The Wireless Operator—With the U. S. Coast Guard

by Lewis E. Theiss

The Wireless Operator—With the U. S. Coast Guard

Made in U. S. A.

To those unsung heroes,

men of the U. S. Coast Guard,

this book is dedicated

AUTHOR’S INTRODUCTION

Among all the various arms of government in our nation, no arm is at once less known or more worthy of renown than the Coast Guard. Like the knights of the Table Round, this company of gallant surfmen and sailors is organized and exists almost solely for the protection of others. Though few in numbers, the Coast Guard accomplishes deeds that are mighty. Skill of the highest order, daring incredible, and discipline that is perfect, make a giant of this little service. Stout of heart, indeed, must be the men who belong to it; for when others are fleeing for their lives, the Coast Guard is always heading straight for the danger, to rescue those incompetent or unable to effect their own rescue. Let those who think the age of romance is past but read the story of the Coast Guard and they will change their minds.

For those who demand that fiction be based upon actual occurrence, the author wishes to say that this book is hardly more than a transcript from life. Every major incident in it is based upon an actual happening. It was the Coast Guard cutter Yamacraw that lost six boatloads of seamen in the surf while attempting to rescue a helpless steamer. It was the Seneca that searched the wintry seas for the helpless oil tanker that had been abandoned by the tug towing it. And the final incident in the book, in which a stricken freighter sinks in a storm, and the wireless operator ministers calmly to his commander in the face of almost certain death, is but a poor attempt to recite the story of “Smiling Jimmy Nevins,” a mere lad, who went smiling to his death as a member of a volunteer crew from the Seneca, in an effort to save a torpedoed freighter for the Allies during the recent World War.

In preparation for the writing of this story, the author spent some time aboard both the Seneca and the Tampa. He wishes here to express his admiration for the Coast Guard as a whole, and his very great indebtedness to Captain B. H. Camden, of the Seneca, Captain Wm. J. Wheeler, of the Tampa, Lieutenant C. C. Von Paulson, of the Tampa, and Chief Electrician Belton Miller, of the Seneca, for their kindly assistance. Each of the four has played a heroic part in some of the deeds portrayed in this book.

Lewis E. Theiss.