The author is a veteran of a Navy patrol squadron and a former journalist. All historical personages in the novel are faithfully portrayed, all historical events accurately recorded. Most of the re...view moreThe author is a veteran of a Navy patrol squadron and a former journalist. All historical personages in the novel are faithfully portrayed, all historical events accurately recorded. Most of the research was done on the islands with an assist from the French navy as well as surviving island veterans. The rest was garnered from national archives as well as sources abroad. The story is a composite of much that really happened and some that conceivably could have.view less