The Naval Historical Foundation’s new monthly Naval history program featuring presenters and topics you will want to make time for! Following in the wake of the Annual Meeting’s Leighton Lecture, “Hollywood and History in the Battle of the Atlantic,” (link to youtube site) we were heartened not only by Dr. Craig Symonds’ quality presentation, but
By CAPT Jim Noone, USNR (Ret.) Seven middle and high school teachers from five states were recognized as winners of the Naval Historical Foundation’s (NHF) “Teacher of Distinction” award at the National History Day (NHD) virtual awards recognition announcements on Saturday, June 20. It was the third consecutive year for NHF’s Teacher of Distinction awards,
Reviewed by Captain William H. Peerenboom, USN (Ret.) Many Americans, perhaps including the authors, look back on the Viet Nam war as a misguided and mis managed effort. Not only that, these Americans believe that the disdain for the war caused those who fought there – ordinary soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen to suffer loss
Reviewed by CAPT Charles “Herb” Gilliland, USN (Ret.) For any artist—perhaps for any human being–life and art are inseparable. That was certainly the case for Natale (“Nat”) Bellantoni. This strikingly attractive book filled with fine watercolors offers his story as a young artist serving in the 78th Naval Construction Battalion in World War II. Two
Reviewed by Captain Lee Duckworth, USN (Ret.) Captain Diane Diekman’s latest book, “Mommy! Watch Me” is the sequel to her 2001 memoir, “Navy Greenshirt: A Leader Made, Not Born.” I reviewed the latter two years ago and expected her latest book to be similar in content to the previous one. However, as the title implies,
By Kyle Nappi At first glance, “kamikaze veteran” will undoubtedly read as an oxymoron to most Americans. Best parodied in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, producer/actor Larry David muses how one can be a kamikaze pilot and yet still be alive. My own introduction to this concept is traceable to a handful of biographical
Reviewed by LTC Heiva H. Kelley, USA. In Chosin: Heroic Ordeal of the Korean War, Eric Hammel, a meticulous military historian and accomplished writer of over 50 books and 70 articles, revisits the Battle of Chosin based on extensive primary source material collected by the author through hundreds of personal interviews with survivors. This book,
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz. Marc Gallicchio’s Unconditional: The Japanese Surrender in World War II focuses on the late-war period leading up to the September 1945 Japanese surrender. This important monograph digs deeper than most into the complicated chain of events which resulted in the memorable Tokyo Bay ceremony, using American and Japanese archival sources to
By Rear Admiral John W. Bitoff, USN (Ret.) I was deployed aboard the USS Spiegel Grove (LSD 32) the flagship of Amphibious Group 4 during Operation SOLANT AMITY II, April 18 – September 19, 1961, a South Atlantic Amity cruise to Africa and the Indian Ocean. The cruise was initiated by the newly elected President John F.
Reviewed by Charles Bogart. The ten ships that formed the Town Class of light cruisers were the epitome of Royal Navy all gun cruiser development. Armed with twelve 6-inch guns mounted in four turrets, they participated in every European Theater naval campaign of World War II and two of the class also saw action during
Reviewed by Diana Ahmad, PhD. The legendary siege at Khe Sanh occurred in 1968, but during the spring of 1967, the United States Marines fought in northwestern Quang Tri Province in what became the first stage of the Khe Sanh battles. Rod Andrew, Jr., a history professor at Clemson University and colonel in the Marine
While the Naval Historical Foundation (NHF) has long facilitated an opportunity for the U.S. Naval Academy to bestow an honor for one of our future naval officers, it has not done so for NROTC units, which collectively constitute the largest commissioning source for naval officers. The Vice Admiral Robert F. Dunn Prizes are intended to
On Saturday, June 13, the Naval Historical Foundation hosted its Annual Meeting. Our agenda included: Remarks from Secretary of the Navy Kenneth J. Braithwaite Battle of Midway author Dr. Craig Symonds’ exclusive talk on “Hollywood and History in the Battle of the Atlantic” and the upcoming feature film “GREYHOUND” Our distinguished Board of Directors Executive
Reviewed by CDR Derek R. Fix, USN. In Britain’s Island Fortresses, Bill Clements, a former British Army officer and Defense Attaché, provides a detailed account of the evolution of the defenses of the British empire’s strategic overseas island bases. Clements is well-suited to the task, having written two previous books on British fortifications. This book
New Naval Historical Foundation History Program: We are excited to announce a new historical program – “Naval History Author Chats” by NHF Staff Historian Dr. Dave Winkler. This week we are sharing our inaugural author chat with Captain Kevin Miller, USN (Ret.), author of The Silver Waterfall: A Novel of the Battle of Midway, which is being
