LVTs roll across terrain on Okinawa from beaches as Amphibious Task Force unloads. April 3, 1945.

The Battle of Okinawa was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II.  On June 21, 1945, after 82 days of battle, the Japanese troops were defeated. This was not intended to be the final major battle of World War II, only the staging ground for the Allied invasion of Japan. The ferocity of the fighting on Okinawa, combined with the massive number of casualties, forced American strategists to seek alternative means for ending the war, as the destruction on Okinawa would surely have paled in comparison to any invasion of the Japanese home islands. The following article, originally published in the January 1946 issue of Proceedings, gives a personal account of the assault on Okinawa.

OKINAWA OPERATION
By Captain E. E. Paro, U.S. Navy
The High councils of war had reached a decision. They were in agreement and a directive was issued for a proposed amphibious operation in the Pacific.
There were many assumptions in the directive and the operation was to accomplish certain very desirable military objectives which later unfolded themselves but which are not discussed herein.
The target selected was Okinawa Shima in the Ryukyus. Information on this island was sketchy to say the least but its geographical location was very clear and definite. It is located 325 miles from the Japanese home island of Kyushu, 400 miles from Shanghai and about the same distance from Formosa. The directive stated that fanatical and determined air opposition by the entire Japanese air force could be expected. It was known that the Japanese had in existence certain paratroop units which would probably be employed, enemy surface naval opposition was a threat, and enemy troop reinforcements could be expected from any of the localities mentioned above. The target was heavily garrisoned and completely ringed by prepared enemy defense positions of great strength and in depth. It had a native population of 440,000 all of which must be assumed to be hostile. The terrain was exceedingly adaptable to defense, particularly in the northern and extreme southern positions of the island. The beaches were few and these were fringed by rough coral heads, and the depth of the water over them was unknown. The weather could be expected to be stormy for at least 20 per cent of the time and the island lay in the center of the path of most of the typhoons, which were frequent and severe. Read the rest of this entry »

A Marine-packed LCVP bears down upon the beach of Siapan. The Marines hold their fingers aloft with the "V for Victory" sign.

Saipan was an important strategic point for the Americans in the pacific theater. Gaining the island of Saipan, which is 1,300 miles from Japan,  brought the war to the Japanese home islands. The May 1947 issue of Proceedings included an article written by Pete Zurlinden describing the atmosphere among the men as they prepared for the amphibious attack.

PRELUDE TO SAIPAN: 15 JUNE, 1944 (A Stirring Hour Relived in History)
By TECHNICAL SERGEANT PETE ZURLINDEN Marine Corps Combat Correspondent
Saipan, Marianas Islands, 15 June, 1944­. This ship sleeps as we plow toward Saipan -just 1,250 miles directly south of Tokyo-­where later today American Marines will begin the struggle for the valuable Japanese­ owned Island.
Below decks, sleeping soundly just as on any night-anywhere-an elite contingent of tried, battle-toughened Leathernecks, most of them stripped of all clothing, are stretched out in their bunks. Read the rest of this entry »

May 9th, 1926

LCDR Richard Byrd and Chief Machinist Mate Floyd Bennett fly over the North Pole

        Fifteen years after Robert Peary claimed to have reached the North Pole, Richard E. Byrd, along with his pilot, Floyd Bennett, became the first men to fly over the pole.  Because the North Pole lies within the Arctic Ocean, rather than upon a fixed landmass, its exact location cannot be precisely determined.  Thus Byrd’s observations and recordings, much like Peary’s, were subject to intense scrutiny from scientists and mathematicians before he could lay claim to his achievement.  Both Byrd and Bennett received the Congressional Medal of Honor for their feat, and Byrd later went on to become the first man to fly over the South Pole as well.

        A few months after Byrd’s Arctic flight, the August 1926 issue of  Proceedings contained an article reprinted from the New York Times about the verification of Byrd’s claims by the National Geographic Society, which demonstrated the success of his mission.  The article is excerpted below:

        New York Times, 30 June, 1926.—Lieutenant Commander Richard E. Byrd arrived at the North Pole “very close” to nine hours three minutes Greenwich civil time on May 9, the committee of experts named by the National Geographic Society finds after a careful examination of his data. Read the rest of this entry »

May 1st, 1898

Commodore George Dewey wins the Battle of Manila Bay

Official Battle Report as published in  Proceedings     

 The Battle of Manila Bay marked the first major victory in the Spanish-American War.  The battle, which ended in less than a day’s time, demonstrated the naval prowess which earned the United States a quick and decisive victory in the war against the Spanish Empire, which only lasted four months.  Furthermore, as a result of his successful leadership in the battle, Commodore George Dewey became the first and only person to hold the rank of Admiral of the Navy.  In the year following the war, Proceedings published a report of the battle written by Dewey himself, in response to a previously-published account of the battle, which Dewey found to be erroneous and inaccurate.  Dewey’s report, and a letter from the Navy’s Bureau of Navigation requesting that the Naval Institute publish his report, appear below:

            DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY. BUREAU OF NAVIGATION.

WASHINGTON, D. C., September 21st, 1899.

        SIR:—The following is a copy of a letter received from Admiral George Dewey: Read the rest of this entry »

The USS Constellation loading famine relief supplies for Ireland at the New York Navy Yard, in March 1880.

March 27th, 1880

The USS Constellation departs from New York with food for famine victims in Ireland

         The USS Constellation, a frigate first launched in 1797, held a long naval career, which spanned over the length of a century, and exemplified both the military and humanitarian aspects of the U. S. Navy.  Towards the end of her career, the Constellation was charged with the duty of bringing aid to the victims of the ongoing famine in Ireland.  In this duty, and in several others undertaken at the same point in her career, the Constellation served as an ambassador of sorts for the United States abroad, advancing American relations with other nations.  A brief excerpt of her career, from an artical by Ruby Duval in the December 1935 issue of Proceedings documents some of the many duties which made the Constellation such an ambassador.

        The Constellation was placed out of commission until 1855 when, after rebuilding at the Norfolk Navy Yard, she was ordered to the Mediterranean to join the squadron of Commodore Breese.   Read the rest of this entry »

March 7th, 1994

The U. S. Navy issues first orders for women aboard a combat ship:  the USS Eisenhower (CVN-69)

        The U. S. Navy issued the first set of orders to women for duty aboard a combat ship, the USS Eisenhower (CVN-69) on March 7, 1994. 

        By June 25^th, when this photo of a watertight door proudly labeled “FEMALE OFFICERS COUNTRY” was snapped as ‘A Sign of the Times’ eighty-seven women were aboard the ship as crew members, and approximately 500 women were expected aboard (as ship’s crew or members of an embarked air wing) by the following October for the next scheduled deployment.

February 15th, 1856

LT David Dixon Porter leaves Smyrna, Syria for

Indianola, Texas with 21 camels on board

 

        Just five years before the outbreak of the Civil War, Lieutenant David Dixon Porter received unusual orders from the Secretary of War at the time, Jefferson Davis, to travel to the Mediterranean on the USS Supply.  There, he was required to join Major Henry C. Wayne, then the Quartermaster of the Army, and aid him in finding and purchasing camels for experimental use in the American desert.  The Supply had already traveled to the Mediterranean before, on Lieutenant William Lynch’s expedition to the Dead Sea, where Lynch himself had encountered camels, and managed to substitute them for draught-horses.  Lynch’s interactions with these camels, and his lengthy descriptions of these creatures, no doubt inspired Porter’s unique assignment.  Proceedings describes the history of Lieutenant Porter’s travels, as well as the fate of the camels he acquired.

        Supply‘s next assignment was perhaps the most unusual duty of her career. Read the rest of this entry »

February 1st, 1955

Operation Deep Freeze is Established in Antarctica

        The research task force titled Operation Deep Freeze was first established in Antarctica in 1955.  This first mission was the first in an ongoing series of American research missions to the Antarctic continent, which has facillitated many researchers and scientists to explore, study, and perform experiements.  In March, 1970, Proceedings published a firsthand account of one of the first Deep Freeze missions, undertaken thirteen years after the beginning of the operation.  In “Deep Freeze Diary, 1968,” Commander James S, McNeely, USN (retired), described his experience of Antarctica, from recieving his orders to the end of his assignment.  Mcneely provides a detailed account of the dark Antarctic winter, as well as the risks and challenges of living in such a barren environment, but emphasizes the importance of such long and lonely missions in advancing human knowledge and exploration.

        “BUPERS ORDERS … CDR JAMES S. MC NEELY … DIRDET … AS CO ANTARCTICSUPPACT DET ALFA …”  Me!  The Bureau of Personnel had ordered me to duty in Antarctica as Commanding Officer of the wintering-over detachment.  Great! Read the rest of this entry »