Capture of Guantanamo Bay

                                                   10 JUNE 1898                                 CAPTURE OF GUANTANAMO BAY Much of the Spanish-American War was fought in Cuba, where American intervention hoped to end oppression of local Cubans by their Spanish overlords.  Spain answered with a squadron of four cruisers and three destroyers Read More

CAPT Fleming vs. MIKUMA

                                                    5 JUNE 1942                                       CAPT FLEMING vs. MIKUMA Under ADM Isoroku Yamamoto’s complex plan to capture Midway the four cruisers of RADM Takeo Kurita’s Cruiser Division 7 were tasked with a pre-invasion bombardment of the island.  On June 4th these warships closed Read More

Last Navy EA-6B “Prowler”

                                                   27 MAY 2015                                    LAST NAVY EA-6B “PROWLER” On this day the last of the Navy’s premier electronics countermeasures (ECM) aircraft, the Northrop-Grumman EA-6B “Prowler,” was retired after a short flight from Squadron VAQ-134 at Whidbey Island to the Seattle Museum of Read More

CAPT Homer L. Smith, USN

                                                   20 MAY 1967                                      CAPT HOMER L. SMITH, USN The weather could have been better!  The A4D Skyhawks of the VA-212 “Rampant Raiders” launched from USS BON HOMME RICHARD (CVA-31) early this morning.  CDR Homer Leroy Smith, the squadron CO, led from Read More

Prelude to the War of 1812

                                                   15 MAY 1812                                    PRELUDE TO THE WAR OF 1812 At the turn of the 19th century the territory that is now Florida was Spanish.  This fact was of no reassurance to the administration of President James Madison in 1811.  Spain was Read More

Cunningham vs. “Col Tomb”

                                                   10 MAY 1972                                    CUNNINGHAM vs. “COL TOMB” The title of “ace” has never been officially recognized by the US military.  It originated in the French air force of WWI for whom it was a formal honor conferred on pilots downing five Read More

Navajo Code Talkers

                                                    5 MAY 1942                                         NAVAJO CODE TALKERS On the night of 26 October 1918 two WWI companies of the Army’s 142nd Infantry became trapped near Chufilly, France.  To affect their withdrawal in the face of German radio code breaking prowess, the Army Read More

Ships-of-the-Line

                                                  29 APRIL 1816                                              SHIPS-OF-THE-LINE Until the 16th century, navies, like land forces, relied mostly on hand-to-hand fighting to defeat an enemy.  Tactics required warships to ram or grapple each other, then send across assault troops to attack the enemy’s crew.  Fighting Read More

The Rum War

                                                  23 APRIL 1924                                                  THE RUM WAR On 16 January 1920, the 18th Amendment enacting Prohibition became the law of the land.  But the US Coast Guard, tasked with seaborne anti-smuggling duties, found herself unprepared.  She could muster only 30 sea-going cutters Read More