August 28, 1973 The Journey Begins

I joined the Navy in April of 1972 by raising my right hand for the very first time. The Navy used the Delayed Entry Program to pre-sign willing young volunteers and at the age of seventeen, I was anxious to leave home and see the world. I remember my girlfriend at the time crying a […]

Cassin Young, Captain, United States Navy MOH Recipient, Information request

Good morning. For the past few years, I have been searching through Naval Records, newspaper articles, period books and a number of other sources to help complete the picture of one of the greatest heroes the Navy has ever produced, Captain Cassin Young. The journey has had a lot of twists and turns but I am […]

Aloha to my Facebook Ohana

I did three shortened tours in the Navy in Hawaii and had some of my greatest and worst life experiences while I was there. One word that comes to mind when I think of Hawaii and the subject of this post is Ohana. From Wikipedia: “Part of Hawaiian culture, ʻ ohana means family (in an […]

Attack at Pearl Harbor by Japanese Planes on December 7, 1941 – Battleships, Battle Force After Action Report

A16-3/(0923) UNITED STATES PACIFIC FLEET BATTLESHIPS, BATTLE FORCE U.S.S. MARYLAND, Flagship December 19, 1941 From: Commander Battleships, Battle Force. To: Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Subject: Attack at pearl Harbor by Japanese Planes on December 7, 1941. Reference: (a) CO West Virginia ltr BB48/A16-3 of Dec. 11, 1941., with Combat ships lst end A16-3,(0974) of […]

The Official Navy Department Statement regarding the Pearl Harbor Attack published One year after (1942)

Seventy Five Years ago (1942) The Navy Department released a statement on the events that had transpired nearly one year before on December 7, 1941. The world was vastly different in those days when it came to the press and communications. The magnitude of the damage in Pearl was probably not understood fully by the […]

An Outsider in Paradise – A Pocket Guide to Hawaii (1940’s)

This information comes from the Navy Heritage Center. During the Second World War, Hawaii was the crossroads for the Pacific. Men, material, ships and planes on their way to the battles in the South Pacific and eventually Japan travelled through Hawaii in many cases. Not much changed over the many decades following the war since […]

The Submariner’s Lament; When you remember

The story called “When you understand” was posted originally on Facebook in April 2014. It has been shared over 9711 times in the time it has been on Facebook On May 22, 2018, the short story I composed in October of 2014 (originally titled “When you understand”) was formally registered with the United States Copyright Office with the […]

The Day after Pearl Harbor

The day after Pearl Harbor was still a chaotic day for most in the Hawaiian Islands. Rumors of an invading Japanese force were widespread and panic was probably just below the surface. The brilliant and gleaming fleet was awash in black residue and blood. Shipwrights and common sailors frantically were trying to rescue men […]

USS George Washington SSBN 598

You never forget your first… When I requested a submarine for my first assignment after sub school , I wanted to be on a Diesel Boat first, a fast attack second, and a Boomer third preferably a 640 class. I vaguely remember an old salt at a bar in Groton talking about how beautiful Key […]