Outskirts Press Announces 60 Years Later, the Latest Highly-Anticipated Biography & Autobiography - Historical Book from Wanaque, NJ Author Tom Balunis
Wanaque, NJ, November 29, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Outskirts Press, Inc. has published 60 Years Later: A Small Town Discovers a Hero in Their Midst by Tom Balunis, which is the author’s most recent book to date. The 6.14 x 9.21 paperback in the Biography & Autobiography - Historical category is available worldwide on book retailer websites such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble for a suggested retail price of $19.95. The webpage at www.outskirtspress.com/TomBalunis was launched simultaneously with the book’s publication.
About the Book (Excerpts & Info)
60 Years Later is the remarkable story of World War II hero, William Van Wilpe. While serving aboard the USS Bassett, he risks his life in a daring rescue of the USS Indianapolis survivors. On July 30, 1945, only days after delivering the components to the Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima; the Indianapolis is attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine. The Indy sinks in just 12 minutes and the survivors are forced to drift helplessly in shark-infested waters for nearly five days before the US Navy is aware of their dilemma.
Rescue ships are dispatched and the USS Bassett arrives on the scene after midnight on August 3, 1945 to find desperate groups of survivors covered in black oil and scattered among swarms of sharks. The Bassett launches their Higgins boats in rough seas and encounter great difficulty pulling the weakened and hallucinating men aboard the rescue boats. Van Wilpe volunteers to help and in seeking to speed up the rescue, dives into the shark-infested waters to gather the survivors and lead them to the rescue boats where he boosts them up to the boat under on his shoulders.
During the rescue, an altercation occurs aboard the Bassett between the Captain and some of the officers resulting in no citations being awarded. Van Wilpe reveals the incident to the author, Tom Balunis for the first time in a 2007 interview. The ugly episode aboard the USS Bassett is essentially covered up by the Navy and dropped.
Van Wilpe returns home after the war and decides that some things are easier to forget. He tells no one of his involvement in the Indianapolis rescue, including his parents. They go to the grave without ever learning of their son’s heroism. Decades pass until one day by coincidence, Van Wilpe’s name is discovered in a book about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis by the local high school librarian. She reads an eye-witness account by one of Van Wilpe’s shipmates of him performing incredible feats of heroism.
The discovery eventually leads to an all-out effort by the Wanaque VFW to petition the Navy for a medal for Van Wilpe. Obtaining a medal after so many years proves far more difficult than imagined and in 2004; they enlist the help of Councilman Tom Balunis (author). Balunis is successful and the US Navy awards William Van Wilpe with the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for Heroism in 2005, 60 Years Later.
Deftly constructed at 360 pages, 60 Years Later: A Small Town Discovers a Hero in Their Midst is being aggressively promoted to appropriate markets with a focus on the Biography & Autobiography - Historical category. With U.S. wholesale distribution through Ingram and Baker & Taylor, and pervasive online availability through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and elsewhere, 60 Years Later meets consumer demand through both retail and library markets with a suggested retail price of $19.95.
Additionally, 60 Years Later can be ordered by retailers or wholesalers for the maximum trade discount price set by the author in quantities of ten or more from the Outskirts Press wholesale online bookstore at www.outskirtspress.com/buybooks
ISBN: 9781432718312
Format: 6.14 x 9.21 paperback
SRP: $19.95
For more information or to contact the author, visit www.outskirtspress.com/TomBalunis
About the Author
Tom Balunis is a Councilman and former Mayor of Wanaque, NJ. He is Chairman of the Wanaque Veterans Committee and one of their strongest advocates. He’s led fundraising efforts for the Wanaque Veterans as well as the USS Indianapolis Survivors Organization. Tom resides in Wanaque, NJ with his wife Cindy and their three children where he’s been active in community service for over 20 years. Visit Tom's website at: www.iconicpublishing.com
About Outskirts Press, Inc.
Outskirts Press offers turn-key, custom book publishing services for authors seeking a cost-effective, fast, and flexible way to publish and distribute their books while retaining all their rights and full creative control. Available globally at www.outskirtspress.com and located on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado, Outskirts Press, Inc. represents the future of book publishing, today.
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Outskirts Press, Inc., 10940 S. Parker Rd - 515, Parker, Colorado 80134
http://outskirtspress.com 1-888-OP-BOOKS
About the Book (Excerpts & Info)
60 Years Later is the remarkable story of World War II hero, William Van Wilpe. While serving aboard the USS Bassett, he risks his life in a daring rescue of the USS Indianapolis survivors. On July 30, 1945, only days after delivering the components to the Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima; the Indianapolis is attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine. The Indy sinks in just 12 minutes and the survivors are forced to drift helplessly in shark-infested waters for nearly five days before the US Navy is aware of their dilemma.
Rescue ships are dispatched and the USS Bassett arrives on the scene after midnight on August 3, 1945 to find desperate groups of survivors covered in black oil and scattered among swarms of sharks. The Bassett launches their Higgins boats in rough seas and encounter great difficulty pulling the weakened and hallucinating men aboard the rescue boats. Van Wilpe volunteers to help and in seeking to speed up the rescue, dives into the shark-infested waters to gather the survivors and lead them to the rescue boats where he boosts them up to the boat under on his shoulders.
During the rescue, an altercation occurs aboard the Bassett between the Captain and some of the officers resulting in no citations being awarded. Van Wilpe reveals the incident to the author, Tom Balunis for the first time in a 2007 interview. The ugly episode aboard the USS Bassett is essentially covered up by the Navy and dropped.
Van Wilpe returns home after the war and decides that some things are easier to forget. He tells no one of his involvement in the Indianapolis rescue, including his parents. They go to the grave without ever learning of their son’s heroism. Decades pass until one day by coincidence, Van Wilpe’s name is discovered in a book about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis by the local high school librarian. She reads an eye-witness account by one of Van Wilpe’s shipmates of him performing incredible feats of heroism.
The discovery eventually leads to an all-out effort by the Wanaque VFW to petition the Navy for a medal for Van Wilpe. Obtaining a medal after so many years proves far more difficult than imagined and in 2004; they enlist the help of Councilman Tom Balunis (author). Balunis is successful and the US Navy awards William Van Wilpe with the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for Heroism in 2005, 60 Years Later.
Deftly constructed at 360 pages, 60 Years Later: A Small Town Discovers a Hero in Their Midst is being aggressively promoted to appropriate markets with a focus on the Biography & Autobiography - Historical category. With U.S. wholesale distribution through Ingram and Baker & Taylor, and pervasive online availability through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and elsewhere, 60 Years Later meets consumer demand through both retail and library markets with a suggested retail price of $19.95.
Additionally, 60 Years Later can be ordered by retailers or wholesalers for the maximum trade discount price set by the author in quantities of ten or more from the Outskirts Press wholesale online bookstore at www.outskirtspress.com/buybooks
ISBN: 9781432718312
Format: 6.14 x 9.21 paperback
SRP: $19.95
For more information or to contact the author, visit www.outskirtspress.com/TomBalunis
About the Author
Tom Balunis is a Councilman and former Mayor of Wanaque, NJ. He is Chairman of the Wanaque Veterans Committee and one of their strongest advocates. He’s led fundraising efforts for the Wanaque Veterans as well as the USS Indianapolis Survivors Organization. Tom resides in Wanaque, NJ with his wife Cindy and their three children where he’s been active in community service for over 20 years. Visit Tom's website at: www.iconicpublishing.com
About Outskirts Press, Inc.
Outskirts Press offers turn-key, custom book publishing services for authors seeking a cost-effective, fast, and flexible way to publish and distribute their books while retaining all their rights and full creative control. Available globally at www.outskirtspress.com and located on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado, Outskirts Press, Inc. represents the future of book publishing, today.
###
Outskirts Press, Inc., 10940 S. Parker Rd - 515, Parker, Colorado 80134
http://outskirtspress.com 1-888-OP-BOOKS
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Outskirts Press
Kelly Schuknecht
888.672.6657
www.outskirtspress.com
Kelly Schuknecht
888.672.6657
www.outskirtspress.com
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