Military History

By David F. Winkler, Ph.D. Staff Historian Today marks the centennial of the first “Navy Day” existence. With the belief that a naval arms race had been a leading cause for World War I, general public sentiment supported President Warren G. Harding’s call in June 1921 to convene a Washington Naval Arms Conference. As documented in Ryan Wadle’s book Selling Sea Power, Navy leaders felt betrayed by the national leadership that had convened and approved of the outcome of the conference that curbed new battleship construction and invoked tonnage limits on other ship classes. Thus, they orchestrated through the Navy League of the United States a celebration that would be h…

By Dennis A. Steenbergen, Landing Craft Support Museum 15 February is the anniversary of the loss of three LCS ships to Shin’yō suicide boats at Mariveles Bay during the liberation of the Philippines. U.S. forces were massing in February 1945 to launch an amphibious and land attack on the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor. Mr. Steenbergen has an intense personal connection to the loss of these ships, which is discussed in the post that follows. A group of six Landing Craft Support (LCS) ships was readying to provide gunfire support for an amphibious landing at Mariveles when fast Japanese motorboats known as the Shin’yō-class came speeding out of the darkness and s…

Reviewed by Lt Col Geoffrey R. Brasse, U.S. Air Force Authors frequently engage in military history storytelling through eloquent discussions about battles, outcomes, victories, and defeats. These stories often focus on the personalities of the military leaders, with few details about those participating in the conflict. Former foreign correspondent and corporate writer Robin Knight, in his book Leaders: Profiles in Courage and Bravery in War and Peace 1917-2020, focuses on individual contributions to war history from a single educational source, The Nautical College, Pangbourne in Berkshire County, England. Founded in 1917 to improve cadet training for service in the…

Reviewed by Rhonda Smith-Daugherty, Ph.D. In his famous work, On War, Carl von Clausewitz discussed the qualities that make up what he termed the “Military Genius.” While he acknowledged that good leaders require intellect, the real heart of leadership is intuition and courage. Since the battlefield is fluid, a leader must have the ability to counter whatever tactics the enemy uses, while never losing site of the objective. He or she, must gauge the enemy’s path using information obtained during the battle. This information may be incomplete or even false, but a good leader acts on the intuitive and sees through the “fog of war.” The leader’s courage and determinati…

Reviewed by LCDR Donald A. Baker, USN An ancient Jewish teacher once said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for their friends.” If risk to life and limb is any indication of an individual’s commitment to this ideal, then Coastguardsman Chris D’Amelio’s very personal and intimate account of rescuing fellow citizens in his memoir Life and Death at Cape Disappointment is a consummate example of what the principle looks like in practice. As a qualified surfman, the Coast Guard’s highest small boat qualification, D’Amelio had first-hand experience performing search and rescue (SAR) missions from his post at Coast Guard Station Cape Disapp…

By Leo J. Daugherty III The late Professor Edgar F. Puryear, Jr., who until his death in 2018 was scholar-in-residence at the National Defense University and an authority on American generalship, outlined in his book Marine Corps Generalship (National Defense University, 2009) the three critical components that define Marine leadership in time of war. The first of these components is that the position of command is a lonely one. Generals as well as field grade officers are likewise subject to the same strains and stresses accompanying the execution of military operations. Generals make mistakes. This can be seen in the case of Lieutenant General Holland M. Smith a…

Using his own phrase, John L. McCrea was a fly on the wall at the White House during the first months of the War in the Pacific when naval affairs dominated Franklin Roosevelt’s interest. Working under Admiral Harold “Betty” Stark in the office of Chief of Naval Operations, McCrea had a front row seat as the U.S. entered the war. When Ernest J. King replaced Stark, he learned to adjust his behaviors to cope with the cold, hot-tempered, hardnosed, and pugnacious top admiral. Captain McCrea desperately wanted a cruiser command, but Stark and King both felt he would be of greater use as naval aide to the President; furthermore, they wanted a trusted aide that could keep the…

Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. This unique volume is a compilation focusing on seven major naval engagements from ancient times to the modern era that illustrates the significance of controlling the Mediterranean Sea. The author, Quentin Russell, earned a doctorate in 19th Century Anglo-Greek relations from Royal Holloway, University of London, and co-authored Ali Pasha: Lion of Janina – The Remarkable Life of the Balkan Napoleon (Barnsley, South Yorkshire and Havertown, PA: Pen & Sword Military, 2017) with Eugenia Russell. In addition, he writes and produces for theater and television. The book begins with an introduction, “Control of the Sea” (pp. 1-15),…

Reviewed by CDR Brian Emory, USN Chief Warrant Officer Kevin P. Gilheany has done a wonderful job delivering a memoir of his service in the Coast Guard. His writing style is easy to read and always engaging in a book that’s can be completed in one sitting or over a weekend. His story begins in his youth where he developed two key goals that would stay him throughout his life. The first happens while watching the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade near Fifth Avenue in New York City. It was there that he fell in love with the sound of bag pipes and dreamed of being able to play them someday. The second event happened during the Bicentennial Celebration in 1976 when his m…

Reviewed by LtCol Robert Weingart, USMC In Modern USMC Air Power Joe Copalman offers a comprehensive overview of the platforms and units of Marine aviation as well as an array of stories and vignettes from the past twenty years of continuous combat operations. Mr. Copalman is a freelance writer and photojournalist whose work has appeared in numerous print and online aviation journals; this is his first book. As the author points out in his introduction, this book comes at a time of momentous change for Marine aviation. Every platform in service on September 11th, 2001, has been or is in the process of being replaced by a new generation of aircraft. At the same tim…

Reviewed by CAPT Richard Dick, USN (RET) Dr. Justus Doenecke has studied intensely the events and personalities involved in the eventual American intervention in World Wars I and II, authoring six books on these topics. The author’s depth of research and knowledge of secondary sources covering the early 20th century in the U.S. greatly strengthens this book, More Precious Than Peace. In particular, he builds on his Nothing Less Than War, a history of the events leading up to America’s declaration of war in April 1917. More Precious Than Peace examines the American experience in World War I but from a fairly restricted point of view. The author reviews American gro…

Captain Rinn following his talk about Operation Ernest Will and the Samuel B. Roberts to Dr. Winkler’s Middle East Operation course at the USNA in 2019. The Naval Historical Foundation mourns the loss of Capt. Paul X. Rinn, an individual who embraced history as Surface Warfare Officer, a factor that likely contributed to the survival of his ship – the guided missile frigate Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) – when she hit an Iranian-laid mine on April 14, 1988 in the Persian Gulf. Captain Rinn’s embracing the heritage of the previous two ships to carry the Samuel B. Roberts name was eloquently told in Bradley ***ton’s No Higher Honor: Saving the USS Samuel B. Roberts in the P…

Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Leo Marriott’s Naval Battles of the Second World War: The Atlantic and Mediterranean offers a brief glimpse of select naval engagements involving the Royal Navy engaged against their major European foes, the Italian and German fleets. Marriott is an established author with multiple books about a range of military, naval, and aviation topics covering mostly World War II and the Cold War. This 160-page book consists of nineteen brief sections divided into two larger segments as “Part I” which focuses on the Atlantic Ocean and NW Europe beginning with the Battle of the River Plate and “Part II,” which focuses on the Mediterranean ending wit…

By LCDR Sean Walsh, USN (Ret.) Following up on last week’s commemoration of the 246th anniversary of the Chaplain Corps, the NHF would like to acknowledge the service of Navy chaplains during the attack at Pearl Harbor. At the time of Pearl Harbor, the Chaplain Corps had only 192 chaplains on active duty (105 Regular and 87 Reserve) although actions were underway for the accession of additional Reserve chaplains. Of these, 19 were present at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, ranging in rank from Captain to Acting Chaplain (Lieutenant Junior Grade equivalent). 14 were assigned to ships, with the Fleet Chaplain having an office ashore although also assigned to the flags…

http://www.navyhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/CivilWarMonitor-copy-216x300.jpgLast fall we learned about an exciting new publication about the American Civil War. This brand new quarterly magazine is called the Civil War Monitor, and it looks to bridge the gulf between academic and popular history. According to the magazine, it is “devoted to the belief that popular history need not be superficial or sentimental.” It features richly illustrated and originally researched articles written from a variety of angles—military, political, social, and economic—by the country’s leading historians and authors. The first issue was published in September, and is available onl…

http://www.navyhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/DSC_6693-300x200.jpgADM James Holloway, USN (Ret) tells the story of Operation Lion’s Den The Naval Historical Foundation 2012 Annual Meeting was held on Saturday, 23 June, and featured the debut of a brand new exhibit for the Cold War Gallery. Admiral James Holloway, USN (Ret), christened the new exhibit with a riveting firsthand account of the 1972 battle in Haiphong Harbor that is memorialized in the new “Into the Lion’s Den” exhibit. The meeting began with the vote for a new President, RADM John T. Mitchell, USN (Ret). RADM Mitchell succeeds VADM Robert Dunn, USN (Ret), who served in the position for 14 years and…

Late last week we were saddened to learn of the passing of the Honorable Steve Honigman on July 26, 2022 in his sleep at Mt. Sinai in New York of stomach cancer. He was 74 years old. Mr. Honigman joined the NHF Board of Directors in 2012 and was a very active supporter of the organization’s mission. Upon hearing the news, NHF Chairman Adm. William J. Fallon reflected: “Steve was a strong advocate for the value of sea power who donated many hours of pro bono time on our behalf. His smiling countenance and sage advice will be missed.” Born on May 14, 1948, Mr. Honigman grew up in Brooklyn and eventually earned a BA at New York University and a JD from Yale. From 1973-1977 h…

By Norman Polmar Photo courtesy of U.S. Naval Institute (Editor’s note: This is the seventeenth 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 July 1983 a friend asked my wife, Beverly, and me to attend a bar-b-q at his home. Among the few others at the gathering was a rather tall, interesting young man wearing sun-glasses. I was introduced to Tom Clancy and his wife. I knew immediately who he was. The year before he had an article published in the Naval Institute Proceedings —“The Floating Shell Game.” His article called for placing MX ballisti…

After a span of eight years, Captain Beardsley, a member of the Naval Historical Foundation, responded to a survey to participate in the Foundation’s oral history program. At the same time, fellow NHF member and Professor of History at William Paterson University Suzanne G. Bowles, also expressed interest in participating. Because Dr. Bowles already knew Captain Beardsley as a member of the Northern New Jersey chapter of the Navy League, it was an ideal match. During the session with Dr. Bowles, Captain Beardsley discussed his duties as Commanding Officer of USS PC 1140 and USS PCE-R 858. USS PC 1140 served in the Atlantic and Mediterranean in 1944. The ship served as a …

Rear Admiral Thomas F. Brown III, USN (NHHC Photo) Thomas Francis Brown III entered Officer Candidate School in 1954 and served as an aviator until his retirement in 1985 as the Director, Strike and Amphibious Warfare Division (OP-954) in the Office of the CNO. In his 343 combat missions in Vietnam, he was awarded a Silver Star for dropping a bridge span in North Vietnam, four Distinguished Flying Crosses, and multiple other awards. His commands included VA-37, CVW-19, USS Caloosahatchee (AO-98), USS Midway (CV-41), Military Enlistment Processing Command, CARGRU 1, and CARGRU 5/CTF-77, during which he amassed 4,843 hours of accident-free flying and 1,017 traps. Tom…