Eyewitness account of the sinking of the U.S.S. Reuben James in Iceland as a result of a German submarine torpedo attack on 31st October 1941, vividly described in word and picture by combat artist Griffith Baily Coale. "IN THIS log of his adventures on the North Atlantic Patrol, shortly before America's entrance into the War, Griffith Baily Coale has put down, directly and simply, in words and paint, what one man saw of as difficult and essential a task as any the United States Navy has been called upon to perform. And to that job he brought an unusual combination of qualities. A mural painter by profession, an expert on ship models, a small-boat sailor by choice and avocation, he knows as much about salt water as he does about paint—and he knows a lot about them both. You can't talk to Griffith Coale for half an hour without realizing that his first love is and remains the sea—and that he has a wide and accurate knowledge of ships and sailormen, past and present."