Anchors and Eagles

About the Book

Paul L. Adkisson was just a naïve kid when he left his parent's home, eyes set on distant horizons. Anchors and Eagles, his memoir covering twenty years in the U. S. Navy tells just how far those visions of distant horizons led him. Lacking any specific directions on life in those early years. Paul was a loose cannon, always looking for trouble - not a difficult thing for a sailor to find in foreign ports. Naval discipline did not come easily, and he never envisioned making a career of the Navy, but that is just what Paul did, eventually becoming a very successful leader of young, undisciplined sailors much like himself in the early years.

This book tells it like it was, an eye-opening variety of interesting sometimes outrageous, experiences, from the absurdity of the mountain of rules and regulations that servicemen had to follow to the sheer hedonism of leave, offering more than just a glimpse of a world like no other: the United States Navy.

It is a book that divulges, for the most part, many things that would normally remain carefully guarded secrets within the hearts and minds of most men and women who served.

The book is available from all reputable book outlets, including bookshop.blackwell.com, www.amazon.com, www.eruditor.com, www.tesco.com

About the Author

Paul L. Adkisson was born December 18,1937, in Bakersfield, California, where he attended Bakersfield High School up until the time he joined the Navy. During a break in his military career he furthered his education at Bakersfield College. He entered the U.S. Navy January 20, 1955. On April 1, 1976, after two decades of dedicated service, he retired from the military life to which he became so devoted.

The author's second career began where his first left off, as an executive in a sensitive security position with an agency of the Department of Defense. His travels continues much in line with his military career, in that his responsibilities required his presence on military installations throughout the United States and the Orient. He again retired in 1985 and made his home in Santa Maria, California.

In 1987, finding full retirement unacceptable, the author returned to the work force and accepted employment with a California corporation specializing in industrial security. In November 1994, as Vice President of the Santa Maria corporate branch, he once again opted to retire at which time he began to write of his military experiences. Anchors and Eagles is the result of that venture.

The author's travels have taken him to sixteen countries. He has exhibited exceptional compassion for and has spent much time with orphans. And underprivileged children, particularly in the Philippines and Vietnam. Paul often ventured away from beaten paths, always preferring to mingle with and share the customs and traditions of the true, host country, natives.

Much of the author's adult life education is based on actual experiences. He traveled to foreign lands and met the inhabitants in their own environment, he tasted strange and unusual foods prepared by local nationals, and he learned about and shred in the customs and traditions of which most people only read or hear.

The author has led a most unusual and exiting life. He has not committed himself to specific future plans; however, it is his desire to return to many places he previously visited, to renew old friendships, and to continue exploring other new and totally unfamiliar places as he gains new friendships. The author and his lovely wife Toni have settled in Fredericksburg, Texas the heart of Texas Hill Country, where they currently enjoy full retirement.