Many years ago, we were notified by RADM JAMES ALGER (1233-+-1989) and HARRISON OCHS (1391-1989), both of the U.S. Coast Guard, that there was a guy going around telling a huge and false story that was a terrible insult to all veterans.

To give the short version, this guy named Bill Rose was speaking at veteran’s reunions, telling that his name was really Erich Maas and that he was a Kriegsmarine officer aboard U-552 under ERICH TOPP (118-LIFE-1985) when they sank an American cargo ship. He went on deck to help an American seaman but a plane came, and the submarine had to dive, leaving Maas and this American sailor in the water. According to the story he tells, they drifted for some time, he was holding the wounded American up but he finally died of his wounds and Maas let him slip into the deep. According to his story, Maas drifted for more than 40 days in the ocean with no food, water or shelter – just floating, until an American destroyer picked him up. Must have been some tough guy to survive that long in the North Atlantic with no water!

He was put into POW camp and after his release in the late 1940’s, he looked up the parents of the dead American seaman to tell them of this story. The American seaman’s name was Bill Rose, and his parents loved Maas so much that they insisted that he come live with them in America AND take their son’s name, Bill Rose.

Problem is – none of this is true! The entire story was invented by Bill Rose. He was never known as Erich Maas, there never was an Erich Maas aboard U-552 or in the KM for that matter. We phoned him many years ago when he was pulling this scam and he said that he was writing a book and wanted to know what it was like to be a German U-Bootman. We told him that we knew it was all a scam for money and a little bit of stolen fame. He said he would stop and he disappeared. However, according to e-mails from CRAIG McLEAN (6606-2002), it appears that Bill Rose is once again making the lecture circuit of American veterans, telling his lies and getting who knows what in return. If you run across this fraud, please let us know and we’ll have the police on him fast.