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 […]

The Line

As Memorial Day approaches, I know that all of us will be busy with tributes, ceremonies and parades of honor. At least I hope that we all would be so engaged. The truth is that many will be more focused on picnics and pools, parties and getaways, sales and sports. How far away from our […]

“My child is a submariner… I’ll sleep when they come home”

I will never forget that day in June 1972 when my parents came to Pittsburgh International Airport to see me off on my way to Boot Camp. I was not the first in my family to leave home (big brother went to a nearby college three years earlier) but I was the first to go […]

“Brandywine, Brandywine this is Singing Bush. Gertrude Check.”

There should be no question in anyone’s mind that submarines are one of the most challenging duties any person could ever volunteer for. The men and now women who sail on these unique ships do so with the understanding that all care has been taken to provide for their safety but in the end, safety […]

The Ride Home

The ride out is hard. You know you will not see your family for a few months and the things you will see will leave you with dreams for decades to come. But that ride home is phenomenal. When you get a day like the one pictured, the mountains on the starboard side as you […]

A New Wrinkle on H. G. Rickover – A Real Life Saver

I was doing a little research this morning about the main subject of a book I am writing and I ran across a little gem that while unrelated was certainly an eye catcher. It had to do with a young Lieutenant named Hyman G. Rickover. Okay, to be fair, he wasn’t all that old when […]

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 […]

A Prophesy From Nearly a Hundred Years Ago is Just as True Today

Everywhere you look these days, people are reacting to the senseless deaths of innocent people and wondering how we can stop the killing. I think its a fair question. But I think we are not examining the root causes of what seems to be an increase in evil actions. Society has become very sophisticated since […]

I love LA

Regular readers know that once upon a time when the world was still dark with fears from the Soviets, a little known base in Scotland served as a portable pier for our submarine fleet. Starting in 1960, units of the United States Fleet anchored in a small inlet called Holy Loch that was just up […]

A Bluejacket’s Memory

The Peacoat I can think of few images that better represent an American Bluejacket more than the famous statue of a sailor in his peacoat with the collar turned up and his hands in his pockets. I remember the controversy when the Lone Sailor was first unveiled. Purists were quick to point out that the […]