I love a parade…

I love a parade,the tramping of feet, I love every beat I hear of a drum. I love a parade, when I hear a band I just want to stand and cheer as they come. That rat-a tat-tat, the blare of a horn. That rat-a tat-tat, a bright uniform; The sight of a drill will […]

The toughest time of the year

I suppose we all have a tough time every year to deal with. Okay, maybe only those of us over the age of 58 can say that. Maybe its Christmas or a special family holiday when you realize that the person who you loved so much was truly not coming back. For me, the week […]

The Sinking of the SS McKeesport

April 29th marks the anniversary of the sinking of the SS McKeesport by a German U-boat Like they have for many years, aging veterans and their families come to the shores of the Youghiogheny at a place called the Palisades to remember the proud little cargo ship that served its country well from 1919 to […]

Love, Your Son Butch, Chapter One

Twenty years ago this month, my Dad finally lost his battle with heart disease and went to be with his Lord. The week after his death, I found a box in the basement of our old house that had all of his letters home from World War 2. Over the next ten years, I plugged […]

“Love, Your Son Butch” – Introduction (April 2013)

Introduction John C. MacPherson, Jr. was seventeen years old when he joined the United States Navy. Over the next seventeen months, he wrote a number of letters to his family. The letters were signed with John’s many names: Sonny, Foo, Butch, and Goofer. But in most cases they ended with two common phrases: “God be […]

Rise again…

This week, Christians all over the world are celebrating the holiest of all days, a day which is set aside to remember the Resurrection of the Christ. This day reminds us that there is an ultimate victory for those who are part of the faith… the victory of life over death. Like many people, I […]

A Good Navy Man

The Bluejacket’s Manual of 1946 was a special edition The US Navy (along with its sister services) had just finished a victory of epic proportions and the BJM writers were writing about the needs the country would have from its sailors for years to come. In the introduction, the manual talks about the need for […]

A date that should also live in infamy (but we somehow want to ignore)

1993 – World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand. http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2008/february/tradebom_022608 All of us who were alive on September 11, 2001 will remember the tragic scenes of planes exploding into buildings and the heroic […]

Submarines; Scourge of the Seas or Sentinels of Liberty? (It depends on who is at the helm)

At the outset of the war between the states, the weight of sea power rested with the Northern states both in actual number of existing ships and the capacity to manufacture new ones. The industrial capacity of the north had matured because of many reasons up to that point. Availability of raw materials and capacity […]

A more modern way of living… really???

I saw this posted on a web site today and had to share. For all of my friends down in North Carolina, I do sincerely hope there are not too many like this person running around without adult supervision. We have had people like this throughout the history of the country. Otherwise PT Barnum would […]