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!
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BOOK REVIEW – CSS Alabama vs USS Kearsarge: Cherbourg 1864

By Mark Lardas, Osprey Publishing, (2011) Reviewed by Thomas P. Ostrom The author, Mark Lardas, brings a degree in naval architecture and marine engineering to his analysis of this epic American Civil War naval battle; as well as experience in writing as a military historian, and ship modeler. The book is enhanced with magnificent illustrations

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BOOK REVIEW – Three Splendid Little Wars: The Diary of Joseph K. Taussig 1898-1901

Evelyn Cherpak, Ed. Newport, RI: Naval War College Press, (2009). Reviewed by Kenneth J. Blume, Ph.D. This fascinating volume offers an inside look at a young naval officer’s encounters with several of the signature moments of American military and diplomatic history between 1898 and 1901. Joseph K. Taussig (1877-1947) was at Annapolis when the Spanish-American

Remembering John C. Reilly: “The Best of Us”

By Samuel Loring Morison On December 18, 2012, John C. Reilly, Jr., naval historian “par excellence” passed away after several years of illness. There seemed to be nothing he didn’t know about naval history and naval guns and gunnery. I had the distinct honor of working with him and for nearly 45 years calling him

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NHF to Host Member Event On Board USS Midway Museum in San Diego

To all Members and Friends of the Naval Historical Foundation who live in Southern California—You are invited to attend a festive reception aboard the USS Midway Museum on Sunday, April 7th from 6-8 pm. Please see the invitation posted above and RSVP to Ms. Leslie Cook, Director of Development, before April 2, 2013 at [email protected]

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BOOK REVIEW – The United States Coast Guard and National Defense: A History from World War I to the Present

By Thomas P. Ostrom., McFarland & Company, Jefferson, NC. (2012). Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart Anyone interested in the United States Coast Guard will want to read this well-written and researched book. The book consists of fifteen chapters and three appendices. Each chapter and appendices is a stand-alone article on the history of the Coast

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BOOK REVIEW – The Navy in Norco

By Kevin Bash and Brigitte Louxtel. Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant SC. (2011) Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart This book is part of the Images of America series. Norco, California, is located some 50 miles east of Long Beach. On 8 November 1941, the U.S. Navy began proceedings to purchase the bankrupt 700-acre Norconian Resort and

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BOOK REVIEW – The U.S. Nuclear Arsenal: A History of Weapons and Delivery Systems Since 1945

By Norman Polmar and Robert S. Norris, Naval Institute Press, 2009. Reviewed by Captain James B. Bryant. U.S. Navy (Retired) This is more than a well-written and researched reference book, but also an examination by experts of the evolution of nuclear weapons policy. When you absolutely need to know everything about how, why and where

Norman’s Corner: Convincing Admiral Burke

By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the fifth 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.) Admiral Arleigh A. Burke was a top destroyer commander and then chief of staff for the Fast Carrier Force during World

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2013 Submarine History Seminar: Seawolf and the Maritime Strategy

Policy, Strategy, Technology, Tactics, Acquisition: the interrelationship of these five distinct but related spheres of interest and the activities associated with each is not always apparent, even to those in high level positions in the various spheres. An examination of the 1981-1986 Maritime Strategy and the coincident design and construction of USS Seawolf offers an

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NHF Chairman ADM DeMars Donates Collection of Submarine and Aircraft Carrier Christening Photo Albums to Navy

  Naval Historical Foundation Chairman Admiral Bruce DeMars, USN (Ret) recently made a generous donation to the Navy’s photo collection. Admiral DeMars, a submariner, finished up his forty-four years in the Navy with eight years as the Director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion. Amongst the many items in his personal collection were a series of photo albums

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NHF Photo Services Impacted by Navy’s Historical Archives Sequestration Closure

As a result of the ongoing government sequestration process, the Naval History and Heritage Command, located at the Washington Navy Yard, announced the closure of their Archives to public researchers. A statement on the Command’s website reads: Until further notice, the NHHC Archives are closed to researchers, and are limited in responding to official reference

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Spilling the Secret – Captain Morton T. Seligman, U.S. Navy (Retired), U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1919

By Captain Lawrence B. Brennan, U.S. Navy (Retired) (Editor’s Note: a version of this article first appeared in the January 2013 issue of the Universal Ship Cancellation Society Log. Article is copyrighted by the author, all rights reserved.) “The game may not be worth the candle.” Special Prosecutor William D. Mitchell, former Attorney General of

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BOOK REVIEW – British Light Cruisers 1939-45

By Angus Konstam, illus. by Paul Wright, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK. (2012). Reviewed by Richard P. Hallion, Ph.D. Generally speaking, light cruisers have not received as much attention from historians and novelists as have other vessels, though they have figured in two of the great novels of naval warfare—C. S. Forester’s The Ship, and Alistair

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BOOK REVIEW – The Rice Paddy Navy: U.S. Sailors Undercover in China

By Linda Kush, Osprey Publishing, (2012) Reviewed by David Kronenfeld The Rice Paddy Navy relates the unique story of the Sino-American Cooperation Organization (SACO), an intelligence and special operations unit of the US Navy in China during World War II. Author Linda Kush has expended significant research in the writing of her first book length

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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