Cussler was born on July 15, 1931 in Aurora, Illinois. He grew up in Alhambra, California. His mother’s ancestors were from England and his father’s ancestors were from Germany. He was in the boy scouts and was bestowed the rank of Eagle Scout at the age of 14. Cussler went to college for two years at Pasadena City College. After that, he was enlisted in the United States Air Force where he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Cussler was an aircraft mechanic and flight engineer for military air transport services. After Cussler’s service in the Air Force, he started working as a copywriter for an advertising industry. Later into his second career, Cussler became the creative director of two successful advertising agencies. He was tasked…show more content… The Carondelet had the record for fighting in more engagements than any navy ship up until World War 2. Except for her near death at the hands of the confederate ironclad Arkansas, the Carondelet was a hardy and winning ship. The USS Carondelet was a 512-ton Cairo class boat manufactured in Carondelet, Missouri. Commissioned in January 1862, it wasn’t even a month before the ship would prove its effectiveness, aiding in the taking of Confederate Fort Donelson, Fort Henry, New Madrid, Island No. 10, Fort Pillow and Memphis, Tennessee. On July 15, 1862, she was badly damaged in an engagement with the Confederate ironclad, Arkansas, on the Yazoo River. In April 1863, the Carondelet shelled Grand Gulf, Mississippi and the Carondelet’s last mission was the bombardment of Vicksburg which led to the city surrendering (donbob2012). Cussler and his team at NUMA found the historic champion of the north at Manchester Island in the Ohio River. The Carpathia was the British passenger liner that came to the aid of the survivors from the Titanic in 1912. The RMS Carpathia was built by Swan and Hunter for the Cunard Line. Construction of the heroic vessel began on September 10, 1901, with the laying of the keel. Following completion of the hull and main superstructure, the ship was launched on August 6, 1902. The Carpathia operated from 1903 to 1918, when it was unfortunately hit by three torpedoes from a German U-boat (Tikkanen). Finding these famous, historic ships was a major accomplishment of NUMA and Clive Cussler. These successful expeditions boosted their fame and
