To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor tragedy here is part of a seldom seen book Dad wrote back in 1942. “Larry and the Undersea Raider” was the next book after Random House published his very successful “The Black Stallion“.
Before Dad enlisted in the Army he went west to his dreamland, Hawaii! He had grown up in NY with the snow and cold but was a good athlete. As an accomplished track and tennis player he excelled at many sports besides horseback riding. He loved riding as much as any “boarder” but he couldn’t afford a horse, as much as he wished, and the closest he could get was working on his uncle Bill’s farm and going to the Belmont race track.
When he received his advance for “The Black Stallion” from the publisher he jumped at the chance and took a train out west, visited a few horse farms, then boarded a freighter on to Oahu. The visit obviously made quite an impression as “… Undersea Raider” and the Hawaiian islands are key elements of this book. The boy’s adventure story centers around life in the military and the Japanese threat to Pearl Harbor. The exciting ending has the heroes, an American boy and his Hawaiian best friend, foiling an attack on the harborl!!
Tragically shortly after the book was published the attack actually happened, not quite like in this book but so, so much worse. Undoubtedly a “Day to Remember”.
Far all my surfing friends you will enjoy these first few chapters. There is even a reference to surfing’s “godfather”, Duke Kahanamoku, who Dad surfed with at Waikiki Beach back in the day!
A huge Happy Birthday to our son Michael who is out at sea – somewhere near Central America – WE love you!!
LARRY AND THE UNDERSEA RAIDER (click below for pdf)