Naval History Blog

    The following article was printed in the July/August 1998 issue of Naval History magazine. It was written by 12-year old Hunter Scott in his quest to restore honor to the Captain and Crew of the USS Indianapolis:   With perhaps greater reverence than many of my 12-year-old peers, I appreciate this opportunity to write about what has grown from a school history project into a mission. My quest has allowed me to be associated with individuals who fought so that all Americans could live in the greatest democracy the world has ever known. Throughout this journey, I have learned… Read the rest of this entry »

  From Naval History and Heritage Command, Communications and Outreach Division 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 surface ships like destroyers and cruisers before attending the Submarine School and a two-year tour on USS S-29 (SS 134). When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7,… Read the rest of this entry »

From Naval History and Heritage Command, Communications and Outreach Division 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 26, 1948, established there shall be “equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.” Bespectacled as a youth… Read the rest of this entry »

From Naval History and Heritage Command, Communications and Outreach Division 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 born in Compton, Calif. He dropped out of school in the seventh grade and joined the Navy at age 17 upon obtaining his mother’s… Read the rest of this entry »

School may be out for the summer for most, but six Connecticut public school teachers are still learning, trading their Smartboards for the inside of a submarine. The teachers study STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects, base them on past real world events or scenarios and throw a bit of history in for the week-long Naval Historical Foundation’s STEM-H (History) fellowship. Through Friday, the teachers are getting a crash course in Naval History and undersea systems as they experience the Submarine Force Library and Museum and visit the Historic Ship Nautilus in Groton, Conn. Through the fellowship, teachers learn… Read the rest of this entry »

From Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division Seventy-four years ago today the Second Naval Expansion Act, one of the largest procurement bills in the history of the U.S. Navy, was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The bill was so large it also goes by at least three other names: The Two-Ocean Navy Act, the Seventy-Percent Act or the Vinson-Walsh Act. It increased by 70 percent – 1.325 million tons — the Navy’s size for combat tonnage at a cost of $4 billion. It also set into motion a strategy that more than seven decades… Read the rest of this entry »

By Naval History and Heritage Command, Communications and Outreach Division 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 Louisiana State University where he studied until the middle of 1942. A few months later he joined the Navy Reserves and went to Georgia for flight school as… Read the rest of this entry »

By Naval History and Heritage Command Modern international partnerships are essential to global peace and prosperity. One of America’s most enduring partnerships is with Japan, sharing strong economic and security ties that trace their beginning back to 1791 when explorer John Kendrick became the first known American to visit Japan, spending 11 days there. The Far East nation, however, was a bit reluctant in opening its harbors to commerce. While the United States was an ardent pursuer to develop a relationship, Japan coyly rejected the upstart nation’s advances. After two requests, in 1846 and 1848, failed to convince Japan to sign a treaty… Read the rest of this entry »