The Beginning of a New Era – September 30, 1954

In the beginning… I was born in 1954 in the Mon Valley area. That area is where the Monongahela River winds through the of western Pennsylvania. The area was famous for the many steel mills and coal mines and the air growing up was always smokey and had distinct odors depending on which way […]

THE TRIP TO THE SUBMARINE – Key West 1960

Field Trips are Fun I remember as a kid we used to go to businesses on field trips to get a glimpse into what our parents and others did for a living. One year it was a bakery with all of the delicious smells you might expect. Another trip brought us to Menzie Dairy where […]

Sinking of the SS McKeesport April 29th

250 Years of Service to Freedom – Happy Birthday US Navy

As the clock ticks down to the United States Navy 250th birthday, I wanted to take a few moments and reflect on what that really means. As a young boy, I was surrounded by navy relics and memorabilia. My family had served in the navy during both world wars, and I could see the navy […]

He Was a Good Man – Remembering Our Submariners

He Was a Good Man – Remembering Our Submariners Every once in a while, I am reminded that the one constant in life is change and tied to that is the passage of time. No, I am not channeling a former presidential candidate… time is really passing and despite the commercials on tv promising to […]

April 24, 1972 Revisited

We are really settling in to our new community. Del Webb Cane Bay in Summerville SC encourages people to participate in a number of clubs. I am one of the leaders in the Veterans Club and enjoy meeting with so many people who served the country. We also belong to the Wine Club where we […]

A lot has changed in 70 years

Seventy years doesn’t seem like such a long time ago now. Looking back over my life, I would have to say that I am amazed at how quickly those years have come and gone. Well not quite. I don’t actually turn seventy until May 20th. But I am reminded often that there has never been […]

Nautilus to Columbia by James C. Goodall

Happy December. This is the time of year when we get presents in the mail and for me that includes the latest project by my friend James. C. Goodall. Jim is a former Air Force guy (Retired) who combines his photographic skills with his passion for submarines and other technical platforms to create valuable resources […]

Women went to war; I wonder what they wore ? – February 3 1942

My Mom celebrated her tenth birthday on February 3, 1942. She and I talked a few times about the war that was going on around her at that time and she did not have many memories. She was born into a well to do family and was isolated from the events that were transpiring […]

“We thought they would be taller” The Americans Arrive in Northern Ireland, January 1942

I don’t normally write much about the War in Europe on my blog since it doesn’t fit well with my core interests. But a story from the newspapers of January 28, 1942, caught my eye. The story was about the arrival of the US Army in Belfast Northern Ireland. Debbie and I travelled to Northern […]