Veteran reporter William Geroux finds a fascinating chapter of WWII history practically in his own backyard, chronicling the men and women of Mathews County, Virginia in The Mathews Men. This town full of Merchant Mariners was a crucial part of the war effort, transporting supplies and oil across the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico to allied forces. Not soldiers, and without the means to defend themselves, they were often victims of both predatory German U-boats and the dangers of the sea. The Hodges family alone sent seven sons out on the ocean, and the stories of their perils, near-misses, daring rescues, and heartbreaking losses deserve to be told and remembered.