Some military heroes do not fight battles but assure delivery to combat personnel of the sinews of war. In perilous times, they are sometimes asked to sacrifice personal glory for the good of the nation. One such individual is portrayed in the Tidal Pool Trilogy, the first volume of which is Ruler of the Seas. The trilogy documents the true-life, often dangerous events in the life of Eric Dykeman, from Naval Lieutenant to Admiral, and his lifelong love of the notorious Venezuelan debutante he married after a whirlwind courtship in Caracas.
His career was stymied when he was reassigned from his ship to the Venezuelan capitol as naval attache. Soon after identifying his expertise in solving operational problems, British and American intelligence agents enlisted him to battle Nazi spies disrupting Allied shipping from South America to Europe before America entered into the conflict. So successful was Eric that a price was put on his life.
Brought back to Washington, he eased allied shipping on the Atlantic Ocean while his tempestuous Venezuelan heiress cut a celebrated path through World War II Washington society. To ensure American docks remained open, he allied with the Mafia chieftain who controlled the East Coast dock, but his wife was killed by one of the mob's enforcers. Changing his life forever. His final service was helping ensure supplies were unloaded efficiently during the first day of the D-Day invasion of Europe.
Later volumes detail his successful career, but with each success, he was held back from promotion by opposition from entrenched navy bureaucrats. When still-secret government documents are released in 2026, they will prove that not all heroes are found on the battlefield.