Steel Boats, Iron Men and their stories (plus a bit more)
A submarine friend sent me a package a few days ago and I have been having so much enjoyment going through the material. Today’s entry is a visit to 1968 when the Submarine Base at New London was celebrating its 100th Birthday. With no further introduction, here is the booklet in its entirety:
Read More Submarine Base Centennial 1968September 1951 found the United States embroiled once again in a conflict far away from its home shores. Harry S Truman was the President and he held a televised transcontinental news conference on the new medium of Television to discuss the official surrender of Japan at the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference. September 4, 1951 – […]
Read More The Silent Service – 1951 – Earning the Twin DolphinThe Typical Submariner Candidate in 1950 – Not Just Your Usual American Home Town Boy The average 20 year old American male in 1950 shared a number of things. They were between 9-10 years old when Pearl Harbor was bombed so they grew up while the world was at war. Their entertainment was radio and […]
Read More The Typical Submariner Candidate in 1950 – Not Just Your Usual American Home Town BoyHow do you describe a Submariner? If you are a qualified submariner, you probably have a standard description when people ask about your life when you were on the boats. The most common responses I get are “Oh, I could never do that” or “Weren’t you afraid?” But nearly everyone of a certain age has […]
Read More The Submariner StereotypeThis is the first post I have done in about a week. Summertime seems to be a tough time to write posts and looking back over the last eight years, July has always been the lowest response month for the blog. As someone who fills in for vacationing preachers in the summer, I am fully […]
Read More A Gathering of the Saints1967 – Five years before I raised my right hand for the very first time This article was written for the Navy Magazine ALL HANDS. As I look back at the history of the submarine force and what was happening during 1967, it is easy to understand why the Navy would want to put such […]
Read More “Why do Navymen volunteer for Submarine Duty?” one story from 1967Oro en Paz, Fierro en Guerra – The San Francisco Story (Post #711) Over the years, I have heard many submariners say that a boat changed their life. For some, it was because the boat was their qualification boat. The completion of a hard and grueling period in their life when they were required to […]
Read More I left my heart… on the San FranciscoThe Boomer Pin turns 50 in 2019 One of the most divisive subjects in the American submarine family is the breast insignia know by most as the Boomer pin. This little device has been a part of my uniform since January 1974 when I completed my first ballistic missile patrol. Wearing the pin by itself […]
Read More The Boomer Pin Turns 50 – (Does that mean it can finally join the Holland Club?)Cold War 1 – How the American Navy Pivoted its Submarine Force to Win the Day I love this time of year. Perspectives on the achievements of the past year reign supreme in the press and on almost all manner of media. With the advances of social media, the avalanche of looking back articles will […]
Read More LOOKING BACK: NINETEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY- EIGHT is gone. (How the submarine force pivoted in 1958 to win the Cold War)Would you do it again? As I have written before, so many people have the same reaction when you tell them that you were a Submariner. “Oh, I could never do that.” You just give them a certain smile of understanding and know that they are probably right. It takes a certain kind of crazy […]
Read More Would you do it again?