Nov. 4, 2024

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral Bernard J. Smith, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral Bernard John “Bernie” “B. J.” Smith on 1 November 2024 at age 83. Rear Admiral Smith enlisted in the U.S. Navy in August 1959, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1965, and served as a naval aviator until his retirement in July 2000 as the first commander of Navy Warfare

This plaque commemorates the sailors onboard the Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413). M. Brodsky can be seen in the leftmost column. The plaque was displayed aboard the Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58), and helped inspire that ship’s crew when it was hit by an Iranian mine in 1988.

Oct. 23, 2024

Maurice Brodsky: An “Average Enlisted Man” at the Battle off Samar

Eighty years ago, a handful of American destroyers, destroyer escorts, and escort carriers faced off against a superior Japanese force of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers at the Battle off Samar (25 October 1944). Task Unit 77.4.3 “Taffy 3’s” small combatants, commanded by Rear Admiral Clifton Sprague, famously attacked Vice Admiral Takeo

Sept. 30, 2024

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral Mark W. Balmert, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral (lower half) Mark William Balmert on 13 September 2024 at age 70. Rear Admiral Balmert was commissioned in December 1977 from the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) program at the University of Notre Dame and served as a surface warfare officer until his retirement in

Sinking of USS Houston (CA-30) in the battle of Sunda Strait, 1 March 1942. (Painting by Joe T. Fleischman, 1950 (NHHC NH 93153))

Sept. 23, 2024

In Memoriam: Robert L. Hanley, USN – Last Living Survivor of USS Houston (CA-30)

It is with deep regret I inform you of the passing of Robert L. “Bob” Hanley on 12 September 2024 at age 102. Enlisting in the Navy before the war in January 1941, Hanley was a seaman second class aboard heavy cruiser USS Houston (CA-30), lost along with light cruiser HMAS Perth in a valiant battle against overwhelming odds in Sunda Strait, Dutch

Former POWs U.S. Navy Capt. Jeremiah A. Denton, right, and U.S. Navy Capt. James A. Alfred Mulligan, left, talk during their flight on a Military Airlift Command C-141 Starlifter after being released by the North Vietnamese in February 1973 (National Archives and Records Administration 330-CFD-DD-ST-99-04242).

Sept. 18, 2024

Remembering Resistance: U.S. Navy POWs at the Hanoi Hilton

On Aug. 5, 1964, Lt. j.g. Everett Alvarez, Jr., a young U.S. Navy aviator, had just finished bombing a North Vietnamese patrol boat base in retaliation for the Tonkin Gulf Incident when his Douglas A-4 Skyhawk was struck by enemy fire. After ejecting, he was captured by Vietnamese militia, then interrogated by North Vietnamese officers before being

Sept. 11, 2024

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral Virgil L. Hill Jr., USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral Virgil Lusk “Hap” Hill Jr., on 6 September 2024 at age 86. Rear Admiral Hill entered the U.S. Naval Academy in July 1957 and served as a submarine officer until his retirement in September 1993 as Commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR). His commands

Aug. 28, 2024

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral Danelle M. Barrett, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral (lower half) Danelle Marie Barrett on 26 August 2024 at age 57. Rear Admiral Barrett entered the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) at Boston University and was commissioned an ensign in August 1989, serving as an information professional until her retirement in October

Aug. 22, 2024

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral Richard L. Becker, USNR (Ret.)

It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral Richard Lee Becker on 23 July 2024 at age 81. Rear Admiral Becker was commissioned an ensign in 1965 and served as a special duty officer (public affairs) until his retirement in July 1996. He served in the Vietnam War aboard USS Harold J. Ellison (DD-864). Dick Becker

Newspaper article photo

Aug. 21, 2024

The Tragic Last Flight of Airship R-38 (ZR-2)

On 24 August 1921, one of the most tragic air disasters in U.S. naval history, as well as one of the most forgotten, occurred in Hull, England. The day started out celebratory as thousands of onlookers came out to witness the British R-38 airship (U.S. Navy airship ZR-2) leave its hangar on Royal Air Force Base Howden for its fourth and final

Aug. 20, 2024

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral James R. Fowler, MC, USNR (Ret.)

It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral James Raymond Fowler, Medical Corps, U.S. Naval Reserve, on 26 June 2024 at age 87. Rear Admiral Fowler was appointed an ensign in March 1959 and served in the Medical Corps until his retirement in October 1997 as Surgeon General of the Medical Corps for U.S. Naval Reserve in