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 […]

He Was a Good Man – Remembering Our Submariners

He Was a Good Man – Remembering Our Submariners Every once in a while, I am reminded that the one constant in life is change and tied to that is the passage of time. No, I am not channeling a former presidential candidate… time is really passing and despite the commercials on tv promising to […]

Rear Admiral Robert Stocker – A visionary Constructor that Changed the Course of a War He Never Saw

Retiring from any long-standing position is always a memorable event. I retired the first time when I was forty years old. It was sooner than I had planned but circumstances made it a reality and I just went with the flow. It was a nice affair and even thirty years later, I remember how honored […]

Lest We Forget. USSV CF Memorial and Museum Boat Fund

Lest We Forget. USSV CF Memorial and Museum Boat Fund The desire to memorialize the great sacrifices made for a nation or cause goes back to the earliest times. Cave drawings and crude monuments to great battles are found in all parts of the world. The Romans mastered the art with buildings and statues […]

Happy Navy Day 2024 – The 75th Anniversary of one of the worst bureaucratical decisions in history

I’ve written a lot about the history of Navy Day in the past including this article from 2019 The Last Navy Day – How Truman almost killed the US Navy This is the 75th anniversary of that last Navy Day and the criticality of having a strong navy is becoming clearer with every passing day. […]

“Air Conditioning? Real Submariners Don’t Need No Air Conditioning”

“Air Conditioning? Real Submariners Don’t Need No Air Conditioning” From the very beginning of the submarine service in the United States, there were a number of constants. First, there was limited space. Priority was given to the machinery and support systems that would make the submarine effective. The engines were small at first but grew […]

Not for glory, but for victory – The need for Auxiliary Ships

Not for glory, but for victory Submarine tenders are near and dear to my heart. My seagoing career was launched and finished on the decks of two Cold War era tenders (USS Proteus and USS Hunley). Although Proteus was actually built as a World War 2 era tender, she was later converted to support the […]