108-764: Louis Dearborn L'Amour ( / ˈ l uː i l ə ˈ m ʊər / ; né LaMoore ; March 22, 1908 – June 10, 1988) was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels, though he called his work "frontier stories". His most widely known Western fiction works include Last of the Breed , Hondo , Shalako , and the Sackett series . L'Amour also wrote historical fiction ( The Walking Drum ), science fiction ( The Haunted Mesa ), non-fiction ( Frontier ), and poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into films. His books remain popular and most have gone through multiple printings. At
216-506: A boatswain —or head seaman—will supervise the work. As of 2011, a typical deep-sea merchant ship has a captain, three mates, a chief engineer and three assistant engineers, plus six or more unlicensed seamen, such as able seamen, oilers, QMEDs, and cooks or food handlers known as stewards. Other unlicensed positions on a large ship may include electricians and machinery mechanics. The North American shipping industry developed as colonies grew and trade with Europe increased. As early as
324-419: A first , second , and third assistant engineer. On many ships, Assistant Engineers stand periodic watches, overseeing the safe operation of engines and other machinery. However, most modern ships sailing today utilize unmanned machinery space (UMS) automation technology, and Assistant Engineers are dayworkers. At night and during meals and breaks, the engine room is unmanned and machinery alarms are answered by
432-515: A Pal , published in True Gang Life . Two lean disappointing years passed after that, and then, in 1938, his stories began appearing in pulp magazines fairly regularly. Along with other adventure and crime stories, L'Amour created the character of mercenary sea captain Jim Mayo. Starting with East of Gorontalo , the series ran through nine episodes from 1940 until 1943. L'Amour wrote only one story in
540-508: A Wandering Man , was published posthumously in 1989. He was survived by his wife Kathy, their son Beau, and their daughter Angelique. (including series novels) L'Amour often wrote series of novels and short stories featuring previously introduced characters, the most notable being the Sackett clan. In fictional story order (not the order written). There are also two Sackett-related short stories: Sacketts are also involved in
648-456: A blurb from John Wayne stating that " Hondo was the finest Western Wayne had ever read". During the remainder of the decade L'Amour produced a great number of novels, both under his own name as well as others (e. g. Jim Mayo). Also during this time he rewrote and expanded many of his earlier short story and pulp fiction stories to book length for various publishers. Many publishers in the 1950s and '60s refused to publish more than one or two books
756-497: A combination of the government and private sectors, and engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine primarily transports domestic and international cargo and passengers during peacetime, and operate and maintain deep-sea merchant ships , tugboats , towboats, ferries , dredges , excursion vessels, charter boats and other waterborne craft on
864-416: A familiarity with local conditions is of prime importance. Harbor pilots are generally independent contractors who accompany vessels while they enter or leave port, and may pilot many ships in a single day. Engine officers , or engineers, operate, maintain, and repair engines, boilers, generators, pumps, and other machinery. Merchant marine vessels usually have four engine officers: a chief engineer and
972-461: A few film and theater students, who were taught the process by Beau L'Amour and the more prolific writers from earlier adaptations. The majority of productions were done in New York City. In the early years the pace of production was six shows a year but in the mid-1990s it slowed to four. At this time the running time for all the programs was roughly sixty minutes. The cast members were veterans of
1080-433: A navigational watch, mates direct a bridge team by conning , directing courses through the helmsman and speed through the lee helmsman (or directly in open ocean). When more than one mate is necessary aboard a ship, they typically are designated chief mate or first mate, second mate and third mate . In addition to watch standers, mates directly supervise the ship's crew, and are assigned other tasks. The chief mate
1188-548: A number of Western titles, including Hopalong Cassidy from 1948 to 1953. They also published comics starring actors known for their Western roles, including Tom Mix Western (1948–1953) and Gabby Hayes Western (1948–1953). Similarly, Dell Comics published Roy Rogers comics from 1948 to 1961, and Magazine Enterprises published Charles Starrett as the Durango Kid from 1949 to 1955. The Franco-Belgian comic-series Lucky Luke by Morris (cartoonist) and René Goscinny
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#17328837486081296-497: A prototype show and L'Amour's son Beau came into the program as Supervising Producer. Between 1986 and 2004 the team had completed over sixty-five dramatized audio productions. Several different styles of show were produced over the years. The first several shows were "transcriptions", literal breakdowns of the exact L'Amour short story into lines for the different characters and narrator. Later productions used more liberally interpreted adaptations written by screenwriters, playwrights and
1404-583: A rating on an unlimited tonnage ship along with passing certain training courses. Officers hold senior leadership positions aboard vessels, and must train over several years to meet the minimum standards. At the culmination of training, potential deck officers must pass an extensive examination administered by the U.S. Coast Guard that spans five days. Upon meeting all requirements and passing the final license examination, new deck officers are credentialed as third mates or third assistant engineers . To advance in grade, such as to 2nd Mate or 2nd Engineer, sea time in
1512-476: A series of bank failures devastated the economy of the upper Midwest, Dr. LaMoore and Emily took to the road. Removing Louis and his adopted brother John from school, they headed south in the winter of 1923. Over the next seven or eight years, they skinned cattle in west Texas, baled hay in the Pecos Valley of New Mexico, worked in the mines of Arizona, California and Nevada, and in the sawmills and lumber camps of
1620-430: A single U.S. flagged vessel. Moreover, only five U.S. deepwater LNG ports were operational in 2007, although permits have been issued for four additional ports, according to MARAD. The U.S. pool of qualified mariners declined with the fleet. In 2004, MARAD described the gap between sealift crewing needs and available unlicensed personnel as "reaching critical proportions, and the long term outlook for sufficient personnel
1728-576: A time when the William Boyd films and new television series were becoming popular with a new generation. L'Amour read the original Hopalong Cassidy novels, written by Clarence E. Mulford , and wrote his novels based on the original character under the name "Tex Burns". Only two issues of the Hopalong Cassidy Western Magazine were published, and the novels as written by L'Amour were extensively edited to meet Doubleday 's thoughts of how
1836-449: A trilogy of Western novels: The Englishman's Boy , The Last Crossing , and A Good Man . Other more recent Western authors include Ivan Doig and William Kittredge . The genre has seen the rumblings of a revival, and 2008 saw the publication of an all-Western short story magazine Great Western Fiction which was published by Dry River Publishing in Colorado . Nevertheless, the magazine
1944-432: A year by the same author. Louis's editor at Gold Medal supported his writing up to three or four but the heads of the company vetoed that idea even though Louis was publishing books with other houses. Louis had sold over a dozen novels and several million copies before Bantam Books editor-in-chief Saul David was finally able to convince his company to offer Louis a short term exclusive contract that would accept three books
2052-471: A year. It was only after 1960, however, that Louis's sales at Bantam would begin to surpass his sales at Gold Medal. L'Amour's career flourished throughout the 1960s and he began work on a series of novels about the fictional Sackett family. The Daybreakers , published in 1960 and the first, was actually not in the chronological order of the series of novels. Initially he wrote five books about William Tell Sackett and his close relatives; however, in later years
2160-482: Is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 20th century and Louis L'Amour from the mid-20th century. The genre peaked around the early 1960s, largely due to the popularity of televised Westerns such as Bonanza . Readership began to drop off in
2268-409: Is also governed by more than 25 (as of February 17, 2017) international conventions to promote safety and prevent pollution. In 2022, the United States merchant fleet had 178 privately owned, oceangoing, self-propelled vessels of 1,000 gross register tons and above. Nearly 800 American-owned ships are flagged in other nations. The federal government maintains fleets of merchant ships managed by
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#17328837486082376-503: Is also of serious concern". Future seagoing jobs for U.S. mariners may be on other than U.S.-flagged ships. American-trained mariners are being sought after by international companies to operate foreign-flagged vessels, according to Julie A. Nelson, deputy maritime administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration . For example, Shell International and Shipping Company Ltd. began recruiting U.S. seafarers to crew its growing fleet of tankers in 2008. In 2007, Overseas Shipholding Group and
2484-547: Is charged with training officers for the United States Merchant Marine, branches of the military, and the transportation industry. The academy operates on an $ 85 million annual budget funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation and is administered by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD). Joseph Banks Williams entered the academy in 1942 and was the first African-American to graduate in 1944. Admission requirements were further changed in 1974, when
2592-533: Is in good working order, and oversee the loading and discharging of cargo and passengers. Captains directly communicate with the company or command ( MSC ), and are overall responsible for cargo, various logs, ship's documents, credentials, efforts at controlling pollution and passengers carried. Mates direct a ship's routine operation for the captain during work shifts, which are called watches . Mates stand watch for specified periods, usually in three duty sections, with four hours on watch and eight hours off. When on
2700-453: Is one of the most famous and estimated Western-comics in Europe. The popular Western comic strip Red Ryder was syndicated in hundreds of American newspapers from 1938 to 1964. In the 1970s, the work of Louis L'Amour began to catch hold of most western readers and he has dominated the western reader lists ever since. George G. Gilman also maintained a cult following for several years in
2808-415: Is there nothing really new in the basic structure of his stories, even L'Amour's social Darwinism , which came to characterize his later fiction, was scarcely original and was never dramatized in other media the way it was in works based on Zane Grey 's fiction. But Tuska also notes "At his best, L'Amour was a master of spectacular action and stories with a vivid, propulsive forward motion." In May 1972 he
2916-473: Is usually in charge of cargo, stability and the deck crew , the second mate in charge of navigation plans and updates and the third mate as the safety officer. They also monitor and direct deck crew operations, such as directing line handlers during moorings , and anchorings , monitor cargo operations and supervise crew members engaged in maintenance and the vessel's upkeep. Harbor pilots guide ships in and out of confined waterways, such as harbors, where
3024-704: The Berlin Wall Crisis of 1961 , 18 NDRF vessels were activated, remaining in service until 1970. The Vietnam War required the activation of 172 vessels. Since 1976, the Ready Reserve Fleet (RRF) has taken the brunt of the work previously handled by the National Defense Reserve Fleet. The RRF made a major contribution to the success of Operation Desert Shield / Operation Desert Storm from August 1990 through June 1992, when 79 vessels helped meet military sealift requirements by carrying 25% of
3132-834: The British supply chain all along the eastern seaboard of the United States and across the Atlantic Ocean. These actions by the privateers predate both the United States Coast Guard and the United States Navy , which were formed in 1790 and 1797, respectively. The merchant marine was active in subsequent wars, from the Confederate commerce raiders of the American Civil War , to the assaults on Allied commerce in
3240-604: The Iraq War , delivering 61,000,000 square feet (5,700,000 m ) of cargo and 1,100,000,000 US gallons (4,200,000 m ) of fuel by the end of that year. Merchant mariners were recognized for their contributions in Iraq. For example, in late 2003, VADM David L. Brewer III , Military Sealift Command commander, awarded the crew of MV Capt. Steven L. Bennett the Merchant Marine Expeditionary Medal . The RRF
3348-627: The Presidential Medal of Freedom . L'Amour is also a recipient of North Dakota's Roughrider Award and the MPTF Golden Boot Award . L'Amour, a non-smoker, died from lung cancer at his home in Los Angeles on June 10, 1988, and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California . His autobiography detailing his years as an itinerant worker in the west, Education of
Louis L'Amour - Misplaced Pages Continue
3456-695: The Secretary of the Air Force . Merchant mariners who served in World War II were denied such veterans recognition until 1987 when a federal court ordered it. The Court held that the Secretary of the Air Force wrongfully denied active military service recognition to American merchant mariners who participated in World War II. Captains , mates (officers), and pilots supervise ship operations on domestic waterways and
3564-557: The United States Maritime Administration focused on the larger segment of the fleet: ships of 10,000 tonnes deadweight (DWT) and over. Two hundred forty-five (245) privately owned American-flagged ships are of this size, and 153 of those meet the Jones Act criteria. The World War II era was the peak for the U.S. fleet. During the post-war year of 1950, for example, U.S. carriers represented about 43 percent of
3672-596: The United States Maritime Administration . In 2014, they employed approximately 6.5% of all American water transportation workers. Merchant Marine officers may also be commissioned as military officers by the Department of Defense. This is commonly achieved by commissioning unlimited tonnage Merchant Marine officers as Strategic Sealift Officers in the United States Navy Reserve . During World War II, nearly 250,000 civilian merchant mariners served as part of
3780-540: The WPA Guide Book to Oklahoma, but the dozens of short stories he was churning out met with little acceptance. Finally, L'Amour placed a story, Death Westbound , in "10 Story Book", a magazine that featured what was supposed to be quality writing ( Jack Woodford , author of several books on writing, is published in the same edition as L'Amour) alongside scantily attired or completely naked young women. Several years later, L'Amour placed his first story for pay, Anything for
3888-411: The "Best Western Writer of All Time". Early in the 1970s Indiana novelist Marilyn Durham wrote two popular Western novels, The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing and Dutch Uncle . Western readership as a whole began to drop off in the mid- to late 1970s. A partial exception was an innovation, the so-called "adult western". As Robert J. Randisi puts it, "it's a western novel with sex in it. That's right,
3996-857: The 16th century, Europeans were shipping horses, cattle and hogs to the Americas. Spanish colonies began to form as early as 1565 in places like St. Augustine, Florida , and later in Santa Fe, New Mexico ; San Antonio , Tucson , San Diego , Los Angeles and San Francisco . English colonies like Jamestown began to form as early as 1607. The connection between the American colonies and Europe, with shipping as its only conduit, would continue to grow unhindered for almost two hundred years. The first wartime role of an identifiable United States Merchant Marine took place on June 12, 1775 , in and around Machias, Maine (then part of Massachusetts ). A group of citizens, hearing
4104-697: The 1920s, Western fiction greatly benefited (as did the author Max Brand , who excelled at the western short story). Pulp magazines that specialised in Westerns include Cowboy Stories , Ranch Romances , Star Western , West , and Western Story Magazine . The simultaneous popularity of Western movies in the 1920s also helped the genre. In the 1940s several seminal Westerns were published, including The Ox-Bow Incident (1940) by Walter van Tilburg Clark , The Big Sky (1947) and The Way West (1949) by A.B. Guthrie Jr. , and Shane (1949) by Jack Schaefer . Many other Western authors gained readership in
4212-463: The 1950s, such as Ray Hogan, Louis L'Amour , and Luke Short . The genre peaked around the early 1960s, largely due to the tremendous number of Westerns on television . The burnout of the American public on television Westerns in the late 1960s seemed to have an effect on the literature as well, and interest in Western literature began to wane. In 1968 Charles Portis published True Grit , which became
4320-460: The 1970s and 1980s. Larry McMurtry 's and Cormac McCarthy 's works remain notable. Specifically, McMurtry's Lonesome Dove and McCarthy's Blood Meridian (both published in 1985) are recognized as major masterpieces both within and beyond the genre. Elmer Kelton , mostly noted for his novels The Good Old Boys and The Time it Never Rained , was voted by the Western Writers of America as
4428-399: The 1970s his writings were translated into over ten languages . Every one of his works is still in print. Many of the L'Amour titles have been produced in the "single voice" style. In the early days, however, when the fledgling Bantam Audio Publishing (now Random House Audio) came to L'Amour about converting some of his old short stories into audio, he insisted that they do something to offer
Louis L'Amour - Misplaced Pages Continue
4536-595: The Arctic. The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) acts as a reserve of cargo ships for national emergencies and defense. As of 31 January 2017, the NDRF fleet numbered 99 ships, down from 2,277 ships at its peak in 1950. NDRF vessels are now staged at the James River (off Ft. Eustis, VA); Beaumont , TX; and Suisun Bay (off Benicia, CA) anchorages, and other designated locations. A Ready Reserve Force component of
4644-510: The Commandant of Midshipman's staff. This high stress period involves physical training, marching, and an intensive introduction to regimental life at the academy. After the indoctrination period is completed, the academic year begins. U.S. citizen candidates for admission must sign a service obligation contract as a condition of admittance to the USMMA; U.S. candidates who completed Indoc will execute
4752-511: The Duty Engineer. Marine oilers and more experienced qualified members of the engine department , or QMEDs, maintain the vessel in proper running order in the engine spaces below decks, under the direction of the ship's engine officers. These workers lubricate gears, shafts, bearings, and other moving parts of engines and motors; read pressure and temperature gauges, record data and sometimes assist with repairs and adjust machinery. Wipers are
4860-527: The First and in the Second World Wars . 3.1 million tons of merchant ships were lost in World War II. Mariners died at a rate of 1 in 26, which was the highest rate of casualties of any service. All told, 733 American cargo ships were lost and 8,651 of the 215,000 who served perished in troubled waters and off enemy shores. During World War II ships with deck guns had United States Navy Armed Guard to man
4968-556: The French spelling of the name L'Amour). His mother had Irish ancestry, while his father was of French-Canadian descent. His father had arrived in Dakota Territory in 1882. Although the area around Jamestown was mostly farm land, cowboys and livestock often traveled through Jamestown on their way to or from ranches in Montana and the markets to the east. Louis played " Cowboys and Indians " in
5076-520: The Korean War, 540 vessels were activated to support military forces. A worldwide tonnage shortfall from 1951 to 1953 required over 600 ship activations to lift coal to Northern Europe and grain to India. The Department of Agriculture required 698 activated ships to store grain from 1955 through 1964. After the Suez Canal Crisis in 1956, the NDRF activated 223 cargo ships and 29 tankers. During
5184-544: The MSTS participated. During the Vietnam War, at least 172 National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) ships were activated, and together with other US-flagged merchant vessels crewed by civilian seamen, carried 95% of the supplies used by the American armed forces. Many of these ships sailed into combat zones under fire. The SS Mayaguez incident involved the capture of mariners from the American merchant ship SS Mayaguez . During
5292-626: The Maritime Administration agreed to allow American maritime academy cadets to train aboard OSG's international flag vessels. In 2015, the average salary of American mariners was $ 39,000. The Military Sealift Command (MSC), an arm of the Navy , serves the entire Department of Defense as the ocean carrier of materiel during peacetime and war. MSC transports equipment, fuel, ammunition, and other goods essential to United States armed forces worldwide. Up to 95% of all supplies needed to sustain
5400-915: The NDRF was established in 1976 to provide rapid global deployment of military equipment and forces. As of January 2017, the RRF consists of 46 vessels, down from a peak of 102 vessels in 1994. Two RRF ships are homeported at the NDRF anchorage in Beaumont, TX, while the remainder are assigned to various other homeports. In 2014, the federal government reported directly employing approximately 5,100 seafarers, out of an industry total of over 78,000 water transportation workers in Occupation Code 53–5000, which represented about 6.5% of all water transportation workers, many of whom worked on Military Sealift Command supply ships. By 2016, MSC reported employing more than 5,500 federal civilian mariners. Training and licensing are managed by
5508-453: The New York stage, film and advertising worlds and came together for a rehearsal and then a day of recording the show. Sound effects were created by effects man Arthur Miller in the studio as the lines were being recorded and narration was done. Although many of the programs were written and produced in a modified "Old Time Radio" style, attempts were also made to modernize the approach. Whenever
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#17328837486085616-613: The Oath of Office as a Midshipman in the Navy Reserve the day prior to Acceptance Day. Plebes officially become part of the USMMA Regiment of Midshipmen on Acceptance Day, which is now standardized at 2 weeks after Indoc ends. Until they are "recognized" later in the academic year, plebes must continue adhere to stringent rules affecting most aspects of their daily life. After earning it, the plebes are recognized, henceforth accorded privilege of
5724-494: The Pacific Northwest. It was in colorful places like these that Louis met a wide variety of people, upon whom he later modeled the characters in his novels, many of them actual Old West personalities who had survived into the 1920s and 1930s. Making his way as a mine assessment worker, professional boxer, and merchant seaman, Louis traveled the country and the world, sometimes with his family, sometimes not. He visited all of
5832-462: The U.S. Army's Afloat Prepositioning Force (APF) with two specialized tankers and one dry cargo vessel capable of underway replenishment for the Navy's Combat Logistics Force. On October 22, 2015, a Military Sealift Command oiler and a United States civilian tanker refueled at sea during an exercise. This is not normally done as commercial fleet vessels are not normally geared for this type of exercise. This
5940-480: The U.S. military can be moved by Military Sealift Command. As of February 2017, MSC operated approximately 120 ships with 100 more in reserve. More than 5,500 civil service or contract merchant mariners staff the ships. MSC tankers and freighters have a long history of also serving as supply vessels in support of civilian research in the Arctic and Antarctic , including: McMurdo Station , Antarctica ; and Greenland in
6048-427: The U.S. military, transporting supplies and personnel. Between 1939 and 1945, 9,521 merchant mariners died, a per capita casualty rate greater than those of each U.S. Armed Forces branch. The GI Bill Improvement Act Of 1977 P.L. 95-202 , granted veteran status to Women Airforce Service Pilots and "any person in any other similarly situated group" with jurisdiction granted to the Secretary of Defense , and delegated to
6156-552: The USMMA became the first Federal service academy to enroll female students, two years before the other Federal service academies. Freshmen, known as " plebes ," upon reporting in June or July of each year as the incoming class, begin a three-week indoctrination period, also known as "Indoc". Indoc is functionally run by upperclass midshipmen, but is overseen by officers of the United States Maritime Service who are part of
6264-677: The United States Coast Guard, guided by the United States Code of Federal Regulations Title 46 , Chapter I, Subchapter B. Training requirements are also molded by the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (or STCW ), which prescribes minimum standards that must be met. Unlimited tonnage deck officers (referred to as mates) and engine officers are trained at maritime academies, or by accumulating sea-time as
6372-590: The United States merchant fleet had 175 privately owned, oceangoing, self-propelled vessels of 1,000 gross register tons and above that carry cargo from port to port. One hundred fourteen (114) were dry cargo ships, and 61 were tankers. Ninety seven (97) were Jones Act eligible, and 78 were non-Jones Act eligible. MARAD deemed 152 of the 175 vessels "militarily useful". In 2005, there were also 77 passenger ships. Of those American-flagged ships, 51 were foreign owned. Seven hundred ninety-four (794) American-owned ships are flagged in other nations. 2005 statistics from
6480-506: The White Hunter is considered the first dime novel. These cheaply made books were hugely successful and capitalized on the many stories that were being told about the mountain men , outlaws , settlers, and lawmen who were taming the western frontier. Many of these novels were fictionalized stories based on actual people, such as Billy the Kid , Buffalo Bill , Wyatt Earp (who was still alive at
6588-402: The audience more value than just having an actor read a bunch of old pulp stories. Together he and Bantam executive Jenny Frost created the concept of a series of "Radio Drama" style productions that would combine a large cast of actors, sound effects and music to produce a modern audio drama of each story. The team of David Rapkin (Producer) and Charles Potter (Director) was employed to produce
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#17328837486086696-549: The character should be portrayed in print. Strongly disagreeing—L'Amour preferred Mulford's original, much rougher characterization of Cassidy—for the rest of his life he denied authoring the novels. In the 1950s, L'Amour began to sell novels. L'Amour's first novel, published under his own name, was Westward The Tide , published by World's Work in 1951. The short story The Gift of Cochise was printed in Colliers (5 July 1952) and seen by John Wayne and Robert Fellows , who purchased
6804-460: The combat theater equipment and supplies including combat support equipment for the Army, Navy Combat Logistics Force, and USMC Aviation Support equipment. By the beginning of May 2005, RRF cumulative support included 85 ship activations that logged almost 12,000 ship operating days, moving almost 25% of the equipment needed to support operations in Iraq. The Military Sealift Command was also involved in
6912-415: The cowboy has sex with women. A new idea? Probably not, but heretofore this had not been seen in western novels (certainly not by Max Brand, Zane Grey, Owen Wister or Louis L'Amour). What these books actually showed was that men and women really did have sex in the old west. (Back when I started the series a rigidly traditional western writer of my acquaintance insisted to me that "women did not have orgasms in
7020-459: The day he died, refusing to sign any of them that fans would occasionally bring to his autograph sessions. The reason given to his young son for doing this was, "I wrote some books. I just did it for the money, and my name didn't go on them. So now, when people ask me if they were mine, I say 'no.'" When his son asked if this would be a lie, he said, "I just wrote them for hire. They weren't my books." Western fiction Western fiction
7128-517: The day. One of the most famous pulp works of the era was Johnston McCulley 's first Zorro novel, The Curse of Capistrano (1919). Popularity grew with the publication of Owen Wister 's novel The Virginian (1902) and especially Zane Grey 's Riders of the Purple Sage (1912). The first Hopalong Cassidy stories by Clarence Mulford appeared in 1904, both as dime novels and in pulp magazines . When pulp magazines exploded in popularity in
7236-480: The entry-level workers in the engine room, holding a position similar to that of ordinary seamen of the deck crew. They clean and paint the engine room and its equipment and assist the others in maintenance and repair work. With more experience, they become oilers and firemen. Able seamen and ordinary seamen operate the vessel and its deck equipment under officer supervision and keep their assigned areas in good order. They watch for other vessels and obstructions in
7344-463: The family barn, which served as his father's veterinary hospital, and spent much of his free time at the local library, the Alfred E. Dickey Free Library , particularly reading the works of 19th-century British historical boys' author G. A. Henty . L'Amour once said, "[Henty's works] enabled me to go into school with a great deal of knowledge that even my teachers didn't have about wars and politics." After
7452-638: The first Gulf War , the merchant ships of the Military Sealift Command (MSC) delivered more than 12 million metric tons of vehicles, helicopters , ammunition , fuel and other supplies and equipment. At one point during the war, more than 230 government-owned and chartered ships were involved in the sealift. As of January 2017, U.S. Government-owned merchant vessels from the National Defense Reserve Fleet have supported emergency shipping requirements in 10 wars and crises. During
7560-418: The first Louis L'Amour novel to be turned into a drama. Considerably more complex than earlier shows it had a cast of over twenty mid-level Hollywood actors, a music score was created by John Philip Shenale and recorded specifically for the production and sound effects completely recorded in the field in many locations across the west. Produced as sort of a "profitable hobby" Beau L'Amour and Paul O'Dell created
7668-461: The founding members were mostly western fiction writers, the organization began getting a number of other members from other backgrounds such as historians, regional history buffs, and writers from other genres. Western Fictioneers, founded in 2010, is a professional writers' group that encourages and promotes the traditional Westerns. It is the only professional writers' organization composed entirely of authors who have written Western fiction. Fans of
7776-416: The genre may join as patron members. The Western Fictioneers' annual Peacemakers competition awards prizes in many categories of Western writing. United States Merchant Marine The United States Merchant Marine is an organization composed of United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels . Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by
7884-405: The growth of the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker fleet, which reached 370 vessels as of 2007. In 2007 the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) set uniform LNG training standards at U.S. maritime training facilities. While short-term imports are declining, longer term projections signal an eightfold increase in U.S. imported LNG by 2025, the worldwide LNG fleet does not include
7992-508: The guns. Some Armed Guard personnel also served as Radiomen and Signalmen . The Navy gun crews were assisted by ship's crew, though the merchant mariner's training in gunnery and combat role was ignored for years. Specific instructions as to merchant crew manning of guns and training they should receive was issued by the War Shipping Administration which operated all U.S. merchant ships either directly or through agents during
8100-472: The high seas. A captain (master) is in overall command of a vessel, and supervises the work of other officers and crew. A captain has the authority to take the conn from a mate or pilot at any time he or she feels the need. On smaller vessels the captain may be a regular watch-stander , similar to a mate, directly controlling the vessel's position. Captains and department heads ensure that proper procedures and safety practices are followed, ensure that machinery
8208-462: The history of the genre. Indeed, at the time of his death his sales had topped 200,000,000. What I would question is the degree and extent of his effect "upon the American Imagination". His Western fiction is strictly formulary and frequently, although not always, features the ranch romance plot where the hero and the heroine are to marry at the end once the villains have been defeated. Not only
8316-561: The mid- to late 1970s and reached a new low in the 2000s. Most bookstores, outside a few west American states, only carry a small number of Western fiction books. The predecessor of the Western in American literature emerged early with tales of the frontier . The most famous of the early 19th-century frontier novels were James Fenimore Cooper 's five novels comprising the Leatherstocking Tales . Cooper's novels were largely set in what
8424-452: The most successful work of the era. Western novels, films and pulps gave birth to Western comics , which were very popular, particularly from the late 1940s until c. 1967 , when the comics began to turn to reprints. This can particularly be seen at Marvel Comics , where Westerns began c. 1948 and thrived until 1967, when one of their flagship titles, Kid Colt Outlaw (1949–1979), ceased to have new stories and entered
8532-545: The news from Concord and Lexington, captured the British schooner HMS Margaretta. The citizens, in need of critical supplies, were given an ultimatum: either load the ships with lumber to build British barracks in Boston, or go hungry. They chose to fight. Word of this revolt reached Boston, where the Continental Congress and the various colonies issued Letters of Marque to privateers . The privateers interrupted
8640-640: The oceans, the Great Lakes , rivers, canals, harbors, and other waterways. In times of war, the Merchant Marine can be an auxiliary to the United States Navy , and can be called upon to deliver military personnel and materiel for the military. In the 19th and 20th centuries, various laws fundamentally changed the course of American merchant shipping. These laws put an end to common practices such as flogging and shanghaiing , and increased shipboard safety and living standards. The United States Merchant Marine
8748-430: The old west.")." Readership of western fiction reached a new low in the first decade of the twenty-first century, and most bookstores, outside a few western states, only carry a small number of Western fiction books. Nevertheless, several Western fiction series are published monthly, such as The Trailsman , Slocum , Longarm and The Gunsmith ; these are all "adult westerns". Canadian author Guy Vanderhaeghe wrote
8856-406: The plot of 10 other novels: (Note: The Talon and Chantry series are often combined into one list for a total of eight) Originally published under the pseudonym "Tex Burns". Louis L'Amour was commissioned to write four Hopalong Cassidy books in the spring and summer of 1950 by Doubleday's Double D Western imprint. They were the first novels he ever had published and he denied writing them until
8964-605: The prior grade and additional endorsements and testing are required. The term "unlimited" indicates that there are no limits that the officer has in relation to the size and power of the vessel or geographic location of operation. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (also known as USMMA or Kings Point ) is one of the five United States service academies (the others are the United States Military Academy, Naval Academy, Coast Guard Academy, and Air Force Academy), and one of eleven United States maritime academies . It
9072-511: The production while working around their day-to-day jobs. Since this allowed them no more than nine or ten weeks a year, the show took four years to complete. During the 1960s, L'Amour intended to build a working town typical of those of the 19th century Western frontier, with buildings with false fronts situated in rows on either side of an unpaved main street and flanked by wide boardwalks before which, at various intervals, were watering troughs and hitching posts. The town, to be named Shalako after
9180-456: The protagonist of L'Amour's novel of the same name , was to have featured shops and other businesses that were typical of such towns: a barber shop, a hotel, a dry goods store, one or more saloons, a church, a one-room schoolhouse, etc. It would have offered itself as a filming location for Hollywood motion pictures concerning the Wild West. However, funding for the project fell through, and Shalako
9288-553: The reprint phase. Other notable long-running Marvel Western comics included Rawhide Kid (1955–1957, 1960–1979) Two-Gun Kid (1948–1962), and Marvel Wild Western (1948–1957). DC Comics published the long-running series All-Star Western (1951–1961) and Western Comics (1948–1961), and Charlton Comics published Billy the Kid (1957–1983) and Cheyenne Kid (1957–1973). Magazine Enterprises ' Straight Arrow ran from 1950 to 1956, and Prize Comics ' Prize Comics Western ran from 1948 to 1956. Fawcett Comics published
9396-411: The screen rights from L'Amour for $ 4,000. James Edward Grant was hired to write a screenplay based on this story changing the main character's name from Ches Lane to Hondo Lane. L'Amour retained the right to novelize the screenplay and did so, even though the screenplay differed substantially from the original story. This was published as Hondo in 1953 and released on the same day the film opened with
9504-506: The scripts from the L'Amour series have been produced as live theater pieces, including The One for the Mojave Kid and Merrano of the Dry Country . The L'Amour program of Audio Dramas is still ongoing but the pace of production has slowed considerably. Beau L'Amour and Paul O'Dell released Son of a Wanted Man , the first L'Amour Drama in half a decade in 2004. Son of a Wanted Man is also
9612-560: The series spread to include other families and four centuries of North American history. It was an ambitious project and several stories intended to close the gaps in the family's time line were left untold at the time of L'Amour's death. L'Amour also branched out into historical fiction with The Walking Drum , set in the 11th century, a contemporary thriller, Last of the Breed , and science fiction with The Haunted Mesa . L'Amour eventually wrote 100 novels, over 250 short stories, and (as of 2010) sold more than 320 million copies of his work. By
9720-548: The ship's path, as well as for navigational aids such as buoys and lighthouses . They also steer the ship , measure water depth in shallow water , and maintain and operate deck equipment such as lifeboats , anchors , and cargo-handling gear. On tankers, mariners designated as pumpmen hook up hoses, operate pumps, and clean tanks. When arriving at or leaving a dock, they handle the mooring lines . Seamen also perform routine maintenance chores, such as repairing lines, chipping rust, and painting and cleaning decks. On larger vessels,
9828-420: The story material supported it a more contemporary style was used in the writing and more and more high tech solutions to the effects and mix found their way into the productions. While hiring and supervising the writers, mostly out of Los Angeles, Beau L'Amour created a few programs on his own. The techniques used by him and producer/editor Paul O'Dell were more in line with motion picture production, simply taping
9936-486: The time of his death, almost all of his 105 existing works (89 novels, 14 short-story collections, and two full-length works of nonfiction) were still in print, and he was "one of the world's most popular writers". Louis Dearborn LaMoore was born in Jamestown, North Dakota , on March 22, 1908, the seventh child of Emily Dearborn and veterinarian, local politician, and farm equipment broker Louis Charles LaMoore (who had changed
10044-470: The time), Wild Bill Hickok , and Jesse James . By 1900, the new medium of pulp magazines helped to relate these adventures to easterners. Meanwhile, non-American authors, like the German Karl May , picked up the genre, went to full novel length, and made it hugely popular and successful in continental Europe from about 1880 on, though they were generally dismissed as trivial by the literary critics of
10152-477: The title Midshipman , which gives them more privileges, known as "rates". Academy students focus on one of two different ship transport areas of education: marine transportation or marine engineering . Transportation students learn about ship navigation , cargo handling, navigation rules , and maritime law . Engineering students learn about the function of the ship's engines and its supporting systems. There are currently five different academic majors conferring
10260-831: The unit equipment and 45% of the ammunition needed. Two RRF tankers, two Roll-on/Roll-off (RO/RO) ships and a troop transport ship were employed in Somalia for Operation Restore Hope in 1993 and 1994. During the Haitian crisis in 1994, 15 ships were activated for Operation Uphold Democracy operations. In 1995 and 1996, four RO/RO ships were used to deliver military cargo as part of US and UK support to NATO peace-keeping missions. Four RRF ships were activated to provide humanitarian assistance for Central America following Hurricane Mitch in 1998. In 2003, 40 RRF ships were used in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom . This RRF contribution included sealifting into
10368-423: The voices of the actors in the studio and then recording the majority of sound effects in the field. This called for a great deal more editing, both in cutting the actor's performances and the sound effects, but it allowed for a great deal more control. In the mid-1990s a series of the L'Amour Audio Dramas was recut for radio. Louis L'Amour Theater played on over two hundred stations for a number of years. Several of
10476-676: The war. At wars end 144,857 men would serve in the Navy Armed Guard on 6,200 ships. Merchant shipping also played its role in the wars in Vietnam and Korea . During the Korean War, under the operational control in theater of the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), the number of chartered ships grew from 6 to 255. In September 1950, when the U.S. Marine Corps went ashore at Incheon , 13 Navy cargo ships, 26 chartered American, and 34 Japanese-manned merchant ships of
10584-599: The western genre prior to World War II , 1940's The Town No Guns Could Tame . L'Amour continued as an itinerant worker, traveling the world as a merchant seaman until the start of World War II . During World War II, he served in the United States Army as a lieutenant with the 362nd Quartermaster Truck Company. In the two years before L'Amour was shipped off to Europe, L'Amour wrote stories for Standard Magazine . After World War II, L'Amour continued to write stories for magazines; his first after being discharged in 1946
10692-459: The western states plus England, Japan, China, Borneo, the Dutch East Indies, Arabia, Egypt, and Panama, finally moving with his parents to Choctaw, Oklahoma in the early 1930s. There, he changed his name to the original French spelling "L'Amour" and settled down to try to make something of himself as a writer. He had success with poetry, articles on boxing and writing and editing sections of
10800-457: The world's shipping trade. By 1995, the American market share had plunged to 4 percent, according to a 1997 report by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The report states, "the number of U.S.-flag vessels has dropped precipitously — from more than 2,000 in the 1940s and 850 in 1970 to about 320 in 1996." A diminishing U.S. fleet contrasted with the burgeoning of international sea trade. For example, worldwide demand for natural gas led to
10908-555: Was Law of the Desert Born in Dime Western Magazine (April 1946). L'Amour's contact with Leo Margulies led to L'Amour agreeing to write many stories for the Western pulp magazines published by Standard Magazines, a substantial portion of which appeared under the name "Jim Mayo". The suggestion of L'Amour writing Hopalong Cassidy novels also was made by Margulies who planned on launching Hopalong Cassidy's Western Magazine at
11016-567: Was approached by fur magnate John Jacob Astor , who convinced him to write a history of his fur trading colony in Astoria, Oregon . Irving made quick work of Astor's project, shipping the fawning biographical account Astoria in February 1836. The Western as a specialized genre got its start in the " penny dreadfuls " and later the " dime novels ". Published in June 1860, Malaeska; the Indian Wife of
11124-593: Was at the time the American frontier : the Appalachian Mountains and areas west of there. As did his novel The Prairie (1824), most later westerns would typically take place west of the Mississippi River . The notable writer Washington Irving was inspired by Cooper and wrote tales of the American frontier beginning with A Tour on the Prairies which related his recent travels on the frontier. In 1834, he
11232-587: Was awarded an Honorary PhD by Jamestown College , as a testament to his literary and social contributions. In 1979, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement . Bendigo Shafter (1979) won the U.S. National Book Award in the one-year category Western . In 1982 he received the Congressional Gold Medal , and in 1984 President Ronald Reagan awarded L'Amour
11340-484: Was called upon to provide humanitarian assistance to gulf coast areas following Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita landfalls in September 2005. The Federal Emergency Management Agency requested a total of eight vessels to support relief efforts. Messing and berthing was provided for refinery workers, oil spill response teams and longshoremen. One vessel provided electrical power. As of 2007, three RRF ships supported
11448-505: Was done to increase operational readiness of MSC's naval auxiliary assets and prove flexibility of operation. In Fall 2021, news broke out that several midshipmen reported having been sexually assaulted either at the Academy or during Sea Year. The news resulted in a suspension of Sea Year, multiple investigations and lawsuits, and another promise by the U.S. Government to keep women safer while under their jurisdiction. As of 31 December 2016,
11556-578: Was never built. When interviewed not long before his death, he was asked which among his books he liked best. His reply: I like them all. There's bits and pieces of books that I think are good. I never rework a book. I'd rather use what I've learned on the next one, and make it a little bit better. The worst of it is that I'm no longer a kid and I'm just now getting to be a good writer. Just now. The critic Jon Tuska, surveying Western literature, writes: I have no argument that L'Amour's total sales have probably surpassed every other author of Western fiction in
11664-525: Was short-lived and folded after only two issues. One of the most successful Western novels in recent times was The Sisters Brothers (2011) by Patrick deWitt . Western authors are represented by the Western Writers of America , who present the annual Spur Awards and Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement. The organization was founded in 1953 to promote the literature of the American West. While
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