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BOOK REVIEW – The Sailor’s Homer: The Life and Times of Richard McKenna, Author of The Sand Pebbles

By Dennis L. Noble, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2015) Reviewed by Mark Lardas Richard McKenna was a forecastle sailor who wrote with skill. His literary career was short – two dozen short stories, a half-dozen essays, one completed novel and one novel left unfinished by death. That short published corpus made him the voice

BOOK REVIEW – Harnessing the Sky: Frederick “Trap” Trapnell, the U.S. Navy’s Aviation Pioneer, 1923-1952

By Frederick M. Trapnell Jr. and Dana Trapnell Tibbits, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2015) Reviewed by Nathan D. Wells Individuals who were “present at the creation” of seminal events or organizations tend to be popular subjects for biographies, especially if their influence was of great strategic importance. When those individuals are not well-known despite

BOOK REVIEW – Privateering: Patriots and Profits in the War of 1812

By Faye M. Kert, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD (2015) Reviewed by Louis Arthur Norton, Ph.D. During the War of 1812, the burgeoning United States Navy was at a disadvantage when engaging Britain, the world’s most formidable sea power. One method of leveling the maritime “battlefield” was the employment of a privateer fleet. Faye

BOOK REVIEW – Tin Can Diary: The War Diary of Earl W. Foxwell, Jr.’s Tour of Duty Aboard The Destroyer USS Edwards, DD 619

By Harry J. Foxwel, Self Published, Middletown, DE (2015) Reviewed by Michael F. Solecki The destroyer is a light, fast, maneuverable, and heavily armed class of warship originally designed in the late 1800s to “destroy” torpedo boats. By World War II, these ships were designed and used to escort much larger ships and convoys filling

BOOK REVIEW – The U.S. Naval Institute On Naval Cooperation

By Samuel J. Tangredi, ed., Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2015) Reviewed by Nathan Albright As part of the U.S. Naval Institute’s wheel book series, this book offers a selection of papers on the subject of international naval cooperation that seeks to provide a handy source for naval officers and readers interested in naval affairs

Who Invented the X-Wing? Carrier Ops in the Star Wars Universe

Unless you have been hiding under a rock over the past year, you know about the current hysteria surrounding the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens this Thursday and Friday. It is the most anticipated film of the year. For many, it’s the most anticipated film in a generation. Everybody is getting involved in

Pulling Together Pull Together: The Making of an Issue (PART IV)

A Blog Series by Matthew T. Eng With base access at the Washington Navy Yard restricted, I wanted to give readers a sneak peak behind the process of producing the Winter 2015 (Vol 54, no. 4) issue of Pull Together. Disclaimer: The comments included in these posts are my own, and represent an “unfiltered” approach to writing

Pulling Together Pull Together: The Making of an Issue (PART III)

A Blog Series by Matthew T. Eng With base access at the Washington Navy Yard restricted, I wanted to give readers a sneak peak behind the process of producing the Winter 2015 (Vol 54, no. 4) issue of Pull Together. Disclaimer: The comments included in these posts are my own, and represent an “unfiltered” approach to writing

Noted Historian Weighs in on Recent Naval History Scholarship

This past September, our Digital Content Developer posted a recap of the McMullen Naval History Symposium, which included his own personal thoughts on the state of naval history. The post elicited this essay by long-time NHF member Dr. Christopher McKee. We welcome such dialog on a subject so important to the nation. Please consider joining

Pulling Together Pull Together: The Making of an Issue (PART I)

A Blog Series by Matthew T. Eng With base access at the Washington Navy Yard restricted, I wanted to give readers a sneak peak behind the process of producing the Winter 2015 (Vol 54, no. 4) issue of Pull Together. Disclaimer: The comments included in these posts are my own, and represent an “unfiltered” approach

Message from the President: End of the Year Donation and Planned Giving

  2015 has been a busy year for your Foundation, as you have seen in the pages of our Pull Together newsletters and through the stories on our website blog.  It was our particular privilege to participate in two special Navy centennial anniversaries this year: The 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Navy Reserve,

A Scaled Curse: Kennedy and the Curious History of the “Black Constitution” Model

“We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea — whether it is to sail or to watch it — we are going back from whence we came.”                              – President John F. Kennedy, September 1962 The

Naval Disaster in Newfoundland

By Captain George Stewart, USN (Ret.) This post provides a description of the events surrounding the loss of USS Truxtun (DD 229) and USS Pollux (AKS 2) by grounding off the coast of Newfoundland in February 1942. Because over 200 lives were lost, it is considered to be one of the worst disasters in Naval