The old saying about a picture being worth a thousand words is especially true when it comes to catching the eye of a potential book (and magazine, for that matter) buyer. And nowhere is accuracy more important than in history books, military history books in particular. Mistakes seem more serious when history is involved. In this issue, we feature the work of Bob Larkin, an artist dedicated to getting it right. His art, if not his name, will be familiar to many readers of military historical literature. He has illustrated the paperback book covers of some of the greatest naval historians, including the namesake of our editorial headquarters, the late Captain Edward L. "Ned" Beach. Our hunch is, his art gracing the cover of this issue will attract some attention, too.
We include here even more visual treatment, this time in the case of something from World War II called V-mail. Our old friend Tom Wildenberg, former Ramsey Fellow at the National Air and Space Museum, came to the office one day and showed us how it worked. Family and friends of servicemen would write letters on special stationery, which then would be transferred to microfilm and flown to forward bases. There, they would be reprinted onto paper for distribution to those serving in combat zones. For this time period, it was amazing technology, and it became a popular means of communication from home among the troops.
Also featured in this issue is the little-known story of how Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara cancelled the Pilatus Porter, a fixed-wing aircraft program that might have saved lives of riverine forces fighting in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam War. The article comes from an impeccable source, one who was involved with naval aviation requirements for six years during that war, also an old friend, retired Vice Admiral Gerald E. "Jerry" Miller.
Still another long-time friend, Dr. Clark G. Reynolds, weighs in with an article that introduces us to the colorful Vice Admiral J. J. "Jocko" Clark, the subject of his new Naval Institute Press book, On the Warpath in the Pacific: Admiral Jocko Clark and the Fast Carriers.
Finally, and I mean that in a more literal sense than usual, after 15 years at the U.S. Naval Institute and 12 in this position, this is my last issue as editor-in-chief. I have been "at the helm" for some 72 issues, and I have enjoyed helping put each puzzle together. Few have had the opportunity to meet and work with so many wonderful people. Inside Naval History and the U.S. Naval Institute's Proceedings have been the most dedicated, professional, talented, and good-humored editorial, design, picture research, and administrative support staffs in the magazine business, and those are the people I will miss most. I have had the pleasure as well of working with some of the world's greatest historians and have enjoyed watching a large number of novice authors (specifically, serving naval professionals and veterans) become writers and historians, practically before my eyes. This position also has provided incomparable chances to meet and interview some of today's most famous celebrities and newsmakers. But the most important people have been you, the readers. You are the ones who thought enough of us to buy the magazine on newsstands or take a chance on subscribing, sight unseen. And your calls and letters have kept us honest and humble. It has been a great run. Thanks to all of you.
—Fred L. Schultz, Editor-in-Chief