Happy Thanksgiving 2018

I hope you and your family have a very meaningful Thanksgiving Five years ago, I posted the story about The First Thanksgiving. Its amazing how many things have changed in just those five years. Here is a repost of the original story with updates The Blog is doing pretty well this year. Since we began, […]

You’re a Nuclear Submariner? How did you get such a cool job? (1963)

By January 1963, the United States Navy submarine force was growing at an amazing pace. The Soviet launching of Sputnik had sparked a fire in the Defense Department and the government as a whole to find ways to counter the perceived threats of an unbridled Soviet Union. The answer of course was to capitalize on […]

Have you driven a Ford (submarine) lately? (Probably not and there’s a good reason for it)

1915 – The world at war In September of 1915, the war in Europe was over a year old. The combatants had long ago determined that the war was not going to be brought to a quick conclusion. The British Fleet successfully blockaded Germany and her allies while the German U-Boat war was fully implemented […]

There are no GBF pins to be found anywhere (but I could be wrong)

DBF – but not for you sailor I was a sailor on board five nuclear powered submarines. Like many young men of my day, I had asked for an assignment to a diesel boat out of Key West Florida (or at least San Diego) but the Navy needed my skills (and those of most of […]

Tigers of the Sea – Nerves of Iron and Steel

I’ve heard submarines called many things in my life but this was the first time I have ever heard the term “Tigers of the Sea”. It’s been over a hundred years since “THE MARVEL BOOK OF AMERICAN SHIPS”, by Captain Orton P. Jackson, U.S.N., and Major Frank E. Evans, U.S.M.C. was published. The term is […]

Winning the Dollar Bet – Every Submariner Understood What Losing Meant

Buried Treasure One of the great things about researching old books and documents is finding the odd story buried in one of them. Taken by itself, the fact or story would not mean much but pulled out and given perspective, it gives an insightful vision to something that happened along the way that would have […]

The unluckiest day – Friday the 13th 1942

Sailors by and large are a very superstitious lot. The things that set a sailing man or woman on edge are as ancient as the sea itself. I am not sure if it is the dangers they know they will face once they are divorced from the shore or just a strong feeling that fate […]

What’s it like to live on a submarine?

Arguably one of the most asked questions most Submariners hear once they reveal their sordid past: What’s it like living on a submarine? Every generation probably has their own version of life on board. A Diesel Boat sailor would certainly have a very detailed description of what is was like to never be able to […]

Reporters noted: “There is a typical submarine smell” Stories from the U 111 Archives

This week was the annual Veterans Day remembrance in the United States and around the world. Of course, this year was the Centennial of the original celebration of Armistice Day when the land armies in Europe stopped fighting on 11-11 -1918 at 11:00 AM. The Navy’s involved did not have the same cease fire. In a few […]

I never planned on becoming an old veteran

As Veteran’s Day approaches once more, my thoughts turn to how many veterans I have known in my life. My Dad, of course, comes to mind immediately. He served during the last year of World War 2 in the Navy and returned to an America that was fundamentally changed from the country he had grown […]