This story is a fictional account of a period in which the views of patriotic Americans were looked upon with derision and suspicion. Those who served or had served in the country's military forces were abused, discriminated against and even spit upon. It was difficult for an ex-serviceman to even get a job and those who did were rarely promoted. While the story is completely fictional, actual names, characters, places and incidents that might coincide with actions, places, people or events have been changed to protect both the innocent and the guilty or are the product of my imagination and used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The actual processes, however, are based upon the experiences of the author.

---

Prelude: The M/S Wilson O'Toole started out life as a wartime cargo ship and, after a lifetime of hard service, it was laid up, to be sold for scrap. It was rescued from the shipbreaker by a group of men in Hawaii and converted to a small hospital ship to be used in conjunction with their saving children from slavery and worse.

When Wilson James O'Toole and his partner Oscar Robbins passed away, the mantle of leadership passed to Wilson's son. Patrick James O'Toole. Patrick had been severely injured while serving in the United States Navy and had lost his leg. It took a while, but, eventually, Patrick realized his life was not over and that he was still a skilled mariner. While Wilson and Oscar were still alive, Patrick commanded several of their rescue ships in the rescue and saving of young boys and girls who were headed to the slave markets in the United States. Such markets were outlawed and trading in slaves of any kind had been forbidden since the American Civil War. That did not stop the practice and a force of young men came together in Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii to put the slavers out of business.

Before his death, Wilson had acquired an old Navy Freighter of the "Knot Class" and it had been rebuilt as a stores ship and floating hospital. It was to this ship that Patrick James O'Toole felt called and he asked his brother, Pedro Oscar Robbins, who had graduated from medical school, to head up the Medical Department of the ship that was to be renamed, THE WILSON O'TOOLE.

Both Wilson and Oscar had accumulated considerable fortunes and Patrick's Great Uncle Joe had parleyed those funds into enough wealth to operate three rescue ships and the hospital ship. This story, then, records what Patrick and his brothers did with that fortune.

---