NOBLE, Dennis L. 1939-

PERSONAL: Born March 5, 1939, in Kalkaska, MI; son of Vergil E. (a factory worker) and Arlene D. (an elementary school teacher; maiden name Wells) Noble; married Loren A. Drake (a homemaker) December 17, 1961; children: Theresa A., Kathleen C., Patrick C. Ethnicity: "WASP." Education: University of Oklahoma, B.A., 1976; Catholic University of America, M.S.L.S., 1978; Purdue University, M.A., 1980; Ph.D. (history), 1988. Politics: Independent. Religion: Protestant. Hobbies and other interests: Hiking, travel.

ADDRESSES: Home—150 Gupster Rd., Sequim, WA 98382. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: U.S. Coast Guard, marine science technician, 1957-78; Delphi Public Library, Delphi, IN, library director, 1978-80; U.S. Army, Rock Island, IL, historian, 1985; Port Angeles Public Library, Port Angeles, WA, reference librarian, 1985-88; Peninsula College, Port Angeles, WA, adjunct professor of history, 1988-91; full-time writer, 1992-96; Port Angeles Public Library, reference librarian, 1996-98; full-time writer, 1998—. Clallam Bay Correctional Center, prison librarian, 1990-92; Eastern Montana College, Billings, MT, instructor, 1994.

MEMBER: Association for Rescue at Sea, U.S. Life-Saving Service Heritage Association.

AWARDS, HONORS: U.S. Coast Guard, two achievement medals and two Arctic Service Medals, Distinguished Public Service Award, 2003; book awards, Foundation for Coast Guard History, lighthouse category, 1996-97, for Lighthouses and Keepers: The U.S. Lighthouse Service and Its Legacy, Coast Guard history category, 1997-98, for Alaska and the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, 1867-1915, and special recognition award, 2000-01, for Lifeboat Sailors: Disasters, Rescues, and the Perilous Future of the Coast Guard's Small Boat Stations.

WRITINGS:

(Editor, with Bernard C. Nalty and Truman R. Strobridge) Wrecks, Rescues, and Investigations: Selected Documents of the U.S. Coast Guard and Its Predecessors, Scholarly Resources (Wilmington, DE), 1978.

(With T. Michael O' Brien) Sentinels of the Rocks:From "Graveyard Coast" to National Lakeshore, Northern Michigan University Press (Marquette, MI), 1979.

The Eagle and the Dragon: The United States Military in China, 1901-1937, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 1990.

Forgotten Warriors: Combat Art from Vietnam, Praeger (New York, NY), 1992.

That Others Might Live: The U.S. Life-Saving Service,1878-1915, Naval Institute Press (Annapolis, MD), 1994.

Lighthouses and Keepers: The U.S. Lighthouse Service and Its Legacy, Naval Institute Press (Annapolis, MD), 1997.

(With Truman R. Strobridge) Alaska and the U.S.Revenue Cutter Service 1867-1915, Naval Institute Press (Annapolis, MD), 1999.

Lifeboat Sailors: Disasters, Rescues, and the PerilousFuture of the Coast Guard's Small Boat Stations, Brassey's (Washington, DC), 2000.

(Editor) Gunboat on the Yangtze: The Diary of CaptainGlenn F. Howell of the U.S.S. Palos, 1920-1921, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2002.

The Rescue of the Gale Runner: Death, Heroism, and the U.S. Coast Guard, University Press of Florida (Gainesville, FL), 2002.

Also contributor of articles to periodicals, including U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Alaska Journal, American History Illustrated, Arctic, Polar Record, Indiana Journal of Military History, Keeper's Log, Naval History, Shofar, and Pacific Northwest Quarterly.

WORK IN PROGRESS: A book on maritime rescues from 1878 to 2003; research for a biography of an officer of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service.

SIDELIGHTS: Dennis L. Noble began writing in 1974 while serving as an enlisted man in the U.S. Coast Guard. "Being an ex-sailor," Noble once told CA, "writing is very difficult for me. It is a struggle to get the right words down and it takes many, many drafts and long walks while I think things out before I finish." While serving on-shore duty in the Coast Guard, Noble's commanding officer wanted someone to find out when their unit was first established, and Noble volunteered for the duty. He met Truman R. Strobridge, the historian of the U.S. Coast Guard, and Strobridge taught him how to do historical research and guided his first efforts to write. "He is the reason I began to write," Noble told CA. "I would write very early in the morning before going to work, or in the evening after attending school at night, and on the weekends.

"I begin with an idea usually generated by something I have read," Noble told CA. "Many of the ideas come from obscure footnotes. I will see a comment about a little-known person or event and think 'that's interesting' and then think about it for some time. Then I start reading on the subject and visit manuscript depositories or archives." Noble also gets some of his ideas from his own experiences serving in the U.S. Coast Guard.

Noble once told CA that he enjoys writing about the Coast Guard and the similar lifesaving services that existed before it because its work and history are not well known, and because the U.S. Coast Guard preserves many exciting true stories of lifesaving adventures. "I also wanted to show [that] the U.S. Coast Guard is a national and international organization, rather than a local entity as many believe." Noble is also interested in the history of the U.S. military in China and in Vietnam. He has been persistent in believing in the value of his research and the stories and facts he uncovers. Of his book Forgotten Warriors: Combat Art from Vietnam, Noble said, "After trying on and off for close to twelve years, I finally found a publisher who wanted to undertake the project."

Noble's work has been well received. William R. Braisted, the son of a Navy officer who served in China, wrote in the Journal of American History that Noble's description of the armed forces in China in The Eagle and the Dragon: The United States Military in China, 1901-1937 "has the strong ring of authenticity." Rear Admiral Kemp Tolley, who also served in China, wrote in Naval History, "From one who saw the story unfold, I'd say Noble has caught living history by the tail. . . . his research has been wide and thorough. In all, The Eagle and the Dragon is a very, very entertaining and informative book." Of Forgotten Warriors, Mark T. Lisi remarked in Military Review, "If you know the sacrifice of service, this book will speak to you." M. J. Butler praised That Others Might Live: The U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1878-1915 in Choice, saying it will become a standard reference on the lifesaving services, and described it as "an enlightening study of a forgotten service whose members never wavered in assisting those at the mercy of the sea."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Choice, January, 1995, M. J. Butler, review of ThatOthers Might Live: The U.S. Life-Saving Service, 1878-1915, p. 860; May, 1998, p. 1594.

Indochina Chronology, July-September, 1993.

Journal of American History, December, 1991, William R. Braisted, review of The Eagle and the Dragon: The United States Military in China, 1901-1937, p. 1115.

Journal of the Association of Historians of NorthCarolina, fall, 1994, p. 98.

Military Review, June, 1993, Mark T. Lisi, review of Forgotten Warriors: Combat Art from Vietnam, p. 84.

Naval History, summer, 1992, Kemp Tolley, review of The Eagle and the Dragon, p. 66.