Naval Communique No. 214 – December 6, 1942: THE JAPANESE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR, DECEMBER 7, 1941

Pearl Harbor – The narrative Nearly two years after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Navy Department released a comprehensive report detailing the losses and destruction at Pearl Harbor. Fighting in the Solomon Islands at Guadalcanal was ongoing but after the epic sea battles in the preceding months, the battle was turning in favor […]

Every Moment Mattered – Epilogue

Every Moment Mattered – Epilogue At 01:48 on 13 November, Rear Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan’s relatively small landing support group of thirteen ships engaged the enemy. The Japanese force consisted of two battleships, one light cruiser, and nine destroyers. Because of bad weather and confused communications, the battle occurred in near-pitch darkness and at almost […]

Every Moment Mattered – The Life and Death of Cassin Young, Captain, USN MOH Recipient – Chapter Twenty: “Like a ballroom brawl with the lights turned out.”

Chapter Twenty: “Like a ballroom brawl with the lights turned out.” Four days. From the moment Cassin Young reported on board until the night of October 13th there were only four days for him to prepare for the battle that was waiting just beyond the horizon. The San Francisco had nearly 1000 crew members on board […]

Every Moment Mattered – The Life and Death of Cassin Young, Captain, USN MOH Recipient – Chapter Nineteen: Into the Battle. Every Man a Hero

Chapter Nineteen Into the battle. Every man a hero The Marines that landed on Guadalcanal were about to write a page into history that would be written with blood. This tiny island in the Pacific should not have been the place where the allies would start their long drive to Tokyo. But observation planes had […]

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 […]

A Day at the Races – Submarine Skulduggery in the Home Islands 1942-1943

Skulduggery has been described as underhanded or unscrupulous behavior. Using technology to sneak up on an enemy was once viewed by proper gentlemen as nothing more than skullduggery. In the nicest sort of way, that is what submarines are best at. I mean, how unfair is it that someone can sneak up on your homeland […]

December 6, 1942 – The Navy Reveals the True Damage at Pearl Harbor

Within hours of the attack on Pearl Harbor, news started filtering back to anxious families on the mainland that something horrible had happened to the country. The banner headlines from the eighth of December would forever be changed with news of the encroachment of the Empire of Japan across the vast reaches of the Pacific […]

Gallant Leadership and Courageous Conduct Under Fire – The Story of the USS Duncan DD 485 in 1942

In February 1942, the Navy was desperate for fighting ships. From the attack at Pearl Harbor to the battles that stretched across the Pacific, years of neglect in building an adequate amount of combat vessels was being felt in every theater. Shipyards were being pushed to finish the ships that were authorized a year before […]

The Short Life of the USS Juneau – February 14 to November 13 1942

A fast ship for a new kind of war As the Japanese were crushing their opponents all across the western Pacific Ocean, the USS Juneau was commissioned on February 14, 1942, with great fanfare. Captain Lyman K. Swenson was her first commanding officer. Little could anyone have predicted that less than 9 months later, the […]

The cost of peace is often the next war.

On February 12, 1922, the American fleet began their annual exercises. These exercises had been conducted for a very long time and were designed to test the readiness of the sips and the men who sailed on them. But in 1922, a very different atmosphere hung heavy over the entire fleet. Coming off of […]