For the second season in a row, Keeper James will be presenting at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The brief June programs will be at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 20, followed by a second program at 4:00 p.m. The July programs will be at the same times on July 18, and the August presentations will be on Thursday, August 8, also at the same times.
The presentations include snippets and readings from his best-selling book, Shipwrecks of the Outer Banks: Dramatic Rescues and Fantastic Wrecks in the Graveyard of the Atlantic, Globe Pequot Press. The stories are more about the dramatic rescues of the shipwreck victims. The rescuers were the heroes of the United States Life-Saving Service. It is one of the least-known yet is also one of the most fascinating and inspirational aspects of America’s storied history. Author Ralph Shanks says, “They were the greatest heroes of the American coast, routinely risking their lives in the grand maritime rescues…yet somehow, America forgot these peaceful heroes.”
During their 44-year history from 1871 to 1915, nationwide, they responded to over 178,000 lives in peril from shipwrecks, of which they saved over 177,000, one survivor at a time. Yet, somehow, America forgot these peaceful heroes. In 1915, the United States Life-Saving Service merged with the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and was renamed the United States Coast Guard.
The 3:30 p.m. story is about the origin of one of the most famous mottos of today’s Coast Guard. The 4:00 p.m. story is a preview of James’s sequel Volume II due out in the Spring of 2025. It is about one of the most daring and dramatic rescues that succeeded against all odds.
Keeper James was recently featured in a segment of a TV series on the Discovery Channel and is the subject of an article in the current issue of Our State Magazine. His book is being sold internationally and is available at all major booksellers.
