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

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

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

Feb. 23, 2024

Operation FLINTLOCK: Invasion of the Marshall Islands, January-February 1944 Part 2

The first week of February marked the 80th Anniversary of Operation FLINTLOCK, the U.S. invasion of the Marshall Islands during WWII. This operation, the largest amphibious assault of the war to that date, was the first major central Pacific expedition and directly contributed to the Allied defeat of Imperial Japan the Pacific. To honor those who

Feb. 20, 2024

Operation FLINTLOCK: Invasion of the Marshall Islands, January-February 1944

The first week of February 2024 marked the 80th Anniversary of Operation FLINTLOCK, the U.S. invasion of the Marshall Islands during WWII. This operation, the largest amphibious assault of the war to date, was the first major central Pacific operation of the Pacific War. The successful landings in the Marshalls, both at Roi-Namur and Kwajalein,

Jan. 22, 2024

“All . . . Behaved Courageously and Cooly”: The Loss of USS Portent (AM-106) During Operation Shingle

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

Dec. 11, 2023

“Naval Liberators Over Biscay”: Patrol Bombing Squadron ONE ZERO THREE’s Actions Over France’s Largest Bay

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

Nov. 1, 2023

“No Comparable Period of Activity”: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron FIFTEEN’s Actions After Operation Avalanche

 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

Aug. 30, 2023

“Without a Single Day’s Upkeep”: USS Benson (DD-421) During Operation Husky

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 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 little known

Jan. 26, 2023

"Reduced to Starvation”: The Japanese Evacuation of Guadalcanal, January-February 1943

Over the course of the Solomon Islands campaigns, which began in August 1942 with landings on Guadalcanal, Allied forces slowly established air and maritime superiority over the region. While both the Allies and the Japanese operated at the end of long, tenuous supply lines—the closest major Japanese base was at Rabaul and the closest Allied base