Naval History and Heritage Command

Finding aid (Word)

Biographical Note

William B. Breuer was a 20-year-old platoon sergeant, who landed with the first assault waves on D-Day in Normandy, and saw actions in five campaigns. Later he founded a daily newspaper on a shoestring and for 10 years served as a publisher, at one time the nation's youngest. Among his many awards were 17 from the armed forces for his newspaper's support of a strong national defense.

Later he became president of his own St. Louis public-relations firm for 15 years, representing "name" corporations and many national political figures. He also worked with local and network television news departments, on-camera personalities, executives, print media, and with the White House press corps.

In 1982, he began writing books full-time, mainly on military history with a focus on human drama. In five years, 11 of his books have been published, six of them becoming main selections of Doubleday's Military Book Club. In 1984 he was named U.S. airborne's "Author of the Year." His writings and research papers are housed in a special collection at the Army Military History Institute.

The book Sea Wolf: A Biography of John D. Bulkeley, USN was first published in 1988. It was republished in 1989.

Scope and Content Note

The collection contains historical materials concerning the naval career of Rear Admiral John D. Bulkeley. Sea Wolf is the story of that naval career. The collection also contains photographs ranging from the Second World War to Guantanamo Bay, to Fleet Inspections. Mr. Breuer donated these materials to the Archives Branch in January 1988, March 1989, and March 1992.

There are five series in this collection. Sea Wolf Recollections; Sea Wolf Source Materials; Manuscripts; Bulkeley's Personal Papers (Sea Wolf Source Materials); and Photographs.

The Sea Wolf Recollections, the first series of this collection contain information concerning Rear Admiral Bulkeley's career during the Second World War. This ranges from commanding one PT boat in the Pacific theater of the war to commanding all the landing crafts during the Normandy Invasion. This series also covers Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from the missile crisis to the water crisis. The last part in this series concerns Rear Admiral Bulkeley's position as head of the Navy Inspection and Survey for the Navy's Fleet Ships.

The second series, Sea Wolf Source Materials, is the bulk of the collection. It contains documentation ranging from letters to notes. It contains the operational reports of World War II and Guantanamo Bay, among other reports. The series also contains articles from 1942-1987, concerning the Admiral or events that he played a role in. This series also houses a miscellaneous file.

Manuscripts comprise the third series. One concerns a celebration for the Admiral and contains letters of congratulations. The other contains the starting chapters of the Guantanamo Crisis in the early sixties.

The fourth series, letters to and from the Admiral, concern a large range of topics. It also contains Birthday greetings for the Admiral's 75th birthday.

The last series contains photographs of Rear Admiral Bulkeley, a diesel submarine, the Naval base in Guantanamo, and an inspection of a destroyer. It also houses photocopies of those photos, and others that are not included the in the collection.

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as Papers of William B. Breuer, Archives Branch, Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington, D.C.

Subject Headings (LCSH)

United States. Navy--History--Sources.
World War, 1939-1945.
Tenden (Ship).
Mobile Bay (Ship).
Navy-yards and naval stations--United States.
Admirals--United States--Biography.
Bulkeley, John Duncan, 1911-