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

Sept. 3, 2021

Seaman First Class Freddie Falgout: First Military Casualty of World War II

On the evening of August 20, 1937, on the eve of his 21st birthday, Seaman First Class Freddie Falgout was searching for a seat for movie night on the well deck of USS Augusta (CL-31). Augusta had arrived off Shanghai a week earlier, on August 14, 1937, and was moored on the Huangpu River. A humanitarian crisis was underway as hostilities between Chinese and Japanese military forces had resulted in the death of hundreds of civilians, including four Americans, and the ship and her crew were evacuating American citizens and refugees from Shanghai. 

June 4, 2019

Operation Neptune: Innovating on the Spot Made D-Day a Success

Editor's note: Planning is critical to success, but innovation and initiative during battle is a necessary part of combat. As part of CNO's effort to apply lessons from our history to better prepare today's Sailors for battle, we explore Operation Neptune and how Destroyer captains' quick thinking and decisive actions helped secure victory at

July 11, 2018

NAS Whiting Field: 75 Years of Military Excellence

Commander Kenneth Whiting was one of the pioneers of submarine warfare and naval aviation. During World War I, he was among the first Americans to reach Europe and helped established a naval air station at Dunkirk. He went on to a distinguished career.

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

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. 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. 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

Oct. 9, 2015

Top Dates in Navy's History

In celebration of more than 240 years of Navy readiness, we ask our fans what they think our most important dates in history are. Every moment in Navy history from the birth of our Navy in 1775 all the way up to Navy's missile attacks against ISIL in September 2014 have played a pivotal role in shaping our Navy and our nation. Below are just a few

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