Thomas B. Allen is the author or coauthor of several books on military and intelligence subjects, including Declassified: 50 Top-Secret Documents that Changed History (National Geographic, 2008) and Rickover: Father of the Nuclear Navy (Potomac Books, 2007). His latest book is Tories: Fighting for the King in America’s First Civil War (HarperCollins, 2010). Mr. Allen served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War.
John F. Lehman Jr. is an investment banker who served on the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission) and as secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration. Known for championing the “600-ship Navy” in the early 1980s, he is the author of the books Command of the Seas (Naval Institute Press, 2001) and On Seas of Glory: Heroic Men, Great Ships, and Epic Battles of the American Navy (Simon & Schuster, 2002).
Dr. J. Phillip London is Chairman of the Board of CACI International. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Naval Postgraduate School, he spent 24 years on active and reserve duty, retiring as a captain. He received the Navy League’s Nimitz Award in 2007 and serves as a direc-tor on the boards of the U.S. Naval Institute and the Naval Historical Foundation. A member of the Society of the Cincinnati, Dr. London is related to Captain Samuel Nicholson, the subject of his article.
Lieutenant Commander Rex McCoy, U.S. Navy (Retired), was commissioned in 1970 through the Naval ROTC program at Ohio State University. After two tours at sea he transferred to the supply corps in 1974. At the conclusion of his Navy career in 1990 he worked in the software industry and was a small-business owner. Now retired, he lives in Encinitas, California.
Norman Polmar is coauthor with John D. Gresham of DEFCON-2: Standing on the Brink of Nuclear War During the Cuban Missile Crisis (Wiley, 2006), which was the basis for the Discovery Channel film DEFCON-2, featuring novelist Tom Clancy. Mr. Polmar is the author or coauthor of many other books, including Project Azorian: The CIA and the Raising of K-129 (2010) and The U.S. Nuclear Arsenal: A History of Weapons and Delivery Systems since 1945 (2009), both published by the Naval Institute Press.
John Prados is a senior fellow of the National Security Archive and an accomplished historian of naval and military history, intelligence matters, and international affairs. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University. His books include Normandy Crucible: The Decisive Battle that Shaped World War II in Europe (Penguin/Citadel, 2011) and most recently Islands of Destiny: The Solomons Campaign and the Eclipse of the Rising Sun (NAL/Castle, 2012).
Second Lieutenant Zachary Schwartz, U.S. Marine Corps, is a 2012 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he majored in history with a focus on the Civil War. He is currently enrolled in The Basic School at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, and aspires to be an infantry officer upon graduation.