The Barque of Saviors

the long version

"This sea story of fathomless evil and moral redemption begins in 1936 in Hamburg, Germany. There, in the presence of Adolf Hitler and thousands of cheering Nazis, a splendid three-masted sailing ship was christened Horst Wessel. Throughout World War II, the barque was a training ship for naval officers. After Germany's defeat, it was taken over by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Americans found the crew terrified and half starved; they brought the young Germans, so recently their mortal enemies, back to life. The Germans, in return, taught the American sailors the ways of the beautiful square-rigged ship, newly rechristened Eagle. In time, Eagle would become the Coast Guard's elite school ship - the barque of saviors."--Jacket.