Alan Fraser Houston, MD, a graduate of Amherst College, served from 1969 to 1972 as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Navy. His articles have appeared in California History, Sea History, and other historical publications. A retired emergency physician, he lives with his wife, Jourdan, who’s also a writer, in Durango, Colorado. He thanks her for her support of his research and writing efforts.
Salvatore R. Mercogliano is an assistant professor of history at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina, as well as an adjunct professor at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, where he teaches a course on maritime industry policy. He has written articles and reviews for Sea History, Parameters, The Nautical Research Journal, Northern Mariner, and The Journal of Military History.
Eric Mills, senior editor of Naval History and an adjunct professor of history at Chesapeake College, is the author of Chesapeake Bay in the Civil War (Schiffer, 2010); The Spectral Tide: True Ghost Stories of the U.S. Navy (Naval Institute Press, 2009); and Chesapeake Rumrunners of the Roaring Twenties (Cornell Maritime Press, 2000).
Alan Rems, a retired certified public accountant, has been a regular contributor to Naval History since his article titled “Halsey Knows the Straight Story” appeared in the August 2008 issue and earned him selection as the magazine’s Author of the Year. He is the author of South Pacific Cauldron: World War II’s Great Forgotten Battlegrounds (Naval Institute Press, 2014).
William H. Thiesen is the Atlantic area historian for the U.S. Coast Guard. Previously he served as curator and assistant director of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. His books include Industrializing American Shipbuilding: The Transformation of Ship Design and Construction, 1820–1920 (2006) and Cruise of the Dashing Wave: Rounding Cape Horn in 1860 (2010), both published by University Press of Wisconsin.
John F. Wukovits is the author of nine books about World War II, including Admiral “Bull” Halsey: The Life and Wars of the Navy’s Most Controversial Commander (Palgrave Macmillian, 2010); For Crew and Country: The Inspirational True Story of Bravery and Sacrifice Aboard the USS Samuel B. Roberts (St. Martin’s Press, 2013); and Hell from the Heavens: The Epic Story of the USS Laffey and World War II’s Greatest Kamikaze Attack (DaCapo Press, 2015).