Sept. 9, 2014

Nuclear Navy and Energy Independence Pick Up Steam in 1961

Long Beach, the world's first nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser, was commissioned Sept. 9, 1961, the same year as the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise (CVAN 65). "With their nuclear-powered submarine counterparts already operating in the fleet and the nuclear-powered guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge (DLGN

Sept. 7, 2014

Long Before Nuclear Power, There Was Turtle Power

On 17 July 1785, Thomas Jefferson wrote to his friend and colleague George Washington, requesting "you to be so kind as to communicate to me what you can recollect of Bushnel's experiments in submarine navigation during the late war."  Washington replied two months later, declaring that although he did not "expect much success from the enterprise

Aug. 29, 2014

Paying Respects to USS Houston (CA 30) Crew and the Navy Family

Officers of the USS Houston CA 30 Survivors Association and Next Generations, and descendants of the crew from the World War II cruiser USS HOUSTON (CA 30) spent the day with naval leadership at the Pentagon and the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC). The Houston went down fighting during the Battle of Sunda Strait on March 1, 1942, with

Aug. 19, 2014

USS Constitution: Presence Then, Presence Now

The Chief of Naval Operations Guiding Principles (Warfighting First, Operate Forward, Be Ready) were as important and applicable to the early chapters of our Navy's history as they are today. In the months leading up to our declaration of war against Great Britain, Captain Isaac Hull personally witnessed the rising tension between our Navy and the

Aug. 13, 2014

#PeopleMatter: Hospitalman John Kilmer Showed Dedication to Marines Until Death

Today we remember Medal of Honor recipient John Edward Kilmer, a hospital corpsman with the Third Battalion, Seventh Marines during the battle of Bunker Hill in the nearing the end of his four-year enlistment.Hoping to put his medical expertise to use in the war, he re-enlisted in the Navy in Aug. 1951. In his picture, he is wearing a dark uniform

Aug. 2, 2014

PT 59: The PT Boat You Didn't Know About

It may have looked like a speedboat, but beware anything that might threaten its mission. Loaded with two twin .50 cal. M2 Browning machine guns, two 40 mm guns (fore and aft) and four single .30 and .50 cal. machine guns, the water craft had the power to destroy any obstacle that got in its way. That was the power of PT-59.A former Motor Boat

July 31, 2014

#PeopleMatter: On the Surface, Conspicuous Gallantry and Intrepidity were the Hallmarks of a WWII Submariner

Eight submariners have received the Medal of Honor, but only one earned his during combat on the surface rather than under the water.On July 31, 1944, Cmdr. Lawson P. "Red" Ramage was commanding officer of the new Balao-class USS Parche(SS 384). A 1931 Naval Academy graduate and a 13-year veteran of the Navy, Ramage spent his early career on

July 26, 2014

#PeopleMatter: Truman Ends Segregation in Armed Forces

It didn't have the branding power of the Emancipation Proclamation that was issued 86 years prior, but President Harry S. Truman's Executive Order 9981 would give the military services the guidance they needed to fully integrate their service members for years to come. At just a little more than 400 words, Executive Order 9981, when it was issued

July 23, 2014

#PeopleMatter: Remembering the Honor, Courage and Commitment of Lt. John W. Finn

 Like the man for whom the ship is named, USS John Finn (DDG 113) will be built to fight, durable and ready to go the moment her crew brings her to life. That is when the 63rd Arleigh Burke-class destroyer joins the fleet in 2016. So we'll talk instead about the ship's namesake on the occasion of his birthday, July 23, 1909.John William Finn was

July 17, 2014

#PeopleMatter - Navy Pilot comes up Aces during the Korean War

There are the rare times when the number five is luckier than a seven. Not at a Las Vegas casino, perhaps, but definitely so for a naval aviator nicknamed "Lucky Pierre," the U.S. Navy's only ace of the Korean War.Guy Pierre Bordelon Jr., a native of Ruston, La., was a pre-law student at Louisiana Polytechnic Institute and then later enrolled at