"Gerald Coffee served our country as a naval officer for 28 years. Much of that service was as one of the longest held Prisoners of War in the Communist prisons of North Vietnam. His military decorations include the Silver Star ... the Distinguished Flying Cross ... Two Bronze Stars ... the Air Medal ... two Purple Hearts ... and the Vietnam Service Medal with 13 stars. He has received numerous civilian awards as well, and holds a Masters Degree in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley.
Through a national survey of corporate and association meeting planners, he was selected as one of America's top ten speakers. He is considered by many as the most memorable speaker ever! The Million Dollar Roundtable named him as one of their top 20 speakers ever.
His book, Beyond Survival, was featured in the condensed version in Reader's Digest, Guideposts Magazine, and in audio cassette by Nightingale-Conant. Captain Coffee was featured in the History Channel special "The Man, the Moment, the Machine" and in Michael Dobb's latest book, One Minute to Midnight ... Kennedy, Khurshchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War for his pivotal role in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Drawing from his own unique life experiences, he shares a message not just of survival, but of going beyond survival."