FASCINATED BY SHIPS AS A BOY, Douglas Burgess—who grew up in Queens, New York—often went to New York Harbor to observe the great ocean liners. When he graduated from Queens College two months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, he promptly joined the navy, telling officials he wanted to “go to sea and sail in the Atlantic Fleet.” Burgess got his wish, and then some: he spent three years in the midst of the long-running, high-stakes Battle of the Atlantic. As an officer aboard a new destroyer escort, he survived 26 combat crossings on antisubmarine convoy duty. Burgess left active duty in early 1946, then served in the Naval Reserve for 30 years. He’ll turn
