June 10, 2021

Birth of the Blues

"It's always about the money" goes the old saying and that was certainly true 75 years ago when Chief of Naval Operations Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz ordered the establishment of an exhibition flight team, the birth of today's famed Blue Angels. Having led the Navy to victory in the Pacific during World War II, Nimitz ascended to the sea

June 10, 2021

Blue Angels Scrapbook

Most people define the Blue Angels by graceful formations soaring in the sky overhead, but life in the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron is much more than the time spent in the cockpit or on the flight line.  Enjoy the scrapbook of images taken through the years that provides a portrait of the Blue Angels experience.The 1953 team pictured in front

Jan. 7, 2021

Ringing in the New Year Navy Style

The Naval History and Heritage Command is hereby reviving the tradition of the New Year's Deck Log Poetry contest. The deck log is the official record maintained by all commissioned U.S. Navy vessels. While the contents of a deck log are generally fiercely regulated, the United States Navy has long held the tradition of the Midnight New Year's Day Poem. The first entry of the New Year, written in verse, gives a brief glimpse into the minds of the sailors and shipboard life, and provides a human voice to the otherwise impersonal deck log.

Dec. 31, 2020

Steaming Into the New Year

EDITOR'S NOTE: For many American Sailors, forward-deployed around the world in defense of freedom, it's already 2021. As America gets ready to celebrate the arrival of the New Year, we wanted to share a unique, longstanding U.S. Navy tradition you may not have heard of. U.S. Navy ships maintain a deck log in which they record all the important

Oct. 29, 2020

NHHC Biography Collection

Accessioned from the Chief of Information (CHINFO) in 1974, the Biography Collection is one of the larger collections housed at the United States Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC). This collection primarily contains biographical sheets, service transcripts, Casualty Reports, obituaries, career biographies, and news articles about Navy

Oct. 20, 2020

You Never Know What You're Going to Find

The Archivists at the United States Navy Archives perform many different tasks. The Reference Archivists provide reference services to the public and to the fleet by providing information and access to archival materials and collections. Before these archival materials and collections can be made available though, they have to be processed. The

Oct. 8, 2020

Uncommon Valor and Courage Can Come From Anyone: Sgt Cole's Heroic Story

Editor's Note: October 12, 2020 will mark the 20th anniversary on the attack of USS Cole. For the Navy, and Destroyers especially, there is a lot in a ship's name and the heroism, resilience and warfighting exhibited by the Sailors that fateful day truly lived up to their namesake, Sergeant Darrell S. Cole, The Fighting Music. Today, Sgt Cole's

July 30, 2020

Families of USS Indianapolis Crewmembers: We Are Their Legacy

Editor's Note: The story of the WWII service and ultimate loss of USS Indianapolis (CA 35) is an important chapter in the story of the U.S. Navy. Days after delivering components of the atomic bomb later dropped on Hiroshima to a base in the Pacific, the cruiser was attacked by a Japanese sub just after midnight on July 30, 1945. Sinking within

July 27, 2020

Claim to Fame on Korean Armistice Day

July 27, 1953, 158 meetings spread out over two years and 19 days finally came to an end with the signatures of United States Lt. Gen. William K. Harrison and General Nam Il, a Soviet-born Korean on the Korean Armistice Agreement. United Nations Commander Gen. Mark Clark, Gen. Peng Teh-huai, commander of the Chinese People's Volunteers, and Marshal

May 8, 2020

Victory in Europe: Honoring Those Who Served

May 8th is Victory in Europe Day, or V-E Day, which marks the day the Allies officially accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, thus ending World War II in Europe.This year's theme, "A Hard-Won Homecoming," highlights the courage and sacrifice of our troops in combat and of their loved ones at home. The Allied Victory in Europe