The true story of a close encounter between an American sailor and a German U-boat commander during World War II. It was April 1943: Above the Waves--A young US Navy Armed Guard seaman left the safety of New York harbor on an oil tanker as part of a large convoy heading to the U-boat-infested waters of the North Atlantic. Below the Waves--A novice German Navy U-boat commander was on the prowl, stalking Allied merchant ships. Neither of these two warriors could know then that their paths would soon cross.

This true story takes place during the World War II Battle of the Atlantic, specifically in the year 1943. This was the most prolonged battle of the war---the battle above and below the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea (1939-1945). The details of the story are based on a US seaman's journals and letters and the ship's log reports while he was traveling on convoys in 1943 and a German U-boat commander's war diary and battle logs during this same period. The battle accounts and details cover a specific six-month period during 1943 when the action unfolded. Reports and journals combine firsthand accounts of deadly combat from both men. Battle decisions made onboard their vessels resulted in many lives being lost and saved. This isolated encounter gives a brief insight into the fears, courage, and heroism of two men and how their lives forever changed.

Lee Bryan grew up in military family life while traveling throughout the United States and other countries. Her travels exposed her to different cultures and environments in each new place her family landed. After obtaining her degree in business, Bryan's work career began in the technology industry, where she held various management positions and again traveled broadly in the United States and internationally. She retired after a twenty-five-year track record of success in the corporate world and currently lives in Arizona with her husband Bill, enjoying her passions as a photographer and genealogy researcher, as well as discovering and documenting family history. Bryan serves as a board member for the Disabled Artists Foundation and holds a certificate in Life Coaching. Currently, she is also pursuing a Master of Arts degree in World War II Studies.

Lee's passion for researching and writing about past historical events and different cultures began with her father's stories of his time spent in the military during World War II. The research and discovery of her father's handwritten journals provided the catalyst for writing his story. As a result of the subsequent discovery of a German U-boat commander's war diary and his personal letters, this story evolved into two men, their memoirs, and their encounter in the Mediterranean.