USS George Washington SSBN 598 – First and Finest (December 30, 1959)

A short history of the first ballistic missile submarine. USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (SSBN 598) THIS SHIP has been given the most illustrious name in America. Rarely does history conﬁrm contemporary judgment in pronouncing a man “indispensable” to his country. But there is general agreement that on three occasions, when the fate of our Nation hung in […]

The Patten Family and the USS Nevada (1941)

As it so often happens, I was looking through the archives and discovered an article that jumped off the pages at me. This article was found in a collection of Navy Department News Releases and was released seventy seven years ago today (September 7, 2018) NAVY DEPARTMENT HOLD FOR RELEASE SUNDAY PAPERS, SEPTEMBER 7, 1941 […]

August 28, 1973 The Journey Begins

I joined the Navy in April of 1972 by raising my right hand for the very first time. The Navy used the Delayed Entry Program to pre-sign willing young volunteers and at the age of seventeen, I was anxious to leave home and see the world. I remember my girlfriend at the time crying a […]

Cassin Young, Captain, United States Navy MOH Recipient, Information request

Good morning. For the past few years, I have been searching through Naval Records, newspaper articles, period books and a number of other sources to help complete the picture of one of the greatest heroes the Navy has ever produced, Captain Cassin Young. The journey has had a lot of twists and turns but I am […]

The one thing you can’t stop

Today marks the end of yet another year. The world has turned 365 more times in its journey and I feel fortunate to have had more good days than bad ones during that time. I find myself in a much better place today than I did a year ago and for that I am grateful. […]

Attack at Pearl Harbor by Japanese Planes on December 7, 1941 – Battleships, Battle Force After Action Report

A16-3/(0923) UNITED STATES PACIFIC FLEET BATTLESHIPS, BATTLE FORCE U.S.S. MARYLAND, Flagship December 19, 1941 From: Commander Battleships, Battle Force. To: Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Subject: Attack at pearl Harbor by Japanese Planes on December 7, 1941. Reference: (a) CO West Virginia ltr BB48/A16-3 of Dec. 11, 1941., with Combat ships lst end A16-3,(0974) of […]

The Official Navy Department Statement regarding the Pearl Harbor Attack published One year after (1942)

Seventy Five Years ago (1942) The Navy Department released a statement on the events that had transpired nearly one year before on December 7, 1941. The world was vastly different in those days when it came to the press and communications. The magnitude of the damage in Pearl was probably not understood fully by the […]

An Outsider in Paradise – A Pocket Guide to Hawaii (1940’s)

This information comes from the Navy Heritage Center. During the Second World War, Hawaii was the crossroads for the Pacific. Men, material, ships and planes on their way to the battles in the South Pacific and eventually Japan travelled through Hawaii in many cases. Not much changed over the many decades following the war since […]

In the Waters of Pearl – Building the Pearl Harbor Submarine Base 1918-1945

I spent a number of years in my youth living and sailing out of Pearl Harbor. The last time we were there was in 2003 and the changes even then were astonishing. Many of the old buildings were still there but a modern bridge attached Ford Island to the mainland. The Chapel at Sub […]

USS TRIGGER SS 237 – The First Patrol June 26, 1942 (75 Years ago)

USS Trigger SS 237 Departed on her first war patrol on June 26, 1942. The United States Navy had not planned on using the submarines at its disposal in the way they found themselves forced to in the spring of 1942. The Japanese Navy had crushed the battle fleet in a surprise attack at Pearl […]