The Pendleton Disaster off Cape Cod: The Greatest Small Boat Rescue in Coast Guard History

On February 18, 1952, off the coast of Cape Cod, a fierce nor'easter snapped in half two 503-foot oil tankers, the Pendleton and the Fort Mercer. Human grace and grit, leadership and endurance prevail in this recounting of the historic, heroic rescue of thirty-two merchant mariners from the sinking Pendleton by four young Coast Guardsmen aboard the 36-foot motor lifeboat CG36500.

A foreword by former Commandant Admiral Thad Allen (Ret.) and an essay by Master Chief John "Jack" Downey (Ret.),...