Nov. 9, 2018

Baseball and the U. S. Navy: All Who Play Win

For centuries now, the world has benefited from two of America's greatest exports - baseball and the U.S. Navy. Baseball is a unique sport that rewards both individual accomplishment and dedicated teamwork. Its rules are intuitive and simple, and its play transcends borders. This American invention can in part thank the U.S. Navy for its global

July 20, 2018

USS Robin: When the CNO Needed a Royal Navy Carrier - Part I

In autumn 1942, Adm. Ernest J. King, the Chief of Naval Operations, faced a dilemma: The battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, and the still-ongoing Guadalcanal campaign had severely weakened the U.S. Navy's fleet carrier presence in the Pacific. USS Lexington (CV 2) had been lost at Coral Sea, USS Yorktown (CV 5) at Midway, and Hornet (CV 8) during

July 13, 2018

Together At Last: Twin Sailors Reunited 74 Years After D-Day

"Already the sea runs red. Even among some of the lightly wounded who jumped into shallow water the hits prove fatal. Knocked down by a bullet in the arm or weakened by fear and shock, they are unable to rise again and are drowned by the onrushing tide. Other wounded men drag themselves ashore and, on finding the sands, lie quiet from total

March 1, 2018

The Plan to Attack Pearl Harbor - Again

Emboldened by a string of victories across the Pacific in the early months of World War II, the Japanese empire launched a bold and unorthodox attack that is seldom remembered today. Though a tactical victory, the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor was also a strategic blunder, as the Japanese failed one of their most critical objectives: destroy

Nov. 6, 2017

The Brothers of Waterloo

When it comes to the history of our Navy - or the history of our nation for that matter - there are not too many families that have sacrificed more than the Sullivans. Shortly after the devastating Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, the family would send all 5 of their sons to sea to serve their country together. Not one of the sons - Albert,

May 31, 2017

Innovation and Victory at the Battle of Midway

When I take a look at the arc of history in the Pacific, in particular the history of the Pacific Fleet, one of the things I find most compelling is the immense shift that took place at the Battle of Midway. For decades prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, our Navy was centered around our battleships. By the time we fought at Midway just six months

May 25, 2017

Ensign George H. Gay's Fateful Day, June 4, 1942

For Ensign George H. Gay, Jr. of Waco, Texas, the morning of June 4, 1942 began with groggy trepidation. With knowledge of a large Japanese invasion fleet moving towards Midway Island outnumbering the assembled American naval force, Gay did not sleep well. He and his fellow aviators of Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) aboard the carrier Hornet (CV-8)

May 5, 2017

The Battle of The Coral Sea's 75th Anniversary: Intelligence Lessons for Today

May 4th marks the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea, an epic maritime engagement between the U.S. and Imperial Japanese Navies in early World War II.This was history's first sea battle where opposing ships never saw or fired upon each other and only carrier-based aircraft engaged the enemy. The outcome was a tactical draw (each side

May 5, 2017

Battle of the Coral Sea and the Bomb that Changed the Course of the War

Editor's Note: Last night, speaking aboard the museum ship Intrepid at an event honoring the Battle of the Coral Sea, President Donald Trump discussed how impressed he was by the bravery of one American Sailor. It's a sentiment shared by Naval History and Heritage Command Director Sam Cox who recounts the story of the pilot whose honor, courage,

April 24, 2017

Toughness: Aviation Machinist Mate First Class (AMM1/C) Bruno Peter Gaido

Editor's note: The following is part of NHHC Director Sam Cox's larger "H--gram" series. Inspired by Admiral Zumwalt's series of Z-grams used to communicate with Sailors throughout the Navy, H-grams are an avenue by which NHHC provides significant historical context to aid today's decision-makers. For more information, visit the NHHC Director's

April 12, 2017

Lessons Learned on Bataan

The Battle of Bataan was the defense of the Philippines by General Douglas MacArthur's Philippine Army controlled by headquarters, United States Army Forces Far East (USAFFE) against the invading Imperial Japanese 14th Army commanded by General Masaharu Homma. The battle began on 6 January 1942 when the USAFFE, with ten understrength Philippine

April 3, 2017

Junior Officers and the Halsey-Doolittle Raid

NH-64472. Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle (left front) and Captain Marc A. Mitscher, Hornet commanding officer, pose with a 500-pound bomb and USAAF aircrew members during ceremonies on Hornet's flight deck prior to the raid.  The Halsey-Doolittle Raid in April 1942 was the first strike by U.S. forces against Japan itself. Vice Admiral William F.

March 23, 2017

Navy Medal of Honor Recipients at Iwo Jima

The first Medals of Honor were presented on March 25, 1863. To commemorate this date, in 1990, Congress designated March 25 "National Medal of Honor Day" to recognize recipients of the Medal of Honor, the highest and most prestigious military decoration awarded to U.S. service members who have distinguished themselves through acts of valor. In

Dec. 7, 2016

Why Commemorate Pearl Harbor?

Editor's note: Pearl Harbor Day is a day of remembrance during which we often hear from historians, veterans and Navy leadership about the importance of honoring our past and how this day of infamy inspires our future. But what do today's Sailors, the young women and men wearing the cloth of the nation, ready to go in harm's way, think? What does

Dec. 6, 2016

Pearl Harbor Diorama: More than 25 Years in the Making

More than 25 years ago, historian Reverend Todd Hammond decided to make a model display of the center of Pearl Harbor based in part on photos taken prior to the attack. The model has only been seen by personal invitation by a number of veterans and other interested persons over the years, but has not been on public display. An earlier, much smaller

Dec. 6, 2016

As Infamy Dawned in the Pacific, War Simmered in the Atlantic

Although Dec. 7, 1941 is marked as the entry of the U.S. into WWII, the fact is that the U.S. Navy was already in an undeclared shooting war with Nazi Germany at sea well before that. President Roosevelt and other senior U.S. and political leadership were convinced that England could not be allowed to fall. U.S. Navy leaders were particularly

Dec. 6, 2016

The Warrior of Kāne'ohe: Pearl Harbor's Only Medal of Honor Recipient for Combat Valor

More than seventy-five years ago, the tranquil wind-swept and sun-soaked skies over the then-U.S. territory of Hawaii were pierced by the whine of 353 Japanese aircraft, launched in a surprise attack from four Japanese aircraft carriers on the United States Navy's Pacific Fleet, based in Pearl Harbor, Oahu. On that day, December 7, 1941, thousands

Dec. 5, 2016

Pearl Harbor Toughness Takes Flight - Ensign Theodore W. Marshall

What does "toughness" mean to a U.S. Navy Sailor? Navy toughness means you take a hit and keep going, tapping all sources of strength and resilience. This is one such story; how, a young ensign embodied the fighting spirit of our U.S. Navy, put his toughness into action, and refused to stop - even as the bombs rained down.The first Japanese bombs

Dec. 5, 2016

Stories of Valor on a Day of Infamy

Although Pearl Harbor was a devastating tactical defeat resulting in 2,335 U.S. military deaths, the vast majority of U.S. Sailors responded immediately and in many cases with extraordinary acts of bravery, many of which were unrecorded due to the deaths of so many witnesses. Even so, Navy personnel were awarded 15 Medals of Honor, 51 Navy Crosses,

Dec. 2, 2016

The Story of USS Ward and Navy Readiness as the Sun Rose on the Day of Infamy

"At Dawn We Slept" was the title of one of the most influential books about the disastrous Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy" as President Franklin Roosevelt called it in his declaration of war speech. However, I respectfully disagree with the premise of the title, as it gives