During World War II, the USS Borie (DD-215) operated in the Atlantic as part of anti-submarine hunter-killer groups. On 1 November 1943, Borie rammed and fought a German U-boat (U-405) in one of the most dramatic close-quarters naval battles of the war — exchanging small-arms fire at point-blank range and eventually sinking the submarine. Borie herself […]
As my readers already know, this website is dedicated to the men and the women in the U.S. Navy. However, I found this Army story so interesting and remarkable, that I wanted to share it with you. The story occurred during the Battle of Hürtgen Forest located east of the Belgian-German border. It was was […]
During WW II, the Navy used K-class blimps (airships) for patrol and anti-submarine missions. They were very good at this! The main challenge was that their radio transmissions could be detected, direction-found or intercepted by enemy forces (including U-boats). When a blimp needed to report a contact but could not risk transmitting, they released a […]
As my readers know, I attended the U.S. Navy’s Leaders to Sea program aboard the USS Harry S. Truman, so I’m always interested in her latest mission. She recently arrived in Norfolk, VA, after an 8-month deployment to the Red Sea. As you’ll learn in this recent Military.com article, the crew and their families were super glad […]
A recent Military.com article reminded me of the incredible sacrifices that our Navy families make along with their sons and daughters. It was the story of Alleta & Thomas Sullivan. You may remember them as the parents who lost all five of their sons in the sinking of the USS Juneau during WW II. We […]
The Navy was “born” 250 years ago in 1775 in Philadelphia. Celebrations are planned in Philadelphia and in Camden, NJ, beginning on October 9th. Over 300,000 are expected to attend the events. Read more about this milestone in Navy history in this Military.com article. This year also marks the 250th anniversary of the Marines. Their […]
As my readers know, I attended the U.S. Navy’s Leaders to Sea program aboard the USS Harry S. Truman, so I’m always interested in her latest mission. Following a deployment in the Mediterranean to deal with the Houthi rebels (see my blog on this), I learned from a Military.com article that she was involved in a collision with […]
Harry Chandler, 103, has passed away. As a Navy medic at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Mr. Chandler joined his shipmates and rushed to the devastation caused by the Japanese surprise attack. He modestly reported that he was too busy providing aid to be afraid. When asked what he wanted us to know about […]
World War II Naval vet Stephen Kolesnik has passed away at age 97 in Boscawen, NH. I was moved when I read this article about Mr. Kolesnik and his fear that he’d die alone with no one to notice his passing. Instead, about 200 vets and others showed up to attend his funeral on a […]
As my readers know, I attended the U.S. Navy’s Leaders to Sea program aboard the USS Harry S. Truman. Naturally I’m always interested in her latest mission. I recently read that Houthi rebels prematurely celebrated when the USS Abraham Lincoln left the Mediterranean for a scheduled rotation. They’ll be unpleasantly surprised when they see the USS […]