Seeing the world

I always wanted to see the world. When I was young, there was something inside me that loved adventure. I read Rudyard Kipling’s books from cover to cover and marveled at the mysteries of faraway places. Surely there had to be more to the world than my dingy old home town. I say dingy because […]

Every Moment Mattered Update (April 2021)

I have been working on a book project now for about five years. My first go at publishing was put on hold when the publisher asked me to include some stories and ideas that were in line with the publishers needs. Last November, I was doing a web based presentation for the McKeesport Heritage and […]

Happy Submarine Month 2021

Happy Submarine Month April is definitely submarine month in the United States. It’s also been that way for me personally since it was the month that my most memorable submarine experience celebrates an anniversary. The USS San Francisco SSN 711 was commissioned in April 1981 which was forty years ago. She has now been reborn […]

Greetings from the bunker

You may have noticed that I have not been posting much for the past few weeks. Sorry for that. It has been a challenging time for many of us as the country makes its transition to a new government. I guess time will tell how well that goes. On the plus side for us, we […]

In December 1983, It wasn’t even on the list.

In December 1983, It wasn’t even on the list. I was cleaning out some piles in my Zombie room this afternoon and I found pictures and letters from a long time ago. Some of them hadn’t been touched in years other than to move them to a different location. I am a Master Procrastinator and […]

The story of us – the original Hallmark Movie – May 4th 1980

The story of us – the original Hallmark Movie A friend of ours wished my wife and me a happy forty year anniversary for the day we met. May 4th, 1980. She said that we were like a Hallmark Movie. Little did she know? I think we actually pioneered the whole genre of the Hallmark […]

Hide and Seek in April 1920 – Submarine Style

One of my favorite submarine memories was the first time the USS San Francisco (SSN 711) anchored off the coast of Maui. The mission leading up to that visit was not a long one but we were going to pick up members of some of our families after the stay was over and do […]

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 […]

1987 – The Counterpunch for a growing Soviet threat

1987 – The Counterpunch for a growing Soviet threat When I became a Machinist Mate Chief Petty Officer in August of 1987, I celebrated having served on a fair representation of Cold War submarines and stations. The journey took me from New London to Charleston to Pearl Harbor to Mare Island. Then the trip continued […]

Veteran’s Day 2019 – Neptune’s Cadillac Redux

Veteran’s Day is about remembering the men and women who sacrificed so much for the country. If you asked most of us, and we were honest. We would simply say that we did our jobs This article came from the Honolulu Advertiser and was written about the USS San Francisco shortly after we made the […]