The Day the World Changed – Launching Polaris Submerged

I watched the news recently when the Air Force successfully landed their bunker buster bombs on the Iranian Target. 65 years ago, the Navy had its own dramatic moment that forever changed the world. USS George Washington (SSBN 598) left Groton on 28 June 1960 for Cape Canaveral, Florida, where she loaded two Polaris missiles. […]

Voyage to the Bottom of the Seas – The Nuclear Navy of 1964

In 1964, I was ten years old. The movie, Voyage to the Bottom of the Seas had come out in 1961 but I only remember it from later showings on television when I was much older. The TV series that was born from that movie ran from 1964 to 1968 and I am pretty sure […]

An Ethan Allen Son’s Request

Submariners are certainly a unique group of people. I belong to a number of Veteran’s groups including the VFW and American Legion. I’m semi active with the Navy and Submarine League as well as Military Officer’s Association. But USSVI remains one of the best organizations as a whole. I am a life member and looking […]

How MAD were we?

In January 1963, the world was on edge. The recent Cuban Missile Crisis had shown how close we were to Mutual Assured Destruction on a scale never before seen. The arms race of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s had pushed the east and west closer to global confrontation since the end of the Second […]

Rig for Dive

Rig for Dive What an unusual year this has been. The Wuhan Virus has certainly taken its toll in so many direct and indirect ways. In my lifetime, I don’t think I can remember any other health emergency that received this much attention or caused so much angst. But I do see the human cost […]

March 31 – A tale of two sailors

March 31 – A tale of two sailors On March 31, 1975, A.E. Walther, LCDR, USN, Executive Officer of the USS George Washington and Robert W. MacPherson, MM3 (SS), USN signed the NAVPERS 1616/5 Report of Enlisted Performance Evaluation sheet that would become part of the official permanent record for Petty Officer MacPherson. “Assigned to […]

The Mid Watch Revisited

The Mid Watch What does it feel like to be alone? I am sure that many people are starting to feel alone with the current condition of social distancing. In the interest of slowing down the spread of the Corona Virus, whole cities are being asked to isolate themselves from others. Since close proximity seems […]

October 4, 1957 – The event that pushed America to Polaris

Rather than being a sign of achievement, Sputnik created a universal atmosphere of fear in the Western nations. The fear was that if the Soviets could launch a satellite that high into the atmosphere and sustain an orbit, what would stop them from launching nuclear weapons. That fear most certainly helped to spark the drive […]

USS Woodrow Wilson (SSBN-624) “The world must be made safe for democracy.”

I was assigned to the USS Halibut (SSN 587) in late 1975. The boat had just returned from her last mission and was about to undergo decommissioning. My previous assignment had been at Pearl Harbor on the USS George Washington but I did not want to extend to take the boat into the shipyard at […]

The Destroyer man that helped launch the 41 for Freedom Fleet – 31 Knot Burke

You can’t talk about the 41 for Freedom boats without talking about one of the most important men in their development: A former destroyer-man named Arleigh Burke A Sailor if there ever was one: Forty two years in the Navy is a long time by any measure. When that forty two years includes service in […]