The U.S. Naval Institute is maintaining and preserving the former Naval Historical Foundation website so readers and former NHF members can still access past issues of Pull Together and other content. NHF has decommissioned and is no longer accepting new members or donations. NHF members are being converted to members of the Naval Institute. If you have questions, please contact the Naval Institute via email at [email protected] or by phone at 800-233-8764.Not a member of the Naval Institute? Here’s how to join!
stille usn ijn destroyer

BOOK REVIEW – USN Destroyer VS IJN Destroyer: The Pacific 1943

By Mark E. Stille, with contributors, Osprey Publishing, Long Island City, NY (2012) Reviewed by Michael F. Solecki The naval frigates known as “destroyers” first came into their own in the Pacific Theater of World War II. These ships evolved out of the 1890s from the need to counter smaller torpedo boats used to attack

larson seabee story tinian saipan

BOOK REVIEW – A Seabee’s Story: Tinian and Okinawa, B-29s and the Air War Against Japan

By Lt. Col. George A. Larson (USAF Ret.), Merriam Press, (2012). Reviewed by Jan Churchill The author says this book “is based, 50 per cent, on my father George W. Larson’s World War II service with the 135th United States Naval Construction Battalion or Seabees.” It combines personal biography, first-hand accounts, military assessment, documents and

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BOOK REVIEW – Lloyd’s Register: 250 Years of Service

By Nigel Watson, Lloyd’s Register, 2010 Reviewed by Mark Lardas In 1760, the Register Society was formed in Lloyd’s Coffee House. That organization is today’s Lloyd’s Register, one of the world’s most influential classification societies.  To celebrate 250 years of existence, Lloyd’s Registry published an official history of the organization, Lloyd’s Register: 250 Years of

mansell captured guam

BOOK REVIEW – Captured: The Forgotten Men of Guam

By Roger Mansell, Edited by Linda Goetz Holmes, Naval Institute Press, 2012. Reviewed by Nathan Albright A labor of love for Roger Mansell that extended ten years, edited after his death by historian Linda Goetz (known for her writings on the POW experience in the Pacific War), this book stands as a harrowing tale of

gilbert building for war wake

BOOK REVIEW – Building for War: The Epic Saga of the Civilian Contractors and Marines of Wake Island in World War II

By Bonita Gilbert, Casemate Publishers, Philadelphia (2012). Reviewed by Richard P. Hallion, Ph.D. Wake Island is justly remembered in the military history of the United States for the heroic stand made by its few defenders against the might of the Japanese empire. But while the exploits of the Navy and Marine personnel assigned to that

Lake Erie NH 43575-KN

The Henry N. Barkhausen Award For Original Research in Great Lakes Maritime History

All entries for must be postmarked no later than May 15, 2013 Guidelines for Entrants Since 2001, the Association for Great Lakes Maritime History has sponsored the Henry N. Barkhausen Award program to recognize and encourage new research in the field of Great Lakes maritime history. Submissions are encouraged on any topic related to the

brown tingey

BOOK REVIEW – The Captain Who Burned His Ships: Captain Thomas Tingey, USN, 1750-1829

By Gordon S. Brown Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, (2011). Reviewed by John Grady Thomas Tingey was not a giant among the officers of the early American Navy, but his career as a midshipman in the Royal Navy sailing to Newfoundland and the Caribbean with few prospects of promotion, as a merchantman during and after the

symonds midway

BOOK REVIEW – The Battle of Midway

By Craig L. Symonds, Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York (2011). Reviewed by Rear Admiral William J. Holland Jr. U.S. Navy (Retired) Though titled after the single battle, the book’s narrative begins at the planning of the attack on Pearl Harbor, covers the activities and planning of both sides leading to the decisions to

USS Guardian (MCM 5) and the Navy’s Post-World War II Minesweepers

  By Captain George Stewart, USN (Retired) On 17 January, 2013, the USS Guardian (MCM 5) ran aground on Tubbataha Reef in the Philippines. The ship had gotten underway after a port call at Subic Bay. An investigation by US Naval authorities came to the conclusion that it was not practical to salvage the ship

Norman’s Corner: Analyzing Exercise Okean

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the fourth 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.) In the spring of 1970 I was working at my desk when the phone rang. I was an employee of the

Venomous

BOOK REVIEW – A Hard Fought Ship, The Story of HMS Venomous

By Robert J.Moore and John A. Rodgaard;  Holywell Publishing,  St. Albans, Hertfordshire, UK, (2010). Reviewed by Thomas C. Hone, Ph.D. This well-illustrated paperback book covers the career of a Royal Navy destroyer commissioned in 1919 and the experiences of the men who served in her. The book does a splendid job of giving the reader

USS Constitution Gavel

NHF Board Member Dr. Jack London Receives Nathan Hale Award From Reserve Officers Association

Dr. Jack London (Captain, USN, Retired), has been honored with the Nathan Hale Award from the Reserve Officers Association (ROA) at the organization’s 90th anniversary celebration at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. The award is given to prominent federal, state, and local government and civic leaders to recognize outstanding and dedicated individual service in

National History Day - Dunn

National History Day Student Interviews Vice Admiral Dunn

The Naval Historical Foundation has been involved with National History Day since 1999. Each year, we sponsor the Captain Kenneth Coskey National History Day prize, a $500 award to the participants whose project best captures an appreciation for naval history. Last year, we had the pleasure of awarding the prize to three middle school students

Calls for Papers and Panels: International Commission of Military History Meeting 2013

The United States Commission on Military History (USCMH) solicits papers for presentation at the 39th annual Congress of the International Commission of Military History (ICMH), meeting in Turin, Italy, between September 1 and September 6, 2013. The theme of this 75th anniversary ICMH Congress, hosted by the Italian Commission of Military History, is “Combined and

NHF Historian Writes On 25th Anniversary of Black Sea Incidents

Twenty-five years ago there were a series of bumping incidents in the Black Sea between two Soviet frigates and the cruiser Yorktown (CG 48) and the destroyer USS Caron (DD 970). The incidents occurred as the American ships conducted an “innocent passage” of Soviet territorial waters near the Crimea. NHF historian Dr. David Winkler wrote