Searching for Ghosts in the South Pacific is a true account of ordinary men who unexpectedly embark on a decade-long journey of adventure and discovery following the wake of World War II. Their exploits searching for battle sites and shipwrecks lead them from the mountains and jungles of Papua New Guinea to Guadalcanal, up the chain of the Solomon Islands, and on to the Philippines. Author Daniel J. Basta recounts moments of real fright and fear, serious fun, unexpected turns, and profound exhilaration, all of which bind the men together. Not only are this “band of brothers” and the many characters they meet vividly brought to life, but so are many ghosts of the Pacific war. In the end the greatest discovery is what they learn about themselves and the changing world around them.

Daniel J. Basta was the Director of the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), within the U.S. Department of Commerce from 1999 to 2016 when he retired after 37 years of government service as an engineer, scientist, and administrator. He was a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES) for more than two decades and had an extraordinary career both inside and outside of government. He is well known as an explorer, adventurer and master diver who has traveled the world. He has dived more that 160 shipwrecks. Since retirement he has become an accomplished writer and author, writing tales of his adventures, sometimes to the wildest of places, and of the colorful people in them. This is his fourth book. What makes his books and short stories so compelling is that they are all true.