When we heard about the Midway Night address delivered on 5 June 2003 by Dr. James Schlesinger at the Army and Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia, we were determined to publish the transcript in Naval History. We knew what the former Secretary of Defense and Director of Central Intelligence had to say would resonate especially with our audience. His remarks represent a call to arms for all U.S. citizens to stand up and demand a suitable monument to one of the greatest studies in courage and sacrifice and one of most crucial turning points in modem history. In this issue, we are pleased to present Dr. Schlesinger’s call to commemorate the World War II naval victory at Midway, what he sees at this country’s Trafalgar.
The bonds established among shipmates—certainly those felt among Midway veterans—are some of humanity’s strongest. Something about serving on board a ship, one of the world’s great microcosms, magnifies what would be mere friendships on land. In recognition of this extraordinary relationship, Naval History and Proceedings, the flagship publication of our parent organization, the U.S. Naval Institute, consistently have published a calendar of upcoming ships’ reunions. But increasingly we have frustrated reunion planners, because the lead time of the magazines was and still is quite long, and we invariably were unable to publish all the notices we received in a timely fashion. That situation, we are happy to report, has been rectified, and our scope has expanded.
Through the diligence of a committee of computer-savvy staff members, in particular Senior Programmer Bob Parkinson, we have established the Naval Institute Online Military Reunions Service (http://www.navalinstitute.org/reunions/reunions.html), something Parkinson sees as the best military reunion outlet available anywhere. Since we eliminated postings in the magazines and launched the online service in May, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. According to our Editor for Web Content, Susan Struve, complaints have been very few, and people are pleased that the new service is so easy to use. Unlike the printed notices, the new system allows organizers not only instant postings, but also instant updates and e-mail options. It also allows for reunion registrations and comments from attendees. The only requirement is for those taking advantage of the service to register as users of the Naval Institute Web site, which is a simple process and not meant for any future nefarious purposes. In the offing are enhancements that will allow attendees also to register at reunion hotel sites at reduced rates. Stay tuned, and we hope you take advantage of this exciting new service, made especially for military-minded people like you.