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 […]

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 […]

Where Are They Now?

Where Are They Now? Social media has really had an impact on the world. While some might argue that it has been mostly negative, there are some positive impacts that most of us would have never thought of fifty years ago. In previous generations, you had to meet face to face in a common space […]

I hated the PRT… until I realized how bad things could get without it

I’ll be the first person to admit that of all the things I encountered in the navy, the PRT (Physical Readiness Test) was my least favorite thing. I can imagine there are a lot more like me out there. Let me explain. From the day you join any of our armed services, they start breaking […]

March 1915 – At a Crossroad in the Deveopment of U.S. Navy Submarines

A little under fifteen years from the day the US Navy purchased their first submarine, the future of the small craft was still not settled. In 1915, the United States faced a number of challenges as it observed the growing war in Europe. The conflagration of large-scale war was being brought home to America in […]

Navy Lives in the Past – Admiral Fullam’s View in 1925

Warning- This article may piss you off if you think the US Navy of today (and its bureaucracy) is on the right course This is the fourth in a series of stories about naval preparedness in the 1920s, but it could be ripped from today’s headlines I have previously written about Admiral William Fullam and […]

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 […]

Blessed are the volunteers… for they shall inherit the next watch … The USSV CF Scholarship Fund

Blessed are the volunteers… for they shall inherit the next watch I have always liked the fact that duty in the armed forces has been a volunteer organization since the draft ended. I signed up in the delayed entry program in April of 1972 when I was just seventeen. The draft still existed but I […]