|
|
|
Recent Additions to the Naval Institute Oral History Program
| This memoir focuses on two major themes in the life of Commander Thomas B. Buell: his service as a destroyerman and his work as a historian. He wrote widely admired biographies of World War II Admirals Ernest J. King and Raymond A. Spruance and later produced a book dealing with Civil War leaders on both the Union and Confederate sides. All of his sea duty, from 1958 to 1975, was in destroyer-type ships, the Hamner (DD-718), King (DLG-10), Brooke (DEG-1), John King (DDG-3), and command of the Joseph Hewes (DE-1078). He also taught in the history department at West Point and was on the staff of the Naval War College. [more] |
 |
|
|
| This volume on the career of Rear Admiral John T. Coughlin is useful for those with an interest in U.S. Navy patrol aviation from the 1950s through the 1970s; it is especially strong concerning the fleet introduction and use of the P-3 Orion land-based antisubmarine warfare aircraft. His postgraduate education in advanced electronics was helpful to him in later billets in his career, including duty in the Naval Electronic Systems Command. During the Vietnam War he was navigator of the amphibious assault ship Princeton (LPH-5). In the mid-1970s Coughlin was the last officer to serve as Commandant of the 12th Naval District. [more] |
 |
|
|
| In the aviation community, the late Vice Admiral Donald D. Engen continues to be held in high esteem for his exploits in both war and peace. In 1944, as a dive-bomber pilot, he helped sink a Japanese aircraft carrier. In 1950 he took part in the first combat sortie by jet aircraft in the U.S. Navy’s history. Later he was a test pilot who helped foster innovations in aircraft and aircraft carriers. He commanded a fighter squadron, air group, the ammunition ship Mount Katmai (AE-16) and the aircraft carrier America (CVA-66). As a flag officer he was Deputy CinCUSNavEur and Deputy CinCLantFlt. In the mid-1980s he headed the Federal Aviation Administration. [more] |
 |
|
|
| During his tenure as Coast Guard Commandant from 1982 to 1986, Admiral James S. Gracey dealt with a number of major concerns: fighting off attempts by the Reagan Administration to privatize Coast Guard functions; establishing a policy of zero tolerance of drug use; fostering international relations with maritime nations; enhancing roles for women; and promoting pride in the service. The oral history deals with his entire career: two sea tours and a variety of other duties, including program development, conversion of Governors Island to Coast Guard use, the Great Lakes district command, Coast Guard Chief of Staff, and two area commands. [more] |
 |
|
|
|
The only career public affairs specialist in the oral history collection is Captain Herbert E. Hetu. Commissioned in 1952 through OCS, he served in the heavy cruiser Salem as a line officer. He had several tours of duty in the Office of Information in Washington. He was a liaison officer in Hollywood and worked with TV producers and on movies such as South Pacific and In Harm’s Way. Hetu had a tour in country in Vietnam as Seventh Fleet representative. Notable individuals for whom he served as PAO were Admiral John McCain, Admiral David McDonald, Admiral Stansfield Turner, and Secretaries of the Navy John Chafee and John Warner. [more]
|
|
|
|
| Though not a career Navy man, Rear Admiral Edmond J. Moran rendered considerable service in two wars. He was an enlisted man and junior officer in World War I. In World War II he acquired civilian watercraft for government use and later supervised the towing of artificial harbor components from England to France to support the D-Day landings at Normandy in 1944. The bulk of his professional time was with Moran Towing. He started as an office boy and eventually became president and chairman. He retired in 1984 after 69 years with the company. The oral history includes a good deal of discussion of tugboat operation. [more] |
|
|
|
| The oral history of Vice Admiral Lloyd M. Mustin is the longest in the Naval Institute’s collection, comprising nearly 600,000 words. The first volume deals with the early years of his career, which included graduation from the Naval Academy in 1932, service in the Augusta under Captain Chester Nimitz, education and specialization in ordnance engineering, destroyer duty in the Lamson, and the entire commissioned service of the Atlanta. Mustin was on board that light cruiser during the night surface battle in 1942 that led to her sinking off Guadalcanal. He later served in the cruisers San Diego and Miami. [more] |
|
|
|
| The second volume of Vice Admiral Lloyd M. Mustin’s transcript picks up his career in late 1944, when he reported to the staff of Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee, Jr., with whom he served to the summer of 1945. After that his duties were primarily in the destroyer community and in weapons testing. He commanded the Keppler, the tender Piedmont, Destroyer Squadron 13, Destroyer Flotilla Two, and on the staffs of the destroyer force commanders in both Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. Mustin commanded Project Argus nuclear weapons tests in the South Atlantic and later was involved in joint-service nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific. [more] |
|
|
|
| Admiral Merlin O’Neill entered the Coast Guard Academy during World War I and graduated in 1921. In the 1920s he served in several cutters during anti-rumrunner patrols of the Prohibition era and was later on the staff of the Coast Guard Academy. He had a long stretch in Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington from 1935 to 1942, during which time he helped establish the Coast Guard Reserve and Coast Guard Auxiliary. He commanded the Navy attack transport Leonard Wood (AP-25/APA-12) during World War II amphibious operations. O’Neill served 1946-49 as Assistant Commandant of the Coast Guard and from 1950 to 1954 was the seventh Commandant of the Coast Guard. [more] |
|
| |
|
|
| Adept both at sea and in administrative positions ashore, Vice Admiral Herbert D. Riley had to be assertive to get into naval aviation. He served in a variety of squadrons and detachments prior to World War II. During the war he served in the Bureau of Aeronautics and commanded the escort carrier Makassar Strait (CVE-91). He was involved in the Bikini atomic bomb tests in 1946 and later in the 1940s was on the personal staff of two Secretaries of Defense. In the 1950s he commanded the aircraft carrier Coral Sea (CVA-43) and Carrier Division One. Later he was Chief of Staff of the joint-service Pacific Command. [more] |
|
| |
|
|
| Rear Admiral Richard W. Schneider has had an unconventional career. He set out to be an active-duty career officer in the Coast Guard. But the illness and death of his first wife led him into the Coast Guard Reserve and a new career in higher education while rearing the couple’s daughters. The memoir thus details his active Coast Guard service, career in higher education, and his role in reshaping the fundamental nature of the Coast Guard Reserve. He served in the cutter Dallas (WHEC-716) during the Vietnam War. He has held academic positions at the University of Delaware and Drexel University and is now president of Norwich University. [more] |
|
| |
|
|
| Admiral Owen W. Siler was commissioned in the middle of World War II and served in two attack transports. In the late 1940s he became an aviator and had duty at a variety of Coast Guard air stations: Port Angeles, Washington; Barbers Point, Hawaii; Corpus Christi, Texas; and Miami, Florida. In the late 1950s he was aide and personal pilot for the Coast Guard Commandant, Admiral Alfred Richmond. Siler served in Alaska, Coast Guard Headquarters, commanded the Second District in St. Louis, and capped his career as Coast Guard Commandant from 1974 to 1980. He tenure emphasized recapitalization of the service through the acquisition of new ships and aircraft. [more] |
|
| |
|
|
| Throughout his career, Admiral Paul A. Yost, Jr., had a zest for the military aspects of his service. He graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1951, served in the cutters Iroquois and Ironwood, and commanded the Agassiz and Resolute. In Vietnam he led riverine incursions in Swift boats. Ashore he was at the Coast Guard Academy, in the 12th and Eighth Coast Guard Districts, headquarters in Washington, command of the Atlantic Area, and as Commandant from 1986 to 1990. In the latter role he reorganized the service to maximize its role as a military force in readiness. The war against drug smuggling is prominent in this memoir. [more] |
|
|
|
| Corporate Sponsorship: |
With Special Thanks to: |
|
|
|
Oral History Mail/Fax order form.
More Recent Additions
Back to Oral History
back to top
|
|
|
