The Mathews Men: Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler's U-boats Paperback – March 21, 2017

William Geroux is probably the last living person who was able to speak to WWII-era seamen while they were alive. He convincingly portrays lives of several people he "knew" only through their families.The Mathews Men helps you understand the progress of technology during the war, and shows the curious, odd prejudice against civilian sailors in wartime, especially since we still had a draft.The down side is the confusion between Mathews (unqualified) and Mathews County. Absolutely none of the towns mentioned in the book are on the map and vice versa. I think Geroux chose names that are cute, like Motorun (motor run). Photo captions do not match the text: Vesna Mohorovicic was either two or four years old, a U-boat officer was traced in the '60s or the '80s.I wonder if this is the only book written about civilian sailors. It can feel as if you are living through the social events and family parties. It makes you see how many life stories you will not know, and can no longer ask the people who have since passed away.

December 12, 2016A Review by Anthony T. Riggio of the book “The Mathews Men” by William GerouxI ordered this book in hardbound, form Amazon, because it was a history book and one I wanted in my library. It told the valiant yet unheralded story of the men of the US Merchant Marine Service story during time of World War II. I thought it was a significant story and a worthy read because of where most of the players were from, namely Mathews County Virginia.Mathews County Virginia, especially during the War years was unknown to any but the people who lived within proximity and the major US shippers of cargo, sent to far off places in the world. The Mathews County men were renowned for their seaman skills and development of Captain’s for the Merchant service. Many predecessors were known and heralded during and after World War I.As World War II began the world and the United States were mostly unprepared for war time commerce especially given the isolationist feelings of most Americans who wanted nothing to do with Europe’s wars. Despite this attitude a hue and cry for help from both England and Russia fell on the ears of some in power in the US, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt resulting in new policies titled Lend Lease.The Materials and food products had to be shipped by boat and it fell on the major shippers of the day to begin the dangerous transporting across the Atlantic and the men of Matthews and elsewhere stepped up to the plate to endure these risks.During the early years of World War II the German Navy quickly fell into a state of non-importance primarily, because of the strength of the British Navy. However, the Germans concentrated their naval strength by use of the submarine of U-Boat fleet. Realizing that the US was taking a non-committed position of supplying both Britain and Russia, the Germans soon began to attack American Shipping to Europe and Russia as their assaults and invasions moved forward.The book pointed out some significant statistics on the amount of material tonnage and human life that was lost and destroyed and weaved into this recapture of events told the story of the commitment made by ordinary “heroes” from Mathews County VA.The flow of the authors writing made reading this book like great novel that I found difficult to put down.I was impressed and somewhat astounded by the proximity of the U-boat operations near and within US Waters and the number of ships and lives lost. There were many heart wrenching stories of men who experienced their ships torpedoed under them and yet men continued to ship out. The stories of the carnage in the waters around Russia were both frightening and hair raising.The men of the US merchant service were never rewarded after the war nor recognized for their herculean efforts and great sufferings. They were never included in the Veterans benefits program and were largely forgotten for many years. As a point of personal interest, I had an uncle who at 16 joined the US merchant service, because he was too young to enlist in the armed services and delivered material and food during these dangerous times. In 1950 he was drafted into the Army and fought in Korea because his prior service was not recognized.If you love action oriented history, and the great story telling of the author and his extensive research he did to tell his story. Reading it, I was pulled back in time and felt both the experience and feelings of the Mathews Men.I gave this book FIVE Stars out of five and highly recommend its reading to lovers of history. The cited statistics will blow you away.

This is the second book I enjoyed written by William Geroux. The book talks about a history of U.S. Merchant Mariner and the U.S's history of sea battle in W.W.II. Mathews is a county in Virginia, where boys are born to be a mariners, dreaming to become captains. It is too sad and resentful that Mathews men's lives were just so many lost because of the poor and delay of the government protective force in Atlantic ocean against U-boats. The country thought mariners and merchant shops were "expendable"..... , which made me so angry... I learned a lot about history with this book. I hope someday I can visit the museum in Mathews county. Thank you for this book!!

Shortly after America's entry into World War II, German U-boats began appearing off the east coast of the United States. These submarines would target American merchant ships as they were leaving port and sink them, often in sight of onlookers on the beaches. To make matters worse, American cities had not enacted blackout rules, so often times, the ships were visible against the lights. In "The Mathews Men", author William Geroux brings to life the struggle of American merchantmen against the German U-boats.Mathews County, Virginia was the home to many men who would serve on American merchant ships. These ships were not initially escorted, so each had to fend for themselves against the U-boats. These ships sailed from Maine to the Caribbean, Cuba, and other ports, delivering and picking up vital war supplies. Unfortunately, these merchant ships had no way to defend themselves, so the losses to the U-boats were heavy at the outset. As time passed, the Americans finally realized the need to protect the merchant ships. A convoy system was developed, and eventually, air cover was also provided. Ship losses dropped while the sinking of U-boats increased.This book does a fine job of describing one of the lesser-known aspects of the war. The brave men from Mathews not only sailed the coast of the United States, they also served on ships bound for Murmansk to deliver vital supplies to the Russians. These men also sailed in the Indian and Arctic oceans as well as the Gulf of Mexico. They faced dangers from exposure, shark attacks, and death by machine gunning from surfaced U-Boats.The Merchant Marine provided a vitally important service to the Allied cause, and the men from Mathews County, Virginia saw first-hand what the dangers of sailing on a merchant ship, alone and unprotected were like. Yet they did sail, and they tried their hardest to make sure the cargo they were carrying made it through. Highly recommended.

I CANNOT PUT THIS ONE DOWN. REALLY EXCELLENT !