First SEALs: The Untold Story of the Forging of America s Most Elite Unit

First SEALs: The Untold Story of the Forging of America s Most Elite Unit by O'Donnell, Patrick K.. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780306821721.

Beginning in the summer of 1942, an extraordinary group of men—among them a dentist, a Hollywood movie star, an archaeologist, California surfers, and even former enemies of the Allies—united to form an exceptional unit that would forge the capabilities of the Navys Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams. Known as the Maritime Unit, it comprised Americas first swimmer-commandos, an elite breed of warrior-spies who were decades ahead of their time when they created the tactics, technology, and philosophy that inspire todays Navy SEALs. The pioneering men of the Maritime Unit conducted some of the most daring operations behind enemy lines and even survived one of the Third Reichs infamous concentration camps. But after the war, their astonishing record of activity and achievement was classified, lost, and largely forgotten...until now. In First SEALs, Patrick K. ODonnell unearths their incredible history—one of the greatest untold stories of World War II.