By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the tenth 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 early 1960s, while researching my book Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and Its Influence on World Events
We are very pleased to present the video of the 2013 David Leighton Lecture, from the Naval Historical Foundation Annual Membership Meeting, 15 June 2013. The speaker was Rear Admiral Robert Shumaker, USN (Ret). In February 1965, while flying an F8 Crusader, he was shot down on a mission over North Vietnam, was captured, and
Each summer we take a day to meet with our members, volunteers, and friends, to let them know what the Foundation has been up to, and what our plans are for the future. Last Saturday, 15 June, we once again gathered in the Cold War Gallery with a great crowd of nearly 100 of our
We are honored to announce that Rear Admiral Robert H. Shumaker, USN (Ret), will deliver the annual David Leighton Lecture at the 2013 Naval Historical Foundation Annual Meeting. Bob Shumaker was born in New Castle, Pennsylvania where his parents, Alvah and Eleanor, were a lawyer and a writer, respectively. He attended Northwestern University for a
By Captain Lawrence B. Brennan, U.S. Navy (Ret.) I. Introduction Ninety-five years after the loss of USS Cyclops and 309 souls [1. www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c/cyclops-1.htm ] in the North Atlantic in March 1918, the precise mechanism of the sinking and the location of the wreck remain unknown. This incident, during World War I, is the largest loss
Dear Naval Historical Foundation Board Members: Attached you will find a series of documents to be reviewed prior to our Board Meeting on Saturday, 15 June 2013. We look forward to seeing you, and briefing you on the latest developments. 2013 NHF Annual Meeting Agenda 2012 NHF Annual Meeting Minutes Proposed Amended By-Laws June 2013
The Submarine Force Library and Museum Association, Historic Ship Nautilus, and the Naval Historical Foundation will sponsor this summer’s STEM Teacher Fellowship in Groton, CT from 22 July to 2 August, 2013. This will be the prototype export of our successful science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teacher fellowships conducted the past two years at
This past weekend, a historic underwater vehicle paid a brief visit to the Washington Navy Yard. Deepsea Challenger, the submersible co-designed by filmmaker and National Geographic “Explorer-in-Residence” James Cameron, was recently donated to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and the submersible (loaded on an eighteen wheeler) stopped for the weekend at the Washington
Naval Historical Foundation Life Member James L. Kochan recently wrote to let us know that an exciting new exhibit is opening at his gallery this weekend. The second installment of Free Trade and Sailors’ Rights: The War of 1812 and the Shaping of America will open to public viewing at the Frederick, Maryland gallery of
Last night, the 71st Annual Battle of Midway Commemorative Dinner was held at the Army-Navy Country Club in Arlington, VA. Looking back from a vantage point of 71 years, Midway is viewed as one of the more significant actions in world history – more significant than simply a strategic victory as part of a
Ambassador J. William Middendorf II has been a member of the Naval Historical Foundation’s Board of Directors longer than any other director—nearly 40 years—and has consistently donated his time, his talents and his funds to support our mission to preserve and honor the legacy of those who came before us, and to educate and inspire the
On Wednesday, 22 May 2013, Naval Historical Foundation Executive Director Captain Todd Creekman, USN (Ret), traveled to Annapolis for the presentation of this year’s Captain Edward L. Beach, Jr. Naval History Award. This award is given annually to the U.S. Naval Academy graduating midshipman who has contributed the most to the study of naval
With the support of the Naval Historical Foundation, valuable contextual interpretation is being developed for artifact display cases located in the South Hall of the Cold War Gallery of the National Museum of the United States Navy. On display within these glass cases are Vietnam Prisoner of War artifacts including boxer shorts dotted with red
The time has come again for another Museum Store Used Book Sale. Museum Store Manager Frank Arre has been hard at work gathering books and we think you will be impressed with the selection he has acquired. It includes many Vietnam era and World War II books. In addition to books, he will be selling picture
The battleship USS Arizona (BB 39) resting at the bottom of Pearl Harbor, is a powerful symbol of the devastation wrought on 7 December 1941 as Japanese aircraft swooped down on the unsuspecting American Pacific Fleet. Surprisingly, until the year 2000, the U.S Navy did not have a scale model of the battleship in the
