Happy Birthday to my Navy Family – 242 Years Strong

This speech was delivered to the Pittsburgh Area Navy Ball on October 20, 2017. The Ball was sponsored by the Pittsburgh Council of the Navy League of the United States and the McKeesport Pittsburgh Chief Petty Officer’s Association Happy Birthday to my Family Life is full of celebrations. Births, graduations, achievements, weddings, anniversaries. October is […]

Dedication Ceremony for the Submarine Service Memorial at the Cemetery of the Alleghenies

It was an honor today to be present as a Memorial Stone was Dedicated by the USSVI Requin Base Pittsburgh PA at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies near Pittsburgh. The pictures tell the story. Hand Salute!

“The sea – like life itself – is a stern taskmaster” The Story of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz

The sea – like life itself – is a stern taskmaster. This was the early childhood lesson taught to the boy who would later become one of the most influential leaders in the United States Navy. He was significantly influenced by his German-born paternal grandfather, Charles Henry Nimitz, a former seaman in the German Merchant […]

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 […]

New London – The Cradle of Submarine Life in America (Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow)

The Cradle of Submarine Life in America began its story 150 years ago April 11 1868-2018 I was reading through a Naval History record of Building the Navy’s Bases in World War II (Volume I (Part II)) Part of the massive construction done to support the war was the story about the expansion of the […]

Some traditions are worth forgetting – Real Submariners

Each submariner’s journey begins when they finish all of their training and the hatch closes when the last man is down. For a hundred and seventeen years, submariners have steered a course unique to their own generation and their own type of boat. From the wildly dangerous gasoline powered boats to the sleek new nuclear […]

Diamond Anniversary – The First Battle of Savo Island (Part 8 – The Battle from the Japanese Perspective)

Disaster at Savo Island, 1942 by Lieutenant Colonel David E. Quantock United States Army USAWC Class of 2002 U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PA These excerpts are from a Report called Disaster at Savo Island, 1942. This unique perspective of the battle is taken primarily from the Japanese point of view. “Mikawa’s approach […]

Diamond Anniversary – The First Battle of Savo Island (Part 6 – The Day of 9 August and Observations )

THE DAY OF 9 AUGUST During the battle our aircraft carriers were south of San Cristobal Island, roughly 150 miles from Savo. Although they had on the evening of the 8th requested permission to retire, it was not received from COMSOPAC until 0330 on the 9th. This was, of course, more than an hour after […]

Diamond Anniversary – The First Battle of Savo Island (Part 5 – End of the Canberra and Astoria)

Part 5 END OF THE CANBERRA When the enemy left the Canberra she was lying helpless and afire approximately 5 miles southeast of Savo Island. Capt. Getting was fatally wounded, and the executive officer, Comdr. J. A. Walsh, R. A. N., took command. He at once initiated measures to save the ship. Gasoline tanks were […]

Memorandum Number 68: FUTURE SUBMARINE WARFARE – 1923 (How America almost lost World War II before it even started)

In the final days of the Great War, Naval planners had seen first hand the devastation and destruction caused by the modern machines of war. The submarine was an example of one of the most destructive. As plans were being made for the peace, decisions about the methods for maintaining that peace would have to […]