In Death Unafraid is a two part blog miniseries chronicling the history and memory of the USS Maine from 1898 to present. Newspaper Reaction to the Sinking of the Maine Part I: Garish Marble The week before I started my job at the Naval Historical Foundation, my wife and I took a trip to
By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 24th in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) The U.S. nuclear attack submarine Thresher sank during sea trials off the New England coast on 10 April 1963, with the loss
By Dave Colamaria This week is the annual LEGO Shipbuilding Contest at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, and I’ve finished my contribution to the event in the nick of time. This weekend I completed work on a 7 foot long version of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV 2). The project took me a little
This is the second of three articles that describe my experiences while serving as an engineer aboard commercial tankers in 1961. These articles provide a perspective on the different engineering practices between the Navy and Merchant Marine in the post-World War II era. (READ THE FIRST ARTICLE HERE) I just completed a stint of
By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 23nd in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) I knew Don Engen for a very brief period. Still, he had a significant influence on me. Vice Admiral Engen dropped out
By Captain George Stewart, USN (Retired) This is the first of three articles that describe my experiences while serving as an engineer aboard commercial tankers in 1961. These articles provide perspective on the different engineering practices between the Navy and Merchant Marine in the post World War II-era. As will become apparent, there were some
“Kin had the intelligence, integrity and industry in a measure you rarely see. He had the ability to voice the unpopular truth, to say, in a gathering, what others wished they had the nerve to utter.” Bruce DeMars Admiral U.S. Navy (Retired) NHF Chairman “Smart, no-nonsense, dedicated, always focused on the job. first classmate to
By John Grady The Navy was more successful in its campaigns like Port Royal, S.C. and New Orleans than the Army during the American Civil War particularly in the Virginia Theater. According to Pulitzer Prize-winning author James McPherson, it was “partially due to the professionalism of Navy leadership in high positions.” Dr. McPherson answered these
By Dave Colamaria I was excited to hear that the Naval Historical Foundation is working with the Hampton Roads Naval Museum on the 2014 LEGO Shipbuilding Program this coming February. I had a great time at last year’s event (see the story here) and I thought a lot over the past year about a follow-up
We would like to introduce a new segment to the NHF Blog page: Washington Navy Yard: Then and Now. We will be showing the growth and changes in Washington Navy Yard history from yesterday through today. Today’s images discuss Building 201, just a few blocks from the National Museum of the United States Navy. The
“Men have the luxury of being average. When you walk in as a woman, that assumption does not come with you.” – Michelle Howard, Commander, USS Rushmore, Time Magazine, 2000. This blog discusses American naval history. History, by definition, is a study of the past. It is a very rare and special treat
By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 20th in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) In the mid-1970s my neighbors in Northern Virginia included Stu and Martha Landersman. Stu was a Navy captain and a surface warfare
Tomorrow marks the 114th Army-Navy football game. Due to a recent string of success (11 straight victories), Navy holds the current record at 57-49-7. Navy football did not always dominate the storied rivalry. During World War II, the rivalry between the Midshipmen and Black Knights was better than ever. Despite any misgivings the other service
Today, we commemorate the 151st anniversary of the sinking of the ironclad USS Cairo. The Cairo sank in the river during the 1862 Yazoo Pass Expedition. This article is the beginning of a series of articles in partnership with the Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial, an official U.S. Navy commemoration. Americans today revel in stories of people
British artist John Hamilton was one of the world’s leading painters of World War II naval operations. In an era before digital photography and photo manipulation, Hamilton’s paintings expertly capture the realism of combat at sea. Part historian and part artist, John Hamilton was a major contributor to the history and memory of World War
