View looking north, showing wreckage of Joinery Building A-7. Ship pier in background, ca. 18 July 1944. Image courtesy National Park Service.

July 16, 2024

“Second-Class Citizens Fighting in a First-Class War”: The Deadly Munitions Explosion and Its Immediate Aftershocks

“Second-Class Citizens Fighting in a First-Class War”[1]The Deadly Munitions Explosion and Its Immediate Aftershocks The Naval Ammunition Depot at Port Chicago, California—located 36 miles from San Francisco—was the site where munitions bound for the Pacific Theater arrived by train from Hawthorne, Nevada. The location was ideal as it was remote,

July 12, 2024

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral Jerry R. Kelley, MC, USNR

It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral (lower half) Jerry Robert Kelley on 30 December 2023 at age 75. Rear Admiral Kelley entered the Medical Corps, U.S. Naval Reserve, in September 1991. He served as a surgeon and then senior health care executive, until his retirement in May 2011 as deputy medical officer of the

July 10, 2024

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral Donald L. Sturtz, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral (lower half) Donald Lee Sturtz on 15 April 2024 at age 90. Rear Admiral Sturtz entered the U.S. Naval Academy in July 1951 and served as a naval aviator and then in the Medical Corps until his retirement in March 1991 as fleet surgeon for Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic

July 3, 2024

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral Kenneth William “Pete” Pettigrew, USNR

It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral Kenneth William “Pete” (“Viper”) Pettigrew on 23 June 2024 at age 82. Rear Admiral Pettigrew entered the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) Program in 1960 at Stanford University and served as a naval aviator until his retirement in January 1998 as Reserve Deputy

June 25, 2024

In Memoriam: Vice Admiral Joseph S. Mobley, USN (Ret).

It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Vice Admiral Joseph Scott Mobley on 15 June 2024 at age 82. Vice Admiral Mobley entered the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1962 and served as a naval flight officer (NFO) until his retirement in June 2001 as Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. His commands included Attack Squadron

June 13, 2024

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral E. Inman Carmichael, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral (lower half) E. Inman “Hoagy” Carmichael on 23 January 2024 at age 90. Rear Admiral Carmichael enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve in January 1955 and served as a naval aviator until his retirement in August 1988 as director of Logistics Plans Division (OP-40) in the Office of

Then-Lieutenant Elizabeth Reynard in WAVES uniform, ca. 1942. (Sozio, A. F., Schlesinger Library, Harvard Radcliffe Institute).

May 31, 2024

Elizabeth Reynard, Virginia Gildersleeve, and the Birth of the WAVES

Elizabeth Reynard, an English professor, was the second in command of the WAVES, or Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, during World War II. Together with Virginia Gildersleeve, the politically and socially well-connected dean of Barnard College, Reynard laid the foundation for the Women’s Reserve, which opened doors to naval service

Map of Aleutians Theater with major U.S. Installations as of 1 August 1942, Naval History and Heritage Command Image.

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

An eight-and-a-half by eleven-inch sheet of white paper, with the colored drawing of the coat of arms of USS John L. Hall (FFG-32), along with typewritten text in black- and blue-colored ink describing the coat of arms’ symbolism, 1982

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

The Combined Chiefs of Staff meet in October 1943. (Courtesy of the National Archives)

April 9, 2024

The Navy and the Formation of NATO

Continued Navy cooperation with coalition partners after World War II helped facilitate a smooth transition from a war footing to a new postwar security framework backed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO then helped clarify the roles and responsibilities for America’s Navy in Nuclear Age limited warfare.