This is a story about a young sailor from the Deep South, and an experience that changed his life. Lanier Philips was on a U.S. Navy ship wrecked during a vicious storm off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, during World War II.

More than 200 of Philips’ shipmates died, but he was rescued. The treatment Philips received as he recuperated forever altered his life, opening his eyes to the possibility of a world without racism.