The Loss of PETREL

                                                  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

“India” 3/2’s Stand at Husaybah

                                                  11 APRIL 2005                                “INDIA” 3/2’S STAND AT HUSAYBAH The Marines of Company India, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2, had been posted to Camp Gannon, near secluded Husaybah, on Iraq’s border with Syria.  There they became accustomed to Read More

The Domino Theory

                                                   7 APRIL 1954                                           THE DOMINO THEORY In March 1938, (then) LCOL Dwight D. Eisenhower watched Hitler convince the Austrians to join an Anschluss (alliance) with Nazi Germany.  Seven months later Hitler annexed the Sudetenland (eastern Czechoslovakia).  The whole of Czechoslovakia fell Read More

Admiral Moffett and AKRON

                                                  3-4 APRIL 1933                                  ADMIRAL MOFFETT AND AKRON RADM William A. Moffett was one of our most energetic and determined Naval aviators, whose particular interest was the rigid-framed lighter-than-air (LTA) ship.  Moffett faced an uphill battle however, as zeppelins were widely thought Read More

The Virgin Islands

                                                 31 MARCH 1917                                            THE VIRGIN ISLANDS World War I had been tearing Europe apart since the summer of 1914.  Here, we struggled to stay neutral, despite the sinkings of American merchant ships carrying cargoes to the Allies.  To most Americans, WWI Read More

USS HALLIGAN

                                                 26 MARCH 1945                                                   USS HALLIGAN The bloody and bitter fight for Iwo Jima had barely begun to quiet before the next target on the relentless march toward Japan was determined–Okinawa.  Here the Marines expected yet another tenacious fight to the death Read More

The Yeomanettes

                                                 19 MARCH 1917                                             THE YEOMANETTES By the Spring of 1917 the “Great War” had been raging in Europe for several years and a yet neutral America was being drawn ever closer to the fray.  Noting the gathering war clouds, Congress had Read More

EASTPORT Before Fort de Russy

                                              12-14 MARCH 1864                                EASTPORT BEFORE FORT DE RUSSY The year 1863 had seen a turn in the Civil War in favor of the Union.  A Confederate foray into the north had been reversed at Gettysburg and the last Rebel stronghold on Read More