Edward Latimer Beach, Jr. (1918–2002), nicknamed "Ned", was a highly decorated United States Navy submarine officer and best-selling author best known for the novel Run Silent, Run Deep which was made into a movie of the same name in 1958.
He was born in New York City and raised in Palo Alto, California. During World War II, he participated in the Battle of Midway and 12 combat patrols, earning 10 decorations for gallantry, including the Navy Cross. After the war, he served as the naval aide to the President of the United States and commanded the first submerged circumnavigation.
Beach was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1935 and served as a regimental commander in his first class year. He was named as the midshipman who had done the most to promote naval spirit and loyalty in his regiment when he graduated second out of 576 men in his class in 1939. He was initially assigned to the heavy cruiser USS Chester, before joining the newly recommissioned destroyer USS Lea, which participated in the neutrality patrol in the Atlantic, the escort of the German passenger liner Columbus, the initial American occupation of Iceland, and convoy duty in the North Atlantic. In 1941 he had accelerated training at the Submarine Training School, New London Submarine Base in Connecticut, graduating first in his class shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In WWII he served aboard the submarines USS Trigger and USS Tirante, and took command of USS Piper just as the Pacific War was ending. He retired from active duty with the rank of captain in 1966, after 27 years of service.
Modern Era Naval Fiction |
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| Year | Book | Comment |
| WWII | Run Silent, Run Deep | Edward Richardson commands the submarine USS Walrus during WWII |
| WWII | Dust on the Sea | The commander and crew of the submarine USS Eel battle in WWII |
| Cold is the Sea | The nuclear submarine USS Cushing heads to the arctic to test fire missiles from under the ice | |