Holiday Routine – U.S.S. Vestal Daily Employment Schedule for Sunday, 7 December 1941

Holiday Routine – U.S.S. Vestal Daily Employment Schedule for Sunday, 7 December 1941 The document I discovered during my research on Cassin Young was yellowed and tattered with age. Some sailor had the presence of mind to keep a copy of it in his personal possession as a reminder of the day that would live […]

Submarine Base Pearl Harbor – Buried Secrets

Buried Secrets One of my favorite submarine reference books is called “United States Submarine Operations in World War II” written by Theodore Roscoe in conjunction with the Bureau of Naval Personnel and published by the United States Naval Institute. Reading through the book is like a looking through a periscope to the past. The people […]

Coins of all denominations – The Story of the USS Seawolf SS 197

USS Seawolf (SS 197) When the Japanese attacked the Philippines at the beginning of World War 2, all of the defensive plans that had been painstakingly drawn out before the war fell by the wayside. The tragedy of Pearl Harbor ensured that the relief that was supposed to come and rescue in the aftermath of […]

USS Pollack SS 180 – Bringing the War to the Enemy January 1942

A great piece of history concerning the first submarine to draw blood in the waters off of Japan. America was still reeling from the attacks at Pearl and across the Pacific. The large battleships were crippled or sunk and the aircraft carriers that would ultimately tip the scales were still few and far between. One […]

We Regret to Inform You… January 1942 and the aftermath of Pearl Harbor

We regret to inform you. The attack on Pearl Harbor was so swift and deadly that the military was not prepared to deal with the consequences of not being prepared for war: Identifying the souls lost and notifying the families about their loss. Considering the number of dead and wounded, it should not be a […]

Remembering Pearl Harbor – The Story of Gunners Mate Second Class John C. Pensyl

Their voices cry out from the past. 2403 Americans died from the attack on Pearl Harbor. Of that figure, 2,008 of them were enlisted with the Navy, 218 were members of the US Army, 109 were Marines, and 68 were civilians. While much is written about the event, we need to never lose focus on […]

Christmas in Manila – 1945

Merry Christmas. Simple words of greeting that have been shared all over the world in so many languages. But often the greeting is sent from far away from home. In December 1945, my Dad was working as part of the post war draw down in Manila. He had entered the war on March 8th, 1945 […]

The Pearl Harbor Attack at Eighty Years

On December 7, 2021, it will be eighty years since the “surprise” attack on Pearl Harbor. In all of those years, many books have been written about the attack and its significance. In the aftermath of the attack, there were also a lot of congressional hearings to discover why such a devastating attack could have […]

700,000 Views

Sometime yesterday, the Blog went over 700,000 views. Thanks to all who have visited and continue to support theleansubmariner. There are roughly 1000 posts currently in my searchable files. I hope to increase that number as the year ahead rolls out. It has been a difficult year personally for a number of reasons but my […]

August 12 1941 – Today I wish to save you from yourselves

Grab yourself a coffee and get comfortable. This is a bit of a long read, but one that has historical significance. August 12, 1941 was a very meaningful day in the path to World War 2. In the United States, loud voices were calling for isolation from the storms of Europe and the Far East. […]