Tradition!

Tradition! One of my great loves is old school musicals that made it to the big screen. Probably because I was an actor in high school and a few rare times since then. But one of my favorite musicals of all time was Fiddler on the Roof. What a great story line about overcoming great […]

Another New Adventure; Supporting the USS Pennsylvania

I belong to a number of organizations that promote the support of our navy and veterans. Those include the Navy League, the American Legion, the VFW, the Naval Institute and the Naval Submarine League (NSL). I recently became a life member of the NSL. The great thing about becoming older is that the cost of […]

Just when you Need a Helping Hand – The Incredibly Shrinking Fleet

Just when you Need a Helping Hand – The Incredibly Shrinking Fleet The last time I checked, despite some troubles with not enough water in the Panama Canal Zone, the oceans have not shrunk. Much of the world’s commerce still sails the oceans around the world carrying vital cargo and commerce of every kind from […]

Short, Jewish and From an Unspectacular background… Welcome to the Naval Academy Class of 1922

Overcoming being Overcome. Once upon a time, I began to write a story about the importance of overcoming being overcome. We had grand illusions that this would be the book of a lifetime. At that point I had so many examples and thought the time was right. Well, the moment passed but the idea never […]

Agent Orange and Guam… Fifty Years of Consequences

UPDATED INFORMATION AT END OF POST (FEBRUARY 2025) A little over fifty years ago, I came to the island of Guam for the very first time. The crew flight from Hawaii was one of the longest I had ever been on. Frankly, it was THE longest in my young life. Along with the officers and […]

Off to Alaska – Submarines Explore the Last Frontier

Port Call Alaska 1934 – Just Another Routine Port Call… Or Was It? I love Alaska. I had previously been on one boat that had travelled near the coast of the Last Frontier, but it wasn’t until many years later that I was actually able to see the forty ninth state up close and personal. […]

The Silent Service Needs You (1950’s version)

After World War 2, the US Navy had a surplus of many items from the big war. On both the east coast and the west coast, temporary resting places for many of the ships and submarines were teeming with no longer needed ships and submarines. I remember seeing large numbers of ships tied up and […]

“Air Conditioning? Real Submariners Don’t Need No Air Conditioning”

“Air Conditioning? Real Submariners Don’t Need No Air Conditioning” From the very beginning of the submarine service in the United States, there were a number of constants. First, there was limited space. Priority was given to the machinery and support systems that would make the submarine effective. The engines were small at first but grew […]

Not for glory, but for victory – The need for Auxiliary Ships

Not for glory, but for victory Submarine tenders are near and dear to my heart. My seagoing career was launched and finished on the decks of two Cold War era tenders (USS Proteus and USS Hunley). Although Proteus was actually built as a World War 2 era tender, she was later converted to support the […]

“to become a leader, you must learn the following essential points: (What a bunch of antiquated ideas!)

As my regular readers probably already know, I collect Bluejackets Manuals. I’m lucky enough to have one from both of my grandfather’s eras as well as a few from my dad’s. The ones from their generation were produced by the United States Naval Institute in Annapolis Maryland. The oldest one in my collection was […]