Every Moment Mattered – The Life and Death of Cassin Young, Captain, USN MOH Recipient – Chapter Seventeen: Sometimes course changes have unintended consequences

Chapter Seventeen: Sometimes course changes have unintended consequences On January 31, 1938, Admiral Leahy would report to the Congress on the preparedness of the Navy in anticipation of increased funding requests. HEARINGS ON H. R. 9218 TO ESTABLISH THE COMPOSITION OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY, TO AUTHORIZE THE CONSTRUC TION OF CERTAIN NAVAL VESSELS, AND FOR […]

Veteran’s Day 2025 at Del Webb Cane Bay – DWCB Veteran’s Club

In May of 2025, I was elected to be the President of the Veterans Club here at Del Webb Cane Bay in Summersville South Carolina. Our club is focused on providing a place where veterans can meet and share stories. We also provide goods and services to the local Veterans Administration outreach programs for homeless […]

There will be wars and rumors of wars – What if the losing side wrote the history books?

There will be wars and rumors of wars Matthew 24:6-8 (King James Version) 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: […]

Pre-war Footage of a Japanese Submarine

I was cruising through the National Archives today and found a short video clip of a Japanese submarine in operation. There is no sound to the clip, but it is pretty fascinating to observe the crew and the boat in action. Based on her configuration, only one of the pre-war submarines I identified in Jane’s […]

“Information from other sources sheds rather a different light on the matter.” Underestimating any enemy can be dangerous

“Information from other sources sheds rather a different light on the matter.” Underestimating any enemy can be dangerous. Recently, I was browsing through the national archives and found some declassified documents dating back to the 1920’s about submarine development abroad. During that time frame, there was a great desire on all parts of the world […]

250 Years of Service to Freedom – Happy Birthday US Navy

As the clock ticks down to the United States Navy 250th birthday, I wanted to take a few moments and reflect on what that really means. As a young boy, I was surrounded by navy relics and memorabilia. My family had served in the navy during both world wars, and I could see the navy […]

July – August 1925 the US Navy Spends Time Down Under

I was visiting my favorite Library of Congress website today that features newspapers from the history of the US. One of the featured stories on the front page of the Washington Times for August 1, 1925, was about how many American sailors married Australian women after a recent port visit. The story brought a smile to […]

“Admiral, the Navy is on its way out. There’s no reason for having a Navy and a Marine Corps.” How Johnson and Truman almost lost the Cold War

A Navy Man at Heart I have to begin this story with a blunt acknowledgement: There has never been a day in my life that the Navy wasn’t the center of the universe when it came to a world that was free, and the Navy was an overpowering force for good. That’s kind of a […]

Do we need a Navy League?

For many years after my dad died, I kept a few mementos of his on my desk. Mom had given me his wallet among other things and in the wallet was his driver’s license, a card from his days as a Red Cross volunteer, a veteran’s card from his discharge as a navy man and […]

Manitowoc Built Submarines – America’s Ability to Innovate and Adapt

In 1940, the American navy was advertised as one of the most powerful in the world. In a speech to the Navy Council of Illinois in Chicago on Oct. 26—Secretary of the Navy Knox asserted that the United States “has the most powerful fleet in the world and is engaged in the task of building […]