A sign of the times… Got Shelters?

Sunday March 4, 1962 was a cool and cloudy day in Washington DC. The front page of the paper had several stories about Marine Colonel John Glenn, Jr., recent space traveler visiting his hometown in Ohio to happy throngs of people. Other front-page stories talked about government corruption, unrest overseas, and of course, across the […]

The Final Dive of the F-4 (March 1915)

F-4; THE FIRST SUBMARINE LOSS FOR THE US NAVY It was on the morning of March 25, 1915, that F-1, F-3, and F-4 left Honolulu for local operations. F-4 did not return, and the eventual detection and recovery was a classic of naval salvage. She was later “interned” at the bottom of Pearl Harbor after […]

Once to Every Man and Nation

As I watch the chaos unfold across the ocean, I can’t help but think that history is repeating itself again. A maniacal despot seeking power, territory and personal gain pits his army against a weaker nation. But this time, the weaker nation is pushing back. Putin has just joined the scourges of the ages. He […]

Book progress – Tell the Whole Story

One of my goals for the past few years was to tell the story of Cassin Young, Captain, US Navy. Cassin was a thirty-year man in the Navy that saw some of his most significant moments during two of the most pivotal battles of the Second World War. At Pearl Harbor, he was stationed on […]

The USS Albacore SS 218 and her Sponsor – February 1942

The story of World War 2 is always a combination of the stories of the ships that served and the men who were involved in their lives. This story is about the USS Albacore, but it is also a story about some of the men who were around when she was launched. The ship’s sponsor […]

Gallant Leadership and Courageous Conduct Under Fire – The Story of the USS Duncan DD 485 in 1942

In February 1942, the Navy was desperate for fighting ships. From the attack at Pearl Harbor to the battles that stretched across the Pacific, years of neglect in building an adequate amount of combat vessels was being felt in every theater. Shipyards were being pushed to finish the ships that were authorized a year before […]

The Ship That Wouldn’t Die – USS Shaw DD-373

The Ship That Wouldn’t Die – USS Shaw DD-373 One of the most remarkable pictures captured at Pearl Harbor on December 7th was the spectacular explosion of the USS Shaw which was in a floating dry dock as the attack began. The bomb damage was significant enough to make anyone watching wonder if anything could […]

The Surrender of Singapore and the Great Bluff – February 15, 1942

The Surrender of Singapore and the Great Bluff In the early chaotic days of World War 2, the Japanese took advantage of the fact that the allies had bartered away so many opportunities to prepare for a conflict. The Washington Naval Arms limitation treaty of 1922 resulted in smaller navies among the future belligerents, but […]

The Short Life of the USS Juneau – February 14 to November 13 1942

A fast ship for a new kind of war As the Japanese were crushing their opponents all across the western Pacific Ocean, the USS Juneau was commissioned on February 14, 1942, with great fanfare. Captain Lyman K. Swenson was her first commanding officer. Little could anyone have predicted that less than 9 months later, the […]

The cost of peace is often the next war.

On February 12, 1922, the American fleet began their annual exercises. These exercises had been conducted for a very long time and were designed to test the readiness of the sips and the men who sailed on them. But in 1922, a very different atmosphere hung heavy over the entire fleet. Coming off of […]