Alex de Quesada reveals the full history of the US Coast Guard throughout World War II in this Elite title. In particular, the book draws attention to the little-known story of how the US Coast Guard ran a number of the landing craft throughout D-Day in 1944 as well as providing crucial anti-U-boat patrols throughout the war years. A number of Coast Guard servicemen were lost in these two campaigns, and their undeniable contribution to the US war effort deserves greater recognition. The Coast Guard also provided aviators and gunners to the Merchant Marine and manned Port Security Services. These roles are all fully explained and illustrated with rare photographs and specially commissioned artwork.

Alejandro de Quesada is a Florida-based military history writer, an experienced researcher and collector of militaria, photos and documents, who runs an archive and historical consultancy for museums and films as a secondary business. He has written over 100 articles and over 25 books, including several for Osprey, and is a leading authority on Latin American subjects. Stephen Walsh studied Art at the North East Wales Institute and has worked as a professional illustrator since 1988. Since then he has illustrated a variety of books and games including the Settlers of Catan. His projects for Osprey include such diverse subjects as the Battle of Otterburn, the Chinese army 1937-49 and the US Home Front 1941-45. He is married with two children and lives in Macclesfield.