By John Brady, President, Board of Directors, Flagship Olympia Foundation The USS Olympia, the former Navy cruiser who brought World War I Unknown Soldier home from Europe, is celebrating her 125th birthday this year. To mark the momentous milestone, we’re sharing stories about her crew. These men include the African American cabin stewards and mess attendants who
Of the 3,470 Medals of Honor awarded, 90 have been bestowed to 89 different African American recipients. Of these 89, 16 have been United States Sailors. While the award criteria for the Medal of Honor has become far more stringent since the awards listed below, nonetheless these men earned the nation’s highest and most prestigious military decoration. For
Master Chief Rusty Perry, USN (Ret.) was the senior enlisted Sailor for Navy Medicine and Education Training Command, the Navy Medicine’s formal enlisted and officer education and training programs.Reflection reprinted from: navymedicine.navylive.dodlive.mil/archives/4056 Shipmates, One of the pioneering minds of this past century penned those words nearly five decades ago, and while appropriate for that time
Today, all newly enlisted Sailors are trained at one location – Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, just outside of Chicago, Illinois. This was not always the case, however, despite the occasional, historically inaccurate reference indicating otherwise. See for example a recent Naval Postgraduate School thesis which begins by stating that “since July 1, 1911, all incoming
Thank you for joining us for our final Thursday Tidings of the year. We hope you have enjoyed this weekly glimpse into our events, Naval History, and more. We will take a two week break and see you again on January 9, 2020. We are grateful for your support and loyalty as members of our Foundation, and
On October 25th, the Naval Historical Foundation hosted a symposium commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. C-SPAN graciously recorded the event for us and aired it earlier this week.In case you missed it, C-SPAN has also published it online. Please click the image above to enjoy the footage of our highly distinguished panel.
Dear Naval Historical Foundation Family, Welcome back for this week’s edition of Thursday Tidings. Today we are looking back on the tragic events of Pearl Harbor, which took place 78 years ago this Saturday. The event signaled the entrance of the United States into the Second World War, the most destructive conflict in human history.This
This week for Thursday Tidings, we are looking back on the rich history of the United States Navy Chaplain Corps, which was officially established on November 28th, 1775. For the first two decades of the Chaplain Corps, clergy served alongside sailors as civilians – finally in 1799 William Balch became the first officially commissioned, permanent
It is a great privilege to work at the historic Washington Navy Yard. I don’t know of many other freshly commissioned Ensigns who can look out the window above their desk and see the Tingey House, the renowned home of the Chief of Naval Operations, on a daily basis. The rich heritage of the United States
By NHF Intern Tim Davidson On August 3, 1990, President George H.W. Bush declared the month of November as National American Indian Heritage Month, also referred to as Native American Heritage Month in order to include Inuit and Aleuts peoples. As the nation honors the cultures and traditions of the Indigenous peoples of this country,
Introduction By NHF Membership Director, Sean Bland I have always been fascinated with the C-130 Airplane – it is a tough, rugged, and no-nonsense aircraft. I am confident that some of my fascination with the vehicle was at least unconsciously imparted to me from my numerous ‘Space A” flights as a child across the Northern
The Battle of Leyte Gulf (75 years ago today) is often cited as the largest naval battle of World War II, and by some criteria, the largest naval battle in history. The battle was not a single engagement, but a series of scattered battles across an area of more than 100,000 square miles of sea.
This week we are highlighting two important, recent anniversaries in Naval History: first, the birthday of Jesse L. Brown, a pioneering and remarkable Naval Aviator, and second, the first commissioning of a group of women into the Active Duty, regular Navy. Editor’s Note: Thursday Tidings and the NHF leadership team appreciates the feedback received about
By NHF Historian Dr. Dave Winkler Early on October 3rd, the naval history community lost one of its finest with the passing of Dr. Philip Karl Boraas Lundeberg. He was 96. Along with James Bradford and William Still, he was the first to be honored with the Naval Historical Foundation’s highest award in recognition of
By NHF Executive Director, Rear Admiral Edward “Sonny” Masso From an early age, I was fascinated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) programs of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. I was obsessed with any and all news relating to the X-15, the breaking of the sound barrier, new altitude records, and jet propulsion in
