July 3, 2024

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral Kenneth William “Pete” Pettigrew, USNR

It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral Kenneth William “Pete” (“Viper”) Pettigrew on 23 June 2024 at age 82. Rear Admiral Pettigrew entered the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) Program in 1960 at Stanford University and served as a naval aviator until his retirement in January 1998 as Reserve Deputy

June 25, 2024

In Memoriam: Vice Admiral Joseph S. Mobley, USN (Ret).

It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Vice Admiral Joseph Scott Mobley on 15 June 2024 at age 82. Vice Admiral Mobley entered the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1962 and served as a naval flight officer (NFO) until his retirement in June 2001 as Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. His commands included Attack Squadron

June 13, 2024

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral E. Inman Carmichael, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral (lower half) E. Inman “Hoagy” Carmichael on 23 January 2024 at age 90. Rear Admiral Carmichael enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve in January 1955 and served as a naval aviator until his retirement in August 1988 as director of Logistics Plans Division (OP-40) in the Office of

Then-Lieutenant Elizabeth Reynard in WAVES uniform, ca. 1942. (Sozio, A. F., Schlesinger Library, Harvard Radcliffe Institute).

May 31, 2024

Elizabeth Reynard, Virginia Gildersleeve, and the Birth of the WAVES

Elizabeth Reynard, an English professor, was the second in command of the WAVES, or Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, during World War II. Together with Virginia Gildersleeve, the politically and socially well-connected dean of Barnard College, Reynard laid the foundation for the Women’s Reserve, which opened doors to naval service

Map of Aleutians Theater with major U.S. Installations as of 1 August 1942, Naval History and Heritage Command Image.

May 22, 2024

The “Aleutian Stare”: Environment, Morale, and the Mental Health of the Naval Fighting Force

Flipping through the 1945 cruise book of the 138th Naval Construction Battalion (NCB), it’s easy to get lost in the detailed etchings of daily life “On Island X.” Produced by the Welfare and Recreation Department and 138th NCB, the book contains images paired with descriptions of various objects, events, and colloquial phrases familiar to the

An eight-and-a-half by eleven-inch sheet of white paper, with the colored drawing of the coat of arms of USS John L. Hall (FFG-32), along with typewritten text in black- and blue-colored ink describing the coat of arms’ symbolism, 1982

April 17, 2024

“Viking of the Sea”: Task Force 124’s Rear Admiral John L. Hall, Jr. Before Operation Overlord

Author’s Note: During this 80th anniversary cycle of World War II, I hope to correct, at least in some small way through multiple weblog posts, the incomplete historical scholarship given to the U.S. Navy’s missions and activities in the European and Mediterranean Theaters of Operation, compared with those in the Pacific Theater. By utilizing

The Combined Chiefs of Staff meet in October 1943. (Courtesy of the National Archives)

April 9, 2024

The Navy and the Formation of NATO

Continued Navy cooperation with coalition partners after World War II helped facilitate a smooth transition from a war footing to a new postwar security framework backed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO then helped clarify the roles and responsibilities for America’s Navy in Nuclear Age limited warfare.

April 5, 2024

In Memoriam: Lieutenant Louis A. Conter, USN (Ret.) The Last Living Survivor of USS Arizona (BB-39)

And then there were none. It is with deep regret I inform you that U.S. Navy hero and Arizona (BB-39) survivor Lieutenant Commander Louis A. "Lou" Conter passed away on 1 April 2024 at age 102. He was the last living survivor of the battleship Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Lou enlisted in 1939 and was a quartermaster

President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill aboard the Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales during the Atlantic Conference in August 1941. (Naval History and Heritage Command Photo)

March 29, 2024

The Long Road to NATO, 1917–1949

The signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949 and the subsequent creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) marked a fundamental transformation in US foreign and defense policy by committing the United States to an ongoing military role in Europe. As part of a broader package of economic, humanitarian, and military aid, US

Vivian McFadden, the first Black woman to serve as chaplain in the U.S. Navy, is sworn in by Rear Admiral Francis L. Garrett, Chief of Chaplains, ca. 1974. (Naval History and Heritage Command Photo)

March 28, 2024

A New ERA for Women in the Navy: Zumwalt, Z-Grams, and the All-Volunteer Force

An article buried deep in the April 11, 1974 issue of the Press-Telegram out of Long Beach, California visually demonstrated the divergent expectations American women voluntarily adopted by the mid-1970s. Above the fold, editors chose to contrast the dual roles of the modern woman: the left image showed a grinning woman pilot in the cockpit of a