Every Moment Mattered – The Life and Death of Cassin Young, Captain, USN MOH Recipient (Introduction and Prologue)

Did you ever get interested enough in a particular subject that you would gladly spend hundreds if not thousands of hours researching that subject? That pretty much describes my passion for the story of Cassin Young. I can’t remember when I started researching and writing a proposed book about Cassin Young. It seems like it’s […]

The Holland Movie

I have spent a lot of time harvesting information about the early days of submarining both here and abroad. Over the past few years, I have tried to take a deeper look at the Holland submarine and its impact on the US Navy. A few of those articles are here: https://theleansubmariner.com/2022/03/30/the-men-who-go-down-into-the-waters-in-these-boats-must-take-their-lives-in-their-hands-hollands-invention-in-1898/ https://theleansubmariner.com/2020/04/09/the-creation-of-a-disordered-mind-hollands-submarine-boat/ Recently I signed […]

Observations on Japanese character, with special reference to Japan’s ambition and her relation in this connection with the United States. A confidential report from Admiral Greaves (1920)

I debated trying to shorten this post up a bit then decided that the story had so much significance, cutting pieces out would be difficult and would not be fair to the purpose I intended. I have been featuring some articles recently about Japan and its navy. One of the characters that came into view […]

Mr. Roosevelt’s Views – Japan through Teddy’s eyes

I see there is another book out about Theodore Roosvelt. To Rescue the American Spirit: Teddy Roosevelt and the Birth of a Superpower (The Presidential Series) Hardcover – October 21, 2025 by Bret Baier (Author) I am a huge fan of Theodore Roosevelt. One of my favorite books from recent times is “Theodore Rex” by Edmund Morris which […]

There will be wars and rumors of wars – What if the losing side wrote the history books?

There will be wars and rumors of wars Matthew 24:6-8 (King James Version) 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: […]

Do we need a Navy League?

For many years after my dad died, I kept a few mementos of his on my desk. Mom had given me his wallet among other things and in the wallet was his driver’s license, a card from his days as a Red Cross volunteer, a veteran’s card from his discharge as a navy man and […]

July 2025 – Celebrating 14 years on theleansubmariner.com

Fourteen years has flown by Looking back over the past fourteen years since I began the blog, there have been many changes in my life and the world. The stunning event that began the desire to write is long past and mostly buried in the dark corners of my mind. Being let go from a […]

The Day the World Changed – Launching Polaris Submerged

I watched the news recently when the Air Force successfully landed their bunker buster bombs on the Iranian Target. 65 years ago, the Navy had its own dramatic moment that forever changed the world. USS George Washington (SSBN 598) left Groton on 28 June 1960 for Cape Canaveral, Florida, where she loaded two Polaris missiles. […]

Medal of Honor Awardee Frank William Crilley – A Diving Pioneer

Of all the fears I have ever had, being trapped in a sunken submarine is one of the biggest. The second biggest fear is finding out firsthand where crush depth is (My submariner nephews always accused me of serving on the both the Turtle and the Holland. This is dedicated to them.) Over the course […]

Navy Lives in the Past – Admiral Fullam’s View in 1925

Warning- This article may piss you off if you think the US Navy of today (and its bureaucracy) is on the right course This is the fourth in a series of stories about naval preparedness in the 1920s, but it could be ripped from today’s headlines I have previously written about Admiral William Fullam and […]