In Death Unafraid is a two part blog miniseries chronicling the history and memory of the USS Maine from 1898 to present. Newspaper Reaction to the Sinking of the Maine Part I: Garish Marble The week before I started my job at the Naval Historical Foundation, my wife and I took a trip to
By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 24th in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) The U.S. nuclear attack submarine Thresher sank during sea trials off the New England coast on 10 April 1963, with the loss
The first thing visitors see when they walk through the doors of the Navy Museum’s Cold War Gallery is the massive Trident I C-4 Missile. Looking left, an impressive glass case sits right next to the Ready Room Theater. The case houses a wide array of 1:48 scale models of aircraft developed and flown during
By Dave Colamaria This week is the annual LEGO Shipbuilding Contest at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, and I’ve finished my contribution to the event in the nick of time. This weekend I completed work on a 7 foot long version of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV 2). The project took me a little
This is the second of three articles that describe my experiences while serving as an engineer aboard commercial tankers in 1961. These articles provide a perspective on the different engineering practices between the Navy and Merchant Marine in the post-World War II era. (READ THE FIRST ARTICLE HERE) I just completed a stint of
By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 23nd in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) I knew Don Engen for a very brief period. Still, he had a significant influence on me. Vice Admiral Engen dropped out
FIGHT Colds! FIGHT Fatigue! FIGHT Weakness! FIGHT Infection! FIGHT Absenteeism! One of the more fascinating aspects of the Second World War was the use of propaganda on home front society. In Propaganda, Edward Barnays notes the limited use of the practice prior to the First World War. By the time hostilities erupted in 1914, however,
By Captain George Stewart, USN (Retired) This is the first of three articles that describe my experiences while serving as an engineer aboard commercial tankers in 1961. These articles provide perspective on the different engineering practices between the Navy and Merchant Marine in the post World War II-era. As will become apparent, there were some
By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 22nd in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) Everybody likes Fred Rainbow. At least that is a widely held perception. At times it has gotten embarrassing. For example, when
“Kin had the intelligence, integrity and industry in a measure you rarely see. He had the ability to voice the unpopular truth, to say, in a gathering, what others wished they had the nerve to utter.” Bruce DeMars Admiral U.S. Navy (Retired) NHF Chairman “Smart, no-nonsense, dedicated, always focused on the job. first classmate to
By John Grady The Navy was more successful in its campaigns like Port Royal, S.C. and New Orleans than the Army during the American Civil War particularly in the Virginia Theater. According to Pulitzer Prize-winning author James McPherson, it was “partially due to the professionalism of Navy leadership in high positions.” Dr. McPherson answered these
By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 21st in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) Nigel West is not a spy. Some people think that he is. British journalist and documentary film producer Jon Ronson, in his
