Author: Archie Gibbs
Publisher: Houghton-Mifflin, 1943

Although this book states in the title "The Life Story, of a Texas Sailor", the main focus is the author's life in the merchant marine and as a U-boat prisoner. Being sunk by a U-boat and then picked up by that boat may not be considered too exceptional, Archie Gibbs' story is unique in that he was sunk, picked up by another ship, sunk again and as he was bobbing around in the water, suddenly felt a hard surface beneath him which turned out to be the U-boat that had just sunk rising to the surface. All this happened within 24 hours! Four 4 days he was their prisoner and fraternized with the crew before being transferred to a small Venezuelan boat He ultimately made his way back to the U.S. where he had his picture taken with Mrs. Roosevelt and written up in Life Magazine.

Subsequent reading reveals his first ship was SS SCOTTSBURG which was sunk by U-161 commanded by Albrecht Achilles and his second ship, SS KAHUKU was sunk by U-126 commanded by Ernst Bauer who took him on board. Gibbs spent 46 years as a merchant seaman before he died in 1977.

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