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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The idea for this book came about in a surprising way. I was hired to speak about leadership to employees at a financial company when I met attorney Jim Hoodlet, a fellow fisherman.
When Jim and I were on a boat off Cape Cod, Jim hooked me the same way he later hooked a couple of big fish. He mentioned Ray “Sonny” Downs Jr., a friend and top financial adviser who had survived a U-boat attack in the Gulf of Mexico when he was just eight years old. Soon afterward Jim followed up with information about the Heredia sinking, a 1942 newspaper article about the Downs family, and a photo of the vessel. The story was intriguing.
Coauthor Alison O’Leary and I were surprised to learn that the Heredia was far from the only ship torpedoed in the Gulf, and realized most Americans know little about this part of World War II history. After we met Ray “Sonny” Downs, we knew he was someone we could work with, so we dived in. Ray’s brother, Terry, was a wonderful source of family documents and memories, and we are indebted to Valerie Cousino, Lucille’s daughter, for the audiotape of Ina and Louise Guidry talking about the Heredia sinking and the weeks afterward in the hospital.
* * *
Another indispensable source for the book was Jerry Mason, who created the website uboatarchive.net and is a wealth of information. He answered every question, no matter how trivial or complex. Jerry, a graduate of both the U.S. Naval War College and the U.S. Air Force Air War College, retired from the U.S. Navy in 2005 as a captain after a distinguished career as a naval aviator. We can’t thank him enough for his patience and help.
Many other people went out of their way to offer us a helping hand or to help make this book a reality, and some are listed here: publisher and editor Christy Ottaviano (who has expertly guided me on several books), associate editor Jessica Anderson, and publicist Kelsey Marrujo.
DON’T MISS THESE OTHER TRUE RESCUE STORIES
A New York Times Bestseller
An Amazon Best Book of the Month
A Junior Library Guild Selection
“A thrilling, harrowing account of disaster and heroism.”
—Kirkus Reviews
An NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book
A Cybil’s Children and Young Adult Literary Award Finalist
A Junior Library Guild Selection
“This true story reads like a thriller.”
—Booklist
An Amazon Best Book of the Month
A Junior Library Guild Selection
“Reads like a thriller, suspenseful and ultimately tragic … Riveting.”
—Kirkus Reviews
OTHER TRUE RESCUES AT SEA BY MICHAEL J. TOUGIAS
The Finest Hours:
The True Story of a Heroic Sea Rescue
A Storm Too Soon:
A Remarkable True Survival Story in 80-Foot Waves
Into the Blizzard:
Heroism at Sea During the Great Blizzard of 1978
THE TRUE RESCUE CHAPTER BOOK SERIES
True Rescue: The Finest Hours
True Rescue: A Storm Too Soon
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Tougias is the author of many true rescue stories for young readers and adults, including the New York Times–bestselling The Finest Hours: The True Story of a Heroic Sea Rescue; A Storm Too Soon: A Remarkable True Survival Story in 80-Foot Seas; and Into the Blizzard: Heroism At Sea During the Great Blizzard of 1978. A frequent lecturer at schools, colleges, and libraries, Tougias divides his time between Massachusetts and Florida. Visit michaeltougias.com, or sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Prologue
PART I
1 A Tired Old Workhorse
2 Ina and the South American Venture
3 War Worries and Thinking of Home
4 Admiral Dönitz and His Gray Wolves
5 Harro Schacht and U-507
6 The Gray Wolves and the Mississippi
7 Moving Ever Closer
8 Closer to Home
9 An Uneasy Feeling
PART II
10 Torpedoes in the Night
11 Ina, Lucille, and a Sinking Ship
12 The Raft
13 A Most Hopeless Night
14 Battling the Cold
15 Dawn
16 Desperation
17 Running Out of Time
18 Sharks, Dolphins, and Birds Far Away
19 Something in the Sky
20 A Silent Vigil
21 A Wavering Light
PART III
22 Triumphant Return to Lorient
23 Morgan City, Louisiana, and the Hospital
24 Recovery
25 A Family’s Resilience
Epilogue
A Note from the Authors
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Also by Michael J. Tougias
About the Author
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 by Michael Tougias and Alison O’Leary
Henry Holt and Company, LLC
Publishers since 1866
Henry Holt® is a registered trademark of Henry Holt and Company, LLC.
120 Broadway, New York, New York 10271
mackids.com
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Tougias, Mike, 1955-author. | O’Leary, Alison, author.
Title: Attacked at sea: a true World War II story of a family’s fight for survival / Michael J. Tougias, and Alison O’Leary.
Other titles: So Close to Home (Young reader’s adaptation) | True World War II story of a family’s fight for survival
Description: New York: Christy Ottaviano Books; Henry Holt and Company, 2020. | Series: True rescue series; 4 | An adaptation for young readers of So Close to Home: A True Story of an American Family’s Fight for Survival During World War II.” | Includes bibliog
raphical references. | Audience: Ages 9-14 | Audience: Grades 7-9 | Summary: “A riveting WWII account of survival at sea-Book 4 in the True Rescue series from Michael J. Tougias, the author of the New York Times bestseller The Finest Hours.”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020009862 | ISBN 9781250128065 (hardcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Downs family. | Downs, Raymond, Sr.—Family. | Heredia (Ship) | World War, 1939-1945—Naval operations—Submarine. | Shipwreck survival—Mexico, Gulf of. | Survival at sea—Mexico, Gulf of. | U-506 (Submarine) | World War, 1939-1945—Naval operations, German.
Classification: LCC D744 .T58 2020 | DDC 940.54/51—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020009862
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First hardcover edition, 2020
eBook edition, October 2020
eISBN 9781250128072
Attacked at Sea Page 15