In the Waters of Pearl – Building the Pearl Harbor Submarine Base 1918-1945

I spent a number of years in my youth living and sailing out of Pearl Harbor. The last time we were there was in 2003 and the changes even then were astonishing. Many of the old buildings were still there but a modern bridge attached Ford Island to the mainland. The Chapel at Sub […]

Memorandum Number 68: FUTURE SUBMARINE WARFARE – 1923 (How America almost lost World War II before it even started)

In the final days of the Great War, Naval planners had seen first hand the devastation and destruction caused by the modern machines of war. The submarine was an example of one of the most destructive. As plans were being made for the peace, decisions about the methods for maintaining that peace would have to […]

How the US Navy almost missed “The Boat”

Prior to World War 1, the General Board of the United States Navy was the primary instrument used for directing the strategic future of the U. S. Navy. This General Board had been instituted in 1900 as a way to provide expert advice to the Secretary of the Navy and was made up of nine […]

Remembering those who waited at home – Gold Star Mothers

The joy of giving birth to a brand new life has been described as one of the most significant moments in a woman’s life. For the following months and years, she feeds and clothes and nurtures that child until one day comes and the child becomes a man or a woman and goes off […]

“Ever a Submariner” by Jody Durham, MM2/SS (A Gang)

I am obviously a sucker for a great submarine story. I spend much of my free time researching stories about a rare breed of men who chose voluntarily to sail on ships designed by their creators to sail beneath the oceans surface. I was recently introduced to Jody Durham, a fellow Cold War sailor (and […]

Fringes of the Fleet

Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves When your country is an island, it is only natural that you would come to rely on the ocean for commerce with others. When that island is vulnerable to attacks form others, it is even more natural that the ocean would serve as a means for your defense. To […]

Grand Theft Submarine – Stealing the U-111

Note: This article is a result of some research I have been doing in the past few days about an amazing submarine story related to the technological development of American submarines. The story was researched and developed using two reference books: United States Submarines, Naval Submarine League, published in 2002 and United States Submarines by […]

Alpha “and” Omega

Alpha “and” Omega The beginning and the end. I looked at those words for a while to think about where I am in my life at this point. I will turn 60 years old this year and if things continue to progress as they should, I am much nearer the second than the first. Not […]

Nothing Heroic?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/28/columnist-wants-end-military-funeral-honors-vets-w/ St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bill McClellan published a column Wednesday, saying the U.S. military should do away with funeral honors, since “most veterans did nothing heroic” anyway. Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/28/columnist-wants-end-military-funeral-honors-vets-w/#ixzz2Owdi2kKW Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter I don’t know what planet this idiot comes from but to suggest that veterans did nothing heroic is one […]

It Was a Real Honor

I ran into my younger brother’s recruiter last night as we were waiting to get into a local restaurant I haven’t seen George in many years but he recognized me right away. He hugged my wife and her sister and then turned to me and said “You look just like your old man”. I wasn’t […]