Every Moment Mattered – Epilogue

Every Moment Mattered – Epilogue At 01:48 on 13 November, Rear Admiral Daniel J. Callaghan’s relatively small landing support group of thirteen ships engaged the enemy. The Japanese force consisted of two battleships, one light cruiser, and nine destroyers. Because of bad weather and confused communications, the battle occurred in near-pitch darkness and at almost […]

Every Moment Mattered – The Life and Death of Cassin Young, Captain, USN MOH Recipient – Chapter Nineteen: Into the Battle. Every Man a Hero

Chapter Nineteen Into the battle. Every man a hero The Marines that landed on Guadalcanal were about to write a page into history that would be written with blood. This tiny island in the Pacific should not have been the place where the allies would start their long drive to Tokyo. But observation planes had […]

Every Moment Mattered – The Life and Death of Cassin Young, Captain, USN MOH Recipient – Chapter Eighteen: Every Moment Mattered … Saving the Vestal

Chapter Eighteen: Every Moment Mattered… Saving the Vestal Navy Regulations Article 0802 Commanding Officer’s responsibility The responsibility of the commanding officer for his or her command is absolute, except when, and to the extent to which, he or she has been relieved therefrom by competent authority, or as provided otherwise in these regulations. The authority of […]

A Japanese Submarine operating in the Indian Ocean – From The archives

This black and white video comes from the National Archives. It shows life on board a Japanese submarine in the Indian Ocean. Some interesting features include firing their deck gun, riding on the surface at night, sleeping arrangements (yes, they slept next to their torpedoes), off watch activities like playing cards and other games, preparing […]

July – August 1925 the US Navy Spends Time Down Under

I was visiting my favorite Library of Congress website today that features newspapers from the history of the US. One of the featured stories on the front page of the Washington Times for August 1, 1925, was about how many American sailors married Australian women after a recent port visit. The story brought a smile to […]

“Admiral, the Navy is on its way out. There’s no reason for having a Navy and a Marine Corps.” How Johnson and Truman almost lost the Cold War

A Navy Man at Heart I have to begin this story with a blunt acknowledgement: There has never been a day in my life that the Navy wasn’t the center of the universe when it came to a world that was free, and the Navy was an overpowering force for good. That’s kind of a […]

“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 […]

Lessons from 1944 – The Need for Advanced Bases

I’ve been watching the news recently and the escalation of naval conflicts. Because I spend more time than I should looking at the nature of naval construction and strength, I have been concerned about the lack of resources to support the people who are sailing in harm’s way. I’m sure the navy planners have looked […]

Navy Day 1943 – Threats from Within and Warnings about the Future

In October 1943, the country had been at war for nearly two years. The strength and power of our industrial base was at nearly full speed and in every corner of the land, the equipment and supplies needed to fight a global war were being produced at a furious pace. Patriotism and nationalism were used […]