Jan. 7, 2025

Catherine Nimitz Volunteered to Support the US War Effort in World War II

While Catherine Nimitz’s husband led the Pacific Fleet to victory in World War II, she made her own significant contributions to the war effort on the home front.

Dec. 29, 2024

Passing of President Jimmy Carter

It is with deep regret I inform you of the passing of President James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr. on 29 December 2024 at age 100. President Carter entered the U.S. Naval Academy in July 1943 and graduated with distinction in June 1946 with the wartime-accelerated class of 1947. He served as a surface line officer before transferring to submarine duty

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. 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

Aug. 9, 2024

100 Years Ago: The U.S. Navy at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris

Any servicemember who wished to train was considered for temporary duty in connection with the Olympic tryouts, which started with regional tryouts in April 1924.Tryouts were held across the country for all sporting events. The servicemembers and civilians competing for the Olympic rifle team gathered at Quantico, Virginia, for the national

Aug. 6, 2024

The U.S. Navy at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium

“We swear that we will take part in the Olympic Games in a spirit of chivalry, for the honour of our country and for the glory of sport.”–Olympic oath, written by Baron Pierre de Courbetin, the founder of International Olympic Committee (IOC), first introduced at VII Olympiad, April 20–September 12, 1920, in Antwerp, Belgium The Navy at the 1920

Aug. 1, 2024

U.S. Navy Sailors Bear Witness to History: USS San Francisco at the 1896 Olympics in Athens, Greece

This delegation was largely comprised of student-athletes from athletic clubs in New England—most prominently the Boston Athletic Association.Taking a break from cruising the eastern Mediterranean, USS San Francisco anchored at the port of Piraeus to allow sailors to attend the games. Assigned to the European squadron in 1895, it was the flagship

June 29, 2023

Nimitz at the Naval Academy: The Plebe Year of One of America’s Most Distinguished Admirals

Plagued by poor health and lacking nautical experience, future Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz persevered and excelled during his plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy which began in 1901.

May 17, 2023

A Sailor on Foot: Lieutenant Victor Blue and the Search for the Spanish Fleet, July 1898

In war, sailors find themselves doing jobs they never would have expected to perform in normal circumstances. This was especially true in the Spanish-American War of 1898, as the Navy’s officers and men dealt with new technologies in America’s first conflict overseas since the Mexican-American War. The war gave plenty of opportunities for

Dec. 12, 2022

Admiral Chester Nimitz Takes Command in the Aftermath of Pearl Harbor

On the morning of 16 December 1941, nine days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Rear Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was working at his desk in the U.S. Navy’s Bureau of Navigation when he was summoned to the office of Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox. Exhausted from working more than a week with little sleep, Nimitz trudged over to Knox’s