By David F. Winkler, Ph.D. Staff Historian Ten years ago, delegations from the U.S. and Russian Federations met at the Naval Observatory to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Incidents at Sea Agreement (IncSea) on May 25, 1972, as part of the Nixon- Brezhnev Summit held in Moscow. After a historical overview
By Kyle Nappi By April 18, 1942, the United States and its allies had suffered repeated setbacks in the war against Imperial Japan, to include the attack on Pearl Harbor, the capture of Wake Island, and the fall of Hong Kong and Singapore. Just nine days earlier, on April 9, the half-starving ammunition-depleted Bataan Peninsula
The cruise of the Great White Fleet took the U.S. Navy around the globe in fourteen months on a journey totaling 43,000 miles. They visited twenty unique port calls across six continents. It was a monumental “show of flag” for the burgeoning world power. The fleet showcased the naval and maritime capabilities of its new
By Leo J. Daugherty III The late Professor Edgar F. Puryear, Jr., who until his death in 2018 was scholar-in-residence at the National Defense University and an authority on American generalship, outlined in his book Marine Corps Generalship (National Defense University, 2009) the three critical components that define Marine leadership in time of war. The
By Dennis A. Steenbergen, Landing Craft Support Museum 15 February is the anniversary of the loss of three LCS ships to Shin’yō suicide boats at Mariveles Bay during the liberation of the Philippines. U.S. forces were massing in February 1945 to launch an amphibious and land attack on the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor. Mr. Steenbergen
“The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Mess Attendant First Class Doris Miller (NSN:3561235) United States Navy, for exceptional courage, presence of mind, and devotion to duty and disregard for his personal safety while serving on board the Battleship USS WEST VIRGINIA (BB-48), during the Japanese
By CWO-4 Lester B. Tucker, USN (Ret.) Originally Published in Pull Together Vol. 32 No. 1 (Spring/Summer 1993) It is a sure bet that one of the proudest days in an enlisted individual’s naval service is the date on which a first-class petty officer dons the uniform and is accepted into the Chief Petty Officer
By CAPT James “Ros” Poplar III, USN (Ret.) As a thirty-year Surface Warfare Officer from 1974-2004 I had the opportunity to work for numerous leaders but by far one of the best was Admiral “Mike” Boorda where our wakes crossed twice. First during his tenure as Chief of Naval Operations from 1994-1996 and secondly after his
By Kyle Nappi Three years ago, I visited the oil-leaking wreckage of the battleship USS Arizona (among other solemn locations) in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Now, eighty years since America’s Day of Infamy, I pause and reflect on those hallowed grounds in Oahu as well as the dwindling number of military veterans who witnessed and survived
By LCDR Sean Walsh, USN (Ret.) Following up on last week’s commemoration of the 246th anniversary of the Chaplain Corps, the NHF would like to acknowledge the service of Navy chaplains during the attack at Pearl Harbor. At the time of Pearl Harbor, the Chaplain Corps had only 192 chaplains on active duty (105 Regular
By Kara R. Newcomer The Marine Corps’ participation in the return and interment of America’s World War I Unknown Soldier can be divided into two parts: escort duty aboard the USS Olympia and ceremonial duties for the Unknown’s interment in Arlington National Cemetery. On 26 September 1921, Major General Commandant John A. Lejeune sent orders to the
Right to Left: Master of Ceremonies Tom Frezza, Moderator David Winkler, Panelist Chris Havern, Panelist Lucas Clawson, Panelist Kara Newcomer, and Panelist Scott Price Senior historians of the sea services conversed in the National Museum of the United States Navy on Tuesday, ahead of a ceremony commemorating the centennial of the Unknown Soldier’s arrival at
By Tyler Robinson According to a story told in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, Commodore Stephen Decatur, the Naval hero most famous for his daring 1804 raid on the harbor of Tripoli, encountered the cryptid popularly known as the Jersey Devil during a visit to the Hanover Mill Works, firing a cannonball at the creature
By LCDR Sean Walsh, USN (Ret.) Although the SS United States was the culmination of William Francis Gibbs’s lifelong passion to design and build the greatest passenger liner in the world, its potential use in a wartime environment as a high speed troopship was used to justify its construction in the late 1940’s and the government subsidizing
Mark Evans (left) is presented the Meritorious Civilian Service Award Feb. 19, 2015 by NHHC Director Samuel J. Cox for his outstanding work in the Histories and Archives Division of the Naval History and Heritage Command. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eric Lockwood/Released) The Navy released a two-volume history of naval
