Farewell

Once again, we are compelled to say goodbye to another warrior of the submarine world. RADM JACK COYE was one of the Skippers of USS SILVERSIDES (SS 236), third most successful American submarine in World War II. It is a sad but inescapable fact of life that the sands of time will run out for us all, but in this decade, we must face the fact that most of our friends of the submarine war will depart. They have all given their time and efforts to their respective countries and they have carved their names in the book of history. God bless them all!

Catalog

Every so often, we’re asked why we sell the items we offer in our gift catalog, & how much money do I personally make from this.

As to why we sell these items, let me say that it was never my intention to sell anything. It is a real headache. I just wanted to publish this great KTB Magazine and not concern myself with selling anything. But then Members correctly pointed out that I go to Germany all the time and meet with these fine veterans of the war, we have become good friends over the years – but they cannot meet these men or have any autographed photos etc. The pressure was on by a great many Members to make a large selection of valuable and historic items available to them, which we have done and continue to do so. Many Members who will never travel overseas or meet these veterans can at least have a piece of history through the items we offer to our Members.

Remember, we donate a lot of money to the U-Boat-Archiv and the U-Boot-Ehrenmal (U-Boat Memorial) in Germany. So far, we have donated some $10,000 to these fine institutions and that all comes from the money derived from sales of gift items.

And how much money do I personally make from these sales? I make the same amount of money from sales of gift items as I do from the ‘Patrols’ and Membership dues – nothing! Not a cent goes into my pocket. I walked off a job as Vice President of a large company where I was earning a very high salary, to run SHARKHUNTERS for no salary at all.

I work some 12 to 14 hours per day, six days a week to gather all this vital historic information because it is something that I must do. This history must be saved and saved correctly, and it was not being done in any accurate fashion at all. Only our KTB Magazine brings out, saves and publishes the honest history of this group of warriors because the information comes directly from these veterans – not from some well-meaning “researchers” who can make mistakes – and frequently do.

Past Advisors

JOHN KAMMERER (653-LIFE-1988)..............................1989
CAPTAIN ROBERT THEW (333-+-1987)........................1990
JOHN RYAN (401-LIFE-1987)...........................................1990
OBLT. HANS-GEORG HESS (125-LIFE-1987)..............1991
PROF. ZEL EATON (55-LIFE-1984)................................1992
EDDIE RUMPF (179-C-1986).............................................1993
BUD DANA (245-A/LIFE-1987)..........................................1994
JUDE STACKPOLE PhD (1334-+-1990)...........................1997
DR. WARREN BROWN (265-A-1987)...............................1995
ART AYDELOTTE (787-1988)...........................................1997
BILL CUSTER (1764-A/LIFE-1991)..................................1997
Capt. EDWARD L. BEACH (1163-LIFE-1989)................1998
Fleet Admiral VLADIMIR CHERNAVIN (2240-1992)....1998
Flot. Admiral OTTO KRETSCHMER (122-1985)........... 2001
JAMES KLINE (300-A/LIFE-1987)..…………………….1999
GERHARD RICHTER (214-LIFE-1986)………………...1999
CHRIS WILLS (1935-LIFE-1991).....................................2000
RADM EUGENE FLUCKEY (2169-1992)........................2000 CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL of HONOR & FOUR NAVY CROSSES
MARC COHEN (166-A/LIFE-1986)..................................2001
FKPT GERHARD THÄTER (194-LIFE-1986) ................2002
PROFESSOR TOM MACKIN (146-A-1985)....................2002

BBC Praise

The BBC considers SHARKHUNTERS to be:

“The most respected and the most authoritative source in the world for German U-Boat history.”
--per BBC reporter Graham Pound; November 1996