The Whites spent three years on Marina, hacking a cistern out of the rough,
rocky land and shipping in enough concrete to build a small, sturdy house.
These adventurous years – during which the couple weathered a hurricane, fended
off a randy Nazi skipper, aided Jewish refugees, and survived a surprise visit
from White’s mother-in-law – are detailed in his memoirs In Privateer’s Bay
(1939), Our Virgin Island (1953), and Two on the Isle (1985).
White was recalled to military duty when World War II broke out; he flew as
a pilot, fought near his birthplace in the Battle of Leyte Gulf (1944), and
served on