Torpedoed for Life: World War II Combat Veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine
H. Gerald Starnes, a native of Southwest Virginia, is a retired GE Field Engineer, Project & Customer Service Manager.  He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the US Merchant Marine Academy in 1947, which was one of the first bachelor’s degrees awarded at Kings Point.  He holds a U.S. Coast Guard Chief Engineer's License, which he received in 1953, and he sailed seven years on T-2 tankers.   He received his Master of Business Administration from Long Island University in NY in 1970. He is a member of the American Merchant Marine Veterans (AMMV) and the National Association for Uniformed Services (NAUS). The AMMV honored him with a Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his long and outstanding service to the organization.  He was also recognized for his diligent and tireless efforts to attain passage ofHR-23, the “Belated Thank You for the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007.”   He is the author of of "Them That Left a Name Behind", an 800-page history of the Starnes family - 1980, and Forrest's Forgotten Horse Brigadier, a 110-page paperback on Col. James W. Starnes, a Confederate Cavalry Commander, killed in action on June 30, 1863. It is a 1990 history reference.