Legendary Liberty Ship: From Galley Boy to Third Mate in the Biggest Convoy Battle of WWII

Armageddon in the Arctic Ocean is the memoir of Paul Gill, Sr., a native of South Boston, Massachusetts, who served as the twenty-two-year-old Third Mate on the Liberty Ship SS Nathanael Greene, one of the nine merchant ships recognized as a Gallant Ship of World War II. The book chronicles Gill's life from the Great Depression through his service in the US Navy during WWII and his later graduation from Harvard Business School.

At the age of fifteen, Gill enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corp, and as a sixteen-year-old, he joined the Merchant Marine, making eight passages to European ports. In 1938, he rode the rails across the United States in search of work, before returning to the Merchant Marine and ascending "up the hawse pipe" to become a licensed Merchant Marine officer.

In September 1942, Gill's ship, the Nathanael Greene, sailed to Archangel, Russia, with Convoy PQ18, and he participated in the biggest convoy battle of World War II. Tragically, the Nathanael Greene was later destroyed off the coast of North Africa by U-565.

Throughout his memoir, readers will learn about Gill's remarkable journey, from his early experiences during the Great Depression to his service in the US Navy and his eventual graduation from Harvard Business School. Armageddon in the Arctic Ocean offers a unique and compelling perspective on the events of World War II, as seen through the eyes of a young merchant marine officer.

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