Lean on me – Boot Camp Memories from 1972

It is with a very heavy heart that I join so many others in saying farewell to Bill Withers today. His song “Lean on me” was the theme song for my company in boot camp and every time I hear that song, I am reminded how much we need each other in troubled times. Rest […]

Love, your Son Butch ~ Father’s Day Memories

Today’s blog is from a book I wrote based on my Dad’s letters to his family during the second world war and the following year while he tried to make it back home. I found the letters a few days after he passed away, and learned a lot about a man who I thought […]

The Summer of ‘42

Many of the World War 2 stories being profiled right now are being followed because of the 70th anniversary of those events. The realization that the loss of so many of the participants due to age has finally settled in for many of us. My Dad has been gone for nearly twenty years but since […]

Midway: What about the Boats?

In all the stories you see and read about Midway, the focus is on the surface and air activity. Yet one of the assets the Pacific fleet had plenty of were the submarines. Submarine activity up until June 4th of 1942 had demonstrated capabilities beyond what the original concept was thought of. Certainly intercepting warships […]

The night before … USS Astoria at Midway

There will be no sleep tonight for the main space sailors on board USS Astoria CA-34. The eight boilers would be cleared and on line before the expected engagement the next day (June 4th) and the steam turbines driving her four shafts would be preheated and running at daybreak. Even with the forced draft blowers […]

Bluejackets Manual, eighteenth edition, 1968 (Third Printing, September 1969)

I’m sure I have mentioned it before but I have a modest collection of Bluejackets Manuals dating back to the early 1900’s. I started out with my Grandfather Parkin’s manuals from the Second World War. From that time, I have added them as I find them in old book stores, sea ports, and Army Navy […]

Acts of Desperation

May of 1942 was a desperate time for the Allies in the South Pacific. Japanese expansion had been literally unchecked for the first six months of the war. It was only the bravery of the outmatched men of the Navy, Army and Marines that stood between the Japanese and the land down under. This was […]

Captain, my Captain…

I read a lot of military related blogs and one of the hottest stories for submarines and secret service people is about bad behavior and its consequences. Like many folks, I am not happy that this type of behavior has become so visible. Unlike many folks, I am not surprise at all. Not one tiny […]

The measure of a man

I am proud to have been a Submariner. Sometimes I did my job with great skill and sometimes I found that others had greater offerings. As a Submariner, I learned a few basic things about measurement early on. Just because you were assigned to sub school did not make you a submariner. Even being assigned […]

Presidents, Politics and Policies: How Thomas Jefferson almost killed the Republic

Without a doubt, Thomas Jefferson was one of the most influential Presidents of our countries history. He was a thoughtful man who placed much value education and knowledge. As any person is capable of having a blind spot or two, Jefferson and his contemporaries made decisions that almost cost us a country 200 years ago. […]