The Tanaka Memorial – Real or Imagined?

This story will be done in two parts. In 1940, Rear Admiral Joseph Taussig was called to testify to Congress about the ship building program and the perceived threats that were emerging in the Far East. This controversial testimony placed him at odds with an old nemesis – the former Assistant Secretary of the Navy […]

Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead… But Captain we are out of toilet paper… ALL STOP!!!

It’s amazing to me that the smartest planners in the world did not see the need for toilet paper as they planned for the defense of the free world. Okay, that might be a bit exaggerated, but the need to supply the ships and airplanes that would end up fighting totalitarianism was not evident in […]

The Tripartite Pact of 1940 – Prelude to War

In September of 1940, the fate of world peace was sealed with the signing of the Tripartite Pact.. The Tripartite Pact was directed primarily at the United States. Its practical effects were limited since the Italo-German and Japanese operational theatres were on opposite sides of the world, and the high contracting powers had disparate strategic […]

The Circle Plans – Japan’s method to achieve Hakkō ichiu

Steel One year before December 7, 1941, the Japanese steel industry was coming to the realization that the enormous appetite from their military buildup was impossible to achieve. In the 1930’s, the United States was alarmed by the increase of Japan’s militant activity in Manchuria and elsewhere. After years of dormancy, the United States Navy […]

The “Down Express” – Tambor Class Warriors

The “Down Express” – Tambor Class Warriors I have a page on Facebook called War in the Pacific 1941-1946 which can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/WarInThePacific19411946 My original intent was to do a daily diary for the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the second war. Funny how time flies. It’s been four years and I […]

21 Days

Happy Navy Birthday I had thought about doing nothing more than my traditional Navy birthday greeting but decided that the current countdown series related to the 2020 election is pertinent to the United States Navy. For the record, I am a volunteer with the Trump Victory team in Pennsylvania serving as the South West PA […]

Warshot Loaded – Why Every Submariner is a Warrior

I know I have been MIA for a while. Sorry about that. Lots of personal stuff going on which I will share later. I recently rejoined the Veterans of Foreign Wars. My service on board two Boomers allowed me to be eligible to join. I have always thought that the organization was missing the boat […]

The Battleship Ferryboats – Taking the Doughboys for a Ride

Taking care of the Army… Again Dedicated to my Army friend Phil When World War 1 ended, the United States had many soldiers that were stationed in France and Belgium. They had been sent there to help “Defeat the Hun” and now they were ready to come home. My Great Uncle Alex was an Army […]

The story of us – the original Hallmark Movie – May 4th 1980

The story of us – the original Hallmark Movie A friend of ours wished my wife and me a happy forty year anniversary for the day we met. May 4th, 1980. She said that we were like a Hallmark Movie. Little did she know? I think we actually pioneered the whole genre of the Hallmark […]

Hide and Seek in April 1920 – Submarine Style

One of my favorite submarine memories was the first time the USS San Francisco (SSN 711) anchored off the coast of Maui. The mission leading up to that visit was not a long one but we were going to pick up members of some of our families after the stay was over and do […]