the architect--of Germany's famed Gothic Line, resulting in the Eighth Army's partial breakthrough. Filled with unforgettable characters, including the unit's charismatic leader, a Hollywood star, and a gritty New York City gas station owner, The First SEALs cinematically narrates one of the greatest untold stories of World War II and links their storied past to today's gloried US Navy SEALs"-- Provided by publisher.

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