By Col. Gerald H. Turley, USMCR (Ret.), IUniverse, Inc., (2012). Reviewed by John Grady The Journey of a Warrior is a “friend’s book.” Gerald Turley has known, respected, and worked with and for Al Gray for years. That is both the book’s greatest strength and a weakness. As he wrote, “Again, this is not a
By Mitsuo Fuchida and Masatake Okumiya, Bluejacket Books, Annapolis, MD, (2001). Reviewed by Jason McHale “They had no right to win. Yet they did, and in so doing changed the course of a war…” (Incredible Victory, IX) Walter Lord used these words to describe the American forces that fought at the Battle of Midway. Three
Edited by John Jordan, Conway, London, Great Britain. (2011). Reviewed by Kempton Baldridge Jr. The annual Warship series covers a wide variety of naval topics, both historical and contemporary. Last year’s edition covered three main subjects: naval strategy and tactics, naval architecture, and naval incidents and developments. Many of the essays contained in this volume
By Francis M. Carroll, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD. (2012) Reviewed by David Kronenfeld Athenia Torpedoed is the latest work by Canadian history professor Francis M. Carroll. The author of ten books, Professor Carroll is currently professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba. Athenia Torpedoed documents the passenger ship Athenia’s background, sailing, sinking, and resulting
By R. Neil Scott, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Lanham, MD. (2012.) Reviewed by Alan M. Anderson During World War I, over two million American servicemen were successfully transported across the Atlantic Ocean to England and France. Of the many troopships traveling eastward, German U-boats torpedoed three. The only other troopship lost, Otranto, sank on 6
By Daniel Allen Butler, Casemate, Philadelphia, PA. Newbury, Great Britain. (2009). Reviewed by James Quinn Still today the world’s most famous ship, RMS Titanic and her last hours have been the subject of a 1950s best-seller and a multi-Oscar winning blockbuster of the 1990s. In The Other Side of the Night, the story is expanded
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the conflict in Southeast Asia, the Naval Historical Foundation and the Naval History and Heritage Command are cosponsoring a series of monographs entitled The U.S. Navy and the Vietnam War. Soon to be published in that series is a lavishly illustrated work on the Navy’s “in-country war” entitled Combat
The following interview is an excerpt from the oral history of Captain Douglas G. Phillips, USN (Retired), recorded in December 2010. Captain Phillips graduated from the New York State Merchant Marine Academy in 1937, and later obtained a commission with the U.S. Navy. His first Navy assignment was aboard USS Castor, and he later reported
As we approach the 71st anniversary of the tragic Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the thoughts of many around the nation will turn towards Hawaii, and the wreck of the battleship USS Arizona. But another Navy vessel from that colossal battle is being prepared for display in the deep South. The tugboat ex-USS Hoga (YT
Battle of the Atlantic – 70th Anniversary Conference 23-24 May 2013 Naval Regional Headquarters, Liverpool May 2013 marks the seventieth anniversary of perhaps the major turning point in the Allied victory over the Germans in the Atlantic during the Second World War ‒ the defeat of the Uboats in mid-ocean. The official commemoration in Liverpool
The inactivation this Saturday 1 December of USS Enterprise (CVN 65) at Naval Station Norfolk will mark the latest chapter of a close relationship between the Naval Historical Foundation (NHF) and one of the Navy’s most historically significant vessels. In fact that NHF-“Big-E” relationship turns out to be pretty personal. For example, long-time NHF archivist
Dear Members and Friends of the Foundation, In addition to welcoming Admiral John Mitchell, Rear Admiral, USN (Ret.) as our new President this year, as Executive Director of the Foundation, I have had the pleasure over the past thirteen years of seeing the NHF develop into a strong nonprofit organization that supports a full range
Now is the time to start planning for the Historic Naval Ships Association 2013 Annual Conference, which will be held in Camden, NJ/Philadelphia 18-21 September. The Battleship New Jersey and Independence Seaport Museum will be co-hosting. Those with good ideas for topics or those would like to present a paper, please contact Toby Oothoudt at
The Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) Archives is preparing for a recently awarded major construction project to fix its records’ storage environment in building 108 at the Washington Navy Yard. In addition, it is engaging in a parallel project to reduce a large processing backlog. Both are necessary to protect the collections they hold and
A unique museum ship located in Texas is looking for help. Gunners Mates or strikers are needed to work on the 3” 50’s and 40mm guns on the historic World War II destroyer escort ex-USS Stewart (DE 238) located in Galveston. GM’s unique skills are needed to repair these guns to the point that
