Naval History Blog

Chris Cavas, Naval Warfare Correspondent at Defense News, was right on target when he used the word “boo” in a tweet about the display ship Barry’s departure from the Washington Navy Yard on Saturday, 7 May 2016, with no plans for a replacement. Mr. Cavas is being polite, in my humble opinion. “Disgraceful” comes to my mind. A U.S. Navy Museum in the nation’s capital without a Navy ship is ridiculous and borders in the criminal. Can you imagine an Air Force Museum without airplanes or a U.S. Army museum without guns and tanks? Me neither. If anyone ever needed… Read the rest of this entry »

The U.S. is currently prioritizing their public education agenda to focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. The Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) and its Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) have created a pilot program to highlight aspects of the underwater archaeology field in order to complement STEM initiatives. The purpose of this Underwater Archaeology STEM Program Pilot Project is to expand the reach and influence of both the NHHC and the history and archaeology career field, and educational opportunities associated with underwater archeological science and technology. Archaeologists from the NHHC’s UAB and educators for the National Museum… Read the rest of this entry »

Image is from the Beverly R. Robinson Collection, United States Naval Academy Museum.

In preparation for the relocation to the new state-of-the-art museum facility, the old museum will be closing the doors to the World War II Quonset huts that it has called home since 1956 on September 30, 2010. A display chronicling the history of the Seabees and Civil Engineer Corps since 1942 will… remain open Monday through Friday from 1000 – 1400. In addition, the museum store will remain will open for limited hours (Monday through Friday from 1000 – 1400) in order to provide service to Seabees and their families with base access. For more information about the museum store,… Read the rest of this entry »

Brandon Richards of KPLC 7 in Lake Charles, Louisiana reports: It’s been sixty-five years since J.T. Platt last boarded the USS Orleck. “I was one of the grunts. I did what I was told,” said Platt, who worked at Consolidated Steel Corporation, the group that built the Orleck starting in 1944. Platt worked at the company in Orange, Texas from 1944 to 1945. He left Consolidated Steel two months after the Orleck was commissioned. Platt was part of the original group from Consolidated Steel, responsible for making sure all of the equipment on board the Orleck was in working order…. Read the rest of this entry »

 Our nation’s fleet of historic ships grows by one! Tim Younkman of the Bay City Times writes, “The battle continues to bring the Vietnam-era destroyer USS Edson to the Bay City riverfront. Volunteers and maritime enthusiasts have worked for 13 years to secure a 20th century combat ship as a Bay City attraction. Their efforts paid off when the U.S. Navy granted ownership of the 56-year-old Edson, now in mothballs, to the Saginaw Valley Navel Ship Museum.” Full article here. For more about the namesake of the USS Edson, click here.

Last week, the ranks of the Naval History blogosphere increased by one with the arrival of the Naval War College Museum Blog! The Naval War College is one of the Naval History & Heritage Command’s official U.S. Navy Museums. Recommend you book mark the site or add them to your reader. The purpose of the blog “will be to engage our community with relevant information on museum activities. Readers may look forward to artifact research blogs, education program articles, staff and volunteer profiles, historical essays, and more.” We look forward to cooperating with them in the naval history blogosphere! Welcome aboard!