dave-peterson

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Inside the Untold World of America’s Liberty Ship Sailors

The firsthand wartime diaries of Captain Horace Clifford Chance—documented across 30 Atlantic crossings, 15 wartime voyages, and over 380 handwritten pages.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dave Peterson

David Kendall Peterson was born in 1955 and raised on Staten Island, New York. A graduate of Northeastern University and a Chartered Financial Analyst, he spent more than forty years in the financial world, specializing in healthcare, with firms including Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, and U.S. Bank. He now lives in North Carolina with his wife, Mary, surrounded by their children and grandchildren.

After 9/11, Peterson turned his attention from finance to family history, beginning a search that would uncover an extraordinary legacy. What started as genealogical research became a rare historical discovery when he was entrusted with 433 handwritten pages belonging to his ancestor, Captain Horace Chance—diaries, ship logs, letters, and records that had been preserved for generations.

Captain Chance served the United States three times — in the Navy, the Naval Reserve during World War I, and the Merchant Marine during World War II.

Now Available

To the Public for the First Time

Between 1943 and 1946, Captain Horace Clifford Chance crossed the Atlantic 30 times aboard Liberty Ships—braving U-boats, storms, bombings, and the grinding uncertainty of war. His handwritten diaries, personal letters, and daily ship logs paint a vivid portrait of what Merchant Marine sailors actually saw, felt, and survived.

Captain Chance served the United States across three eras of service:

U.S. Navy (1904) – Enlisted at age 19
U.S. Naval Reserve (1917) – Served during World War I
U.S. Merchant Marine (1942) – Returned to sea during World War II at age 57

This book brings together:

192 pages of handwritten wartime diary entries
190 pages of daily ship logs written at sea
54 pages of personal letters sent from Europe, Africa, and active war zones
Historic photographs and rare family-preserved documents Voyage summaries written by his daughters
His story preserves a vital and often overlooked chapter of American maritime history.

The Journey across the Atlantic

Captain Chance’s voyages spanned North Africa, the Mediterranean, London during the Blitz aftermath, Italy, Belfast, Dublin, Scotland, and the perilous U-boat-infested Atlantic. His pages reveal:

Air raids in Oran
Human torpedo attacks near Gibraltar
Massive Allied convoys
Horrific storms are battering ships.
The emotional weight of separation from family
Humorous moments and sailor camaraderie
Historic political encounters, including the Lord Mayor of Dublin

A Grandson’s Mission to Preserve History

Author David Kendall Peterson inherited 382 diary pages and thousands of supporting documents from his grandfather, safeguarded by family members for nearly 80 years.

With the help of:

Historians
Archivists
Genealogists
Naval experts
Family transcribers

…the book brings Captain Chance’s voice to modern readers—unedited, unfiltered, and deeply human. This is more than a diary. It is a time capsule, a war journal, and a family legacy—told with accuracy, respect, and historical integrity.