Monday, January 12 at 3 a.m. ET
Hosted by Col. Oliver North
In World War II, the U.S. Merchant Marine played a crucial role in every theater of war. Without them, without the bridge of merchant ships delivering weapons, troops, food, ammo, and fuel from the home front to the battle lines, there would have been no Allied victory.
While transiting the ocean, the United States Merchant Marine had to contend with German U-boats, dive-bombers, surface raiders, auxiliary raiders, and mines. When World War II ended in 1945, nearly 80 thousand allied mariners and 5,000 ships lay at the bottom of the sea. They paid in blood for the right to be called veterans — but it took them over 40 years to gain that status.
In this poignant episode of "War Stories With Oliver North," you'll hear firsthand accounts from mariners like Frank Trubisz, whose tanker was torpedoed right off the coast of Georgia. Meet George Duffy and Stanley Willner who managed to survive after their ship was sunk, only to be captured and eventually enslaved by the Japanese.
You'll also meet Pete Petersen, a member of Hitler's elite Unterseebootwaffe, who will give you a tour of a captured German U-boat.
This is the story of The United States Merchant Marine.
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