Naval History Blog

Commodore George Dewey won an overwhelming victory at the Battle of Manila Bay against the Spanish squadron of Rear Admiral Patrico Montojo y Pasaron on 1 May 1898 at the onset of the Spanish-American War and went from obscurity to become the most widely recognized name in America. Although it is popular to view naval history in terms of extraordinary figures, heroic actions, and revolutionary change, Dewey won the battle because of the planning and administrative decisions he initiated during the months prior to engaging the enemy. These actions demonstrated his foresightedness, a characteristic that all naval officers are taught… Read the rest of this entry »

“War should not be glamorized,” wrote Donald W. Lynch long after his service as Chief Engineer in destroyer Mugford (DD-389) during World War Two. He had purposefully put much of his wartime experiences out of his mind but later, in an undated letter to a Mugford reunion group, he described why that was so. Lynch joined the Navy after Pearl Harbor and, after four months of intense steam and electrical engineering training at the Naval Academy, received his commission in May 1942. Three months later he was serving in Mugford during the invasion of Guadalcanal in August 1942. As he… Read the rest of this entry »

The Naval History & Heritage Command joins a greatful nation in mourning the passing of our shipmate Chief Bob Feller, the Ace of the Greatest Generation. When asked once what was his most important victory, he replied, “World War II.” Dr. Ed Furgol of the National Museum of the U.S. Navy has prepared a short vignette about Chief Feller’s naval service which originally appeared on Naval History Blog on 9 December 2010 – the 69th anniversary of his enlistment in the U.S. Navy. It is reprinted below: After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941, Major League… Read the rest of this entry »

NHHC Photo Curator Ed Finney and CINCHOUSE, Daisy at Ed’s farewell in the Museum Education center on 7 December 2010. The Naval History & Heritage Command won’t be the same anymore after today’s retirement of photo curator extraordinaire, Ed Finney. Ed started out at the-then Naval Historical Center as a GS-4 clerk typist over 20 years ago. RUMINT has it the number of words per minute he could type is still classified. Ed is a third generation U.S. Naval Academy graduate (Class of 1967). His grandfather was Class of 1902 and his father was class of 1937 . He has… Read the rest of this entry »

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941, Major League Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt, asking him, “What do you want [baseball] to do? . . .We await your order.” The President replied, “I honestly feel it would be best for the country to keep baseball going.” With this recommendation, the league began a massive effort to support the war. However, some players chose a more patriotic path. Waiving his draft deferment as the sole provider for his family, pitcher Robert Feller enlisted in the Navy on 9 December 1941, becoming the… Read the rest of this entry »

There was no shortage of heroism on land, sea, under the sea, or in the air over Guadalcanal. Two decades separated their births; half a continent separated their birthplaces. One man graduated from the Naval Academy with the Class of 1919, the other enlisted in 1939. One man was white, the other black. The former had no limitations in his service, the latter, because of his race, could only serve in the messman branch. Yet circumstances drew them together in one ship, in one battle, and saw each give up his “life in the defense of his country.” Mark Hanna… Read the rest of this entry »