BEACON, N.Y. (AP) - A new book co-written by a New Yorker tells the story of a highly decorated World War II American sailor who died when his plane slammed into a Hudson Valley mountain.
“The Indestructible Man” was written by Don Keith, of Alabama, and David Rocco, of Westchester County. It details the life of Commodore Dixie Kiefer, one of the most famous sailors to emerge from the fighting in the Pacific.
Kiefer was second-in-command of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown when it was sunk during the Battle of Midway. He was commander of another carrier, the USS Ticonderoga, when it was hit by Japanese kamikaze planes.
A Navy official who pinned medals on Kiefer for his heroism dubbed him “the indestructible man.”
Kiefer and five other sailors died when their plane hit Mount Beacon in Dutchess County in November 1945.
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