A Blog Series by Matthew T. Eng With base access at the Washington Navy Yard restricted, I wanted to give readers a sneak peak behind the process of producing the Winter 2015 (Vol 54, no. 4) issue of Pull Together. Disclaimer: The comments included in these posts are my own, and represent an “unfiltered” approach
2015 has been a busy year for your Foundation, as you have seen in the pages of our Pull Together newsletters and through the stories on our website blog. It was our particular privilege to participate in two special Navy centennial anniversaries this year: The 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Navy Reserve,
From Naval Intelligence to Cold War cruise books, there is more than meets the eye with one of cereal’s most iconic figures. By Matthew T. Eng I have a tendency to read into things. I ask too many questions Ask anyone who has been to the movie theater with me. It’s just in my nature.
“We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea — whether it is to sail or to watch it — we are going back from whence we came.” – President John F. Kennedy, September 1962 The
By Captain George Stewart, USN (Ret.) This post provides a description of the events surrounding the loss of USS Truxtun (DD 229) and USS Pollux (AKS 2) by grounding off the coast of Newfoundland in February 1942. Because over 200 lives were lost, it is considered to be one of the worst disasters in Naval
Reviewed by Captain Winn Price, U.S. Navy Reserve (Retired) A couple of years ago, I reviewed the first edition of Marc Nonnenkamp’s two volume set, The German and the Austrian Navies. In my previous review, I highlighted many admirable qualities of these two volumes: 1) The comprehensive coverage of every ship that served in the
By Dirk Barreveld, Casement Publishers, Havertown, PA (2015) Reviewed by Nathan Albright Every once in a while there is a book about a forgotten or neglected aspect of World War II history that makes a reader wonder why this story has not been turned into a movie. Cushing’s Coup is one of those books, managing
By Robert C. Stern, Seaforth Publishing, Pen & Sword Books Ltd, Barnsley, South Yorkshire England, (2015) Reviewed by Ed Calouro Robert C. Stern has added yet another authoritative work to his long list of titles about naval warfare written over the past thirty years. Having examined submarines, destroyers, aircraft carriers, kamikazes, and the U.S. Navy
Edited by John Andreas Olsen, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2015) Reviewed by Colonel Curt Marsh, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve (Retired) Airpower Reborn is an excellent update on strategic concepts and theory with an emphasis on airpower’s strategic usefulness. Although this book is a part of a new History of Military Aviation series edited by
By David J. Bercuson and Holger H. Herwig, University of Calgary Press, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (2014) Reviewed by Diana L. Ahmad, Ph.D. All the action in World War II did not take place in Europe, North Africa, or the Pacific. David J. Bercuson and Holger H. Herwig thoroughly explained how Hitler’s Kreigsmarine endangered the course
By Lloyd J. Matthews, University of Delaware Press, Newark, DE (2014) Reviewed by Nathan D. Wells Those who watch the annual Army-Navy football game and be not a bit awestruck by the competing corps of cadets and midshipmen might not realize that these two friendly rival institutions have an interesting connection. Henry Lockwood was an
By James M. Scott, W.W. Norton & Company, New York (2015) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA In the spring of 1992 at my local airport, two B-25 bombers landed and taxied to the FBO to refuel. I found out that they were headed to Washington, DC, for a low-level flight down the Mall to
By J. Ross Dancy, Boydell Press Woodbridge, Suffolk, England (2015) Reviewed by Mark Lardas If you rely on nautical fiction or even some histories (John Masefield’a among them), you might believe the Royal Navy of the Age of Fighting Sail was mainly composed of impressed men, with many – if not most – conscripts being
Edited by Kevin J. Crisman, Texas A&M University Press. College Station, TX (2014) Reviewed by James P. Delgado. Ph.D. Large in size and large in scope, Coffins of the Brave is a tour de force. Published in 2014 to coincide with the bicentennial of the end of the War of 1812, this 415-page opus reflects
“To the fair world: and heedless of repose We climb’d, he first, I following his steps, Till on our view the beautiful lights of Heaven Dawn’d through a circular opening in the cave: Thence issuing we again beheld the stars.” – Inferno, Canto XXXIV (Dante Alighieri) They were your friends and neighbors in your hometown.
