6 JUNE 1918 LTJG WEEDON OSBORNE The US entry into World War I prompted Chicago dentist Weedon Osborne to seek a commission in the Navy Dental Corps, which he received 8 May 1917. He reported for duty 26 March 1918 with Read More
2 JUNE 1918 WORLD WAR I AT OUR DOORSTEP The bright sun and calm seas off Delaware’s coast this morning belied the sinister intent with which U-151 cruised the surface. Germany and the US had been at war for a year, Read More
27 MAY 1942 STATION “HYPO” Next week will mark the 83rd anniversary of the Battle of Midway, one of the most significant events in our Navy’s history. Many are aware that ADM Chester W. Nimitz was aided in this victory by Read More
22 MAY 1966 “CHARLIE’s AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE” The Rung Sat is a 400-square mile mangrove swamp between Saigon and the Vietnamese coastline. Four major rivers course through the otherwise impassable area, including the Long Tau shipping channel leading to Saigon. The Read More
13-17 MAY 1944 PERSISTENCE… At 1400 on 13 May 1944, CDR George C. Wright of DESRON 21 was ordered to take USS GLEAVES (DD-423), NIELDS (DD-616) and MACOMB (DD-458) out of Oran, Algeria, to search for a submarine that had torpedoed Read More
12 MAY 1944 ADVENTURES OF A NAVY BLIMP The years between the World Wars saw the development of lighter-than-air zeppelins and blimps, initially useful in the civilian common carrier industry by virtue of their sustained cruising capabilities. These same cruising and Read More
9-15 MAY 1775 PINE TREE NAVAL ENSIGN Samuel Thompson was a Brunswick (modern Maine) tavern owner appointed to command the Brunswick Militia in 1774. The seeds of revolution were starting to sprout in New England in 1774, and Thompson was ordered Read More
15 APRIL-31 OCTOBER 1980 MARIEL BOATLIFT The Cuban economy took a nosedive in the 1970s. Housing shortages and joblessness fueled popular dissent, yet Fidel Castro’s harsh restrictions on emigration appeared to condemn Cubans to a life of struggle. Faced with possible Read More
29 APRIL 1777 INTERCEPTING THE SUGAR FLEET In the earliest days of our nation, the Marine Committee of the Continental Congress was not hesitant to give tactical direction to our naval forces afloat. On this day, the Committee instructed that an Read More
22 APRIL 1864 THE LOSS OF PETREL To bolster Union naval forces patrolling the Mississippi in the Civil War, our Navy purchased a total of 63 existing sternwheel and sidewheel riverboats. Protection was added to their upper works in the form Read More