Alex de Quesada reveals the full history of the US Coast Guard throughout World War II (1939-1945) in this Elite title. In particular, the book draws attention to the little-known history of how the US Coast Guard ran a number of the landing craft throughout D-Day in 1944 as well as providing crucial anti-U-boat patrols throughout the war years. A number of Coast Guard servicemen were lost in these two campaigns, and their undeniable contribution to the US war effort deserves greater recognition. There was a diverse array of roles within the wartime Coast Guard, from the manning of landing craft, to Coast Guard aviators and gunners to the Merchant Marine and Port Security Services. These roles are all fully explained and illustrated with a number of rare photographs and specially commissioned artwork. “Alex de Quesada provides us with the full history of the Coast Guard throughout World War II ... In particular he draws your attention to the little known history of how the US Coast Guard ran a number of landing craft throughout D-Day in 1944, plus how they provided crucial anti-u-boat patrols during the War.” ― www.mataka.org (November 2010) Alejandro de Quesada is a Florida-based military history writer, an experienced researcher and collector of militaria, photos and documents, who runs an archive and historical consultancy for museums and films as a secondary business. He has written over 100 articles and over 25 books, including several for Osprey, and is a leading authority on Latin American subjects. Stephen Walsh studied art at the North East Wales Institute and has worked as a professional illustrator since 1988. Since then he has illustrated a variety of books and games including Settlers of Catan . His projects for Osprey include such diverse subjects as the battle of Otterburn, the Chinese army from 1937 to 1949, and the US Home Front in World War II.