March 28, 2023

First Female Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy

On March 21, 1917, Loretta Perfectus Walsh was sworn in as a chief yeoman, becoming the first female chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy. Four days earlier, Walsh had been the first woman to enlist in the Navy, having the distinction of being the first woman to serve in any of the U.S. armed forces other than a nursing assignment. Before Walsh

March 1, 2023

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral Robert M. Clark, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral (upper half) Robert M. “Bob” Clark on 15 February 2023 at age 72. Rear Admiral Clark entered the U.S. Navy in August 1972 via Officer Candidate School and served as a surface warfare officer. His last assignment was Director, Maritime Partnership Program, U.S. Naval Forces Europe,

March 1, 2023

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral John F. Shipway, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral John Francis “Dugan” Shipway, U.S. Navy (Retired), on 18 February 2023 at age 80. RADM Shipway entered the U.S. Navy in September 1960 via the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps and served as a submarine officer and acquisition professional until his retirement in June 2000 as

Feb. 27, 2023

To Make “The Navy Ready to Strike”: The Fantastic Voyage of USS Oregon

In preparation for war with Spain in the spring of 1898, battleship Oregon embarked on a 14,000-mile, sixty-six-day cruise from California, through the Straits of Magellan in South America, to Florida. There was no guarantee Oregon would make the voyage expeditiously, or even at all. The journey, the longest yet undertaken by one of the new

Feb. 24, 2023

A “Terrible Catastrophe”: The February 1844 Naval Gun Explosion that Almost Killed a President

By 1843, when he approached the Navy for permission to build Princeton, its first steam-powered man-of-war, Robert Field Stockton had already distinguished himself as a U.S. Navy officer in the War of 1812, as a key negotiator in the establishment of Liberia, and as an aggressive pirate hunter.After 16 years at sea, Stockton used an extended shore

Feb. 23, 2023

Seaborne Evacuation of Iran

Almost one year after Jimmy Carter became president of the United States a revolution erupted in Iran that would bring about major social, political, and economic change. It would also compel Western nationals living there to leave the country in a rather urgent manner.In the wake of the Iranian Revolution (January 1978 - February 1979), many

Feb. 10, 2023

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral John E. Gordon, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral (upper half) John Edward “Ted” Gordon on 22 January 2023 at age 81. Rear Admiral Gordon entered the U.S. Naval Academy in July 1960. After graduation, he served in the Navy Supply Corps and then in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG Corps) until his retirement in November 1992

Feb. 7, 2023

Remember the Men of the Maine

On 15 February 1898, the battleship Maine exploded while visiting Havana, Cuba. The loss of the ship would drive the United States and Spain to war within a few months. However, the global significance of the disaster should not overshadow the lives lost and the many wounded. 253 men died in the explosion, and another seven died of injuries over

Feb. 7, 2023

Why did the USS Maine explode?

Few U.S. ships are as well remembered as the battleship Maine. Unlike Constitution, Monitor, or Enterprise, though, the ship is not famous for its wartime record, long career, or remarkable innovation. Rather, Maine is remembered for exploding in Havana harbor on 15 February 1898. The death of 260 crewmen and officers would be tragedy enough, but

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