Since the founding days of the nation, the United States Coast Guard and its various predecessor agencies have been a vital part of our nation’s history. Maritime historian, scuba diver, and author Adam Grohman with the release of his newest book of historical research, Sentinels and Saviors of the Seas – A Collection of United States Coast Guard History, Volume 2, provides a detailed and intimate look at over thirty aspects of the service’s rich historical legacy.
“I am very excited to have completed my second volume in this series. Volume 1 was well received and this second installment, like the first, provides thirty short histories of the service,” said Grohman. “From maneuvering a surfboat through monstrous swells to rescue souls on a stranded schooner or to offloading troops on the bloody beaches of Normandy to invade Fortress Europa…enforcing the Volstead Act during Prohibition and to providing humanitarian aid to hurricane victims, the members of the United States Coast Guard have served proudly.”
Sentinels and Saviors of the Seas – A Collection of United States Coast Guard History, Volume 2 is 312 pages in length and includes a host of archival photographs, copious footnotes, and a detailed source listing for each chapter. Grohman, author of sixteen volumes of various aspects of maritime history, has long researched the rich history of the nation’s maritime service and both volumes represent over sixty short histories.
“Other histories included in the book recount rescues along the shores of souls stranded in the surf from a sinking vessel or on the high seas from intrepid flight crews aboard fixed and rotary-wing aircraft,” said Grohman. “These efforts, usually amidst inclement weather and harrowing conditions serve to highlight the diligent efforts of Coast Guard members to those imperiled by circumstance.”
Grohman’s other research includes the history of Theodore Roosevelt’s support of the U.S. Navy and his presidential “first” dive in a submarine in the waters off of Oyster Bay, maritime terrorism, shipwrecks and maritime tragedies in our local waters, and sub-marine technology during the American Civil War.
“Maritime history,” Grohman explained, “is similar to our world’s oceans and seas…seemingly boundless. I am constantly finding myself enamored by the history that lies on the surface and many times right below that needs to be researched and recorded for future generations.”
Since his co-founding of the Underwater Historical Research Society in 2004, Grohman and his team of researchers and lecturers have provided a host of presentations to a wide variety of community groups.
Grohman explained that “the purpose of the Underwater Historical Research Society is to Research, Identify and Educate. Our collective history is important and the members and supporters of the UHRS take our mission seriously. The more we can educate others about the past, the more we can plan for the future.”
For more information about local maritime history, scheduling a lecture, or to order a copy of his newest book please contact at grohmandive@hotmail.com.
