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 […]

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 […]

James R Webb – an American Submarine Hero

Everybody needs heroes. You know, a bigger than life person that stands out among other people. Someone who lives a life of adventure and leads others through periods of adversary and innovation. The kind they write books about. When I was a kid, it was Horatio Hornblower. Hornblower was the most memorable character in a series […]

Your Table is ready Mr. Ambassador… Serving the USSV CF

Your Table is ready Mr. Ambassador Mac. Petty Officer Mac. Chief Mac. Mister Mac. (and a hundred various civilian titles including manager, trainer, leader, coach, speaker, preacher and on and on). Of all the titles I have had in my life, one that I have never had was Ambassador. At least not until this week. […]

A Great Reunion – Well, Mostly Great

The 2024 Gathering of the Saints is finally over. I have been absent from the keyboard for a while as we executed our latest reunion in Charleston SC. The planning for the reunion started at the end of 2023 and was non-stop until the very last day of the event. One thing about reunions is […]

Agent Orange and Guam… Fifty Years of Consequences

UPDATED INFORMATION AT END OF POST (FEBRUARY 2025) A little over fifty years ago, I came to the island of Guam for the very first time. The crew flight from Hawaii was one of the longest I had ever been on. Frankly, it was THE longest in my young life. Along with the officers and […]

Who ya gonna call? (What if the answer is no one?)

Déjà vu all over again. Anyone who reads my blog knows that I have a passion for the US Navy and the men and women who keep us safe. I have been enlisted and was later given the privilege to lead so many of them through clam seas and storms. But I also recognize that […]

Purple Heart Day July 7 2023 – Leadership Matters

Leadership I have studied leadership for most of my adult life. Watching the ultimate example of my own Father and the men of his generation was my first exposure to what it should look like. Honesty, even when it hurts. Integrity, even when it costs you. Dependability, even in the face of extreme challenges. My […]

I didn’t march today. But I did remember

Fifty years ago today I marched in the Elizabeth Pennsylvania Memorial Day Parade. It was a family tradition for a number of years and in 1972 it would be my last one as a civilian. I had already joined the Navy in the delayed entry program and would leave a few weeks later. I remember […]

May you live long enough that you long for your past despite the hardships and difficulties.

The definition for nostalgia that comes from Webster’s Dictionary include these: a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period of irrecoverable condition the state of being homesick With apologies to Webster and company, this is my definition: May you live long enough that you long for your past despite […]