Feb. 15, 2015

Navy and America Remember the Maine through Artifacts

It was a call to arms not unlike "Remember the Alamo" 62 years earlier. While that Texas bravado has endured the decades, memory may falter on a similar outcry: "Remember the Maine!" Or at least why it should be remembered at all. Unlike the Alamo, in Texas during its fight for independence in 1836, the Maine in this instance was not the state, but

Feb. 14, 2015

USS Constitution's Affair to Remember with Lovely Ann

There were no boxes of chocolates or roses for the crew of USS Constitution as Valentine's Day rolled around in 1814. But when the day was over, they were awash with lumber, fish, and flour - spoils from an engagement with a British merchantman named Lovely Ann. On that Feb. 14, USS Constitution's wooden hull was a figuratively green

Feb. 4, 2015

Navy Archaeologists Dive into the History of Bonhomme Richard

A painting by William Gilkerson of the battle between the Continental Navy frigate Bonhomme Richard and HMS Serapis, Beverley R. Robinson Collection, US Naval Academy Museum.When Capt. John Paul Jones accepted command of the frigate that would become Bonhomme Richard on Feb. 4, 1779, he had no idea a future battle aboard would both illustrate his

Jan. 31, 2015

Tet Offensive Battle of Hue City Gives Cruiser its Name

]The guided-missile cruiser USS Hue City (CG 66) returns to Naval Station Mayport in 2013 after two back-to-back deployments to the Arabian Gulf. The ship and crew returned with the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist Second Class Adam Henderson/Released)It was 47 years ago today when the

Jan. 6, 2015

Honoring the Legacy of Navy Nurses Worldwide

Navy Nurse Corps POWs posing with Vice Adm. Thomas C. Kincaid, Commander of the 7th Fleet and Southwest Pacific Force, after their rescue from Los Banos, Feb. 23, 1945. They were imprisoned Jan. 6, 1942 where they were stationed in the Philippines.Rear Adm. Rebecca J. McCormick-Boyle Commander, Navy Medicine Education and Training CommandOn January

Jan. 3, 2015

Great White Fleet Assists Following Messina Earthquake

A street in Messina, Sicily, showing damage caused by the earthquake that hit Dec. 28, 1908. Photographed in January 1909. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph from the Collection of Lt. Cmdr. Richard Wainwright (who was assigned to USS Connecticut during the relief mission to Messina).When President Theodore Roosevelt's Great White

Jan. 2, 2015

Adm. Zumwalt's Legacy, Spirit Carries Through Today's Navy

On January 2, 2000, Adm. Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr., the 19th Chief of Naval Operations, died at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.On this date 15 years ago, we lost a great man whose legacy and spirit still serve as the backbone of today's Navy. Adm. Zumwalt was born in San Francisco, Calif. on Nov. 29, 1920 and raised in nearby Tulare by his

Dec. 18, 2014

Swift Boats Were Workhorses of Brown Water Navy in Vietnam

Not since the end of the Civil War did the U.S. Navy have a need for a riverine force, or Brown Water Navy. But that all changed as the United States got deeper and deeper into conflict between North and South Vietnam.Due to the nature of the fighting and supply lines in Vietnam, the Navy needed fast, strong, reliable boats that could patrol the

Dec. 13, 2014

Frigates, Brigs, Sloops, Schooners, and the Early Continental Navy's Struggle for Success

In 1775, Americans were no strangers to the ways of the sea, either in peace or in war. In the years immediately before the outbreak of the rebellion, Americans demonstrated their growing disenchantment with British rule by taking action against ships collecting revenue or delivering tea in Boston Harbor. Once the revolution began, Americans

Dec. 5, 2014

On the Edge of Infamy: Misinformation Worked in U.S. Favor

USS Lexington (CV-2) leaving San Diego, Calif., Oct. 14, 1941, on her way to Pearl Harbor. Planes parked on her flight deck include F2A-1 fighters (parked forward), SBD scout-bombers (amidships) and TBD-1 torpedo planes (aft). Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.  As the Japanese Imperial Navy Strike Group