Fresh out of flight training on the eve of World War II, young Noel Gaylor became squadron mates with two of the legends of U.S. naval aviation—Butch O’Hare (left) and Jimmy Thach. Gaylor remembered Thach as “a remarkable man, a remarkable officer, and a remarkable leader in so many ways.”

Fighting Three (VF-3)

When U.S. prisoners of war were released from captivity in 1973, Admiral Gayler, as Commander-in-Chief, Pacific, welcomed them home from Vietnam.

Admiral Noel A. M. Gayler, U.S. Navy (Retired)
February 2024
In his 1990 interview with Naval Institute oral historian Paul Stillwell (right), William Lawrence recounted the unexpected (and unwanted) surprise that greeted him on his return stateside after years in a Vietnamese POW camp.

A Mixed Homecoming

The following is an edited excerpt from Captain Lawrence's interview with the Naval Institute’s Paul Stillwell on 3 December 1990.

October 2023
ship

‘That Was a Helluva Night’

Admiral Shear gives a vivid firsthand account of the battle that the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings described in 1945 as “one of the most nicely executed and decisive victories of ...

Admiral Harold E. Shear, U.S. Navy (Retired)
August 2023
penguins

SecNav’s Icy Junket

The following is an edited excerpt from Herbert Hetu’s Naval Institute oral history interview with Paul Stillwell on 20 June 1986.

Captain Herbert E. Hetu, U.S. Navy (Retired)
June 2023
CNO George Anderson

‘Somebody’s Got to Say Something About the Problem’

During his 1961–63 tenure as Chief of Naval Operations during the presidency of John F. Kennedy, Admiral Anderson weathered the storm in the wake of the mysterious loss of the ...

Admiral George W. Anderson, U.S. Navy (Retired)
April 2023
USS Joseph Strauss (DDG-16)

London Duty

When Elliott Strauss served as naval attaché in 1930s London, it was a world of morning coats and top hats, of dinner jackets and old-school formality.

Rear Admiral Elliott B. Strauss, U.S. Navy (Retired)
January 2023
Admiral Leighton “Snuffy” Smith met Queen Elizabeth II

Sir Snuffy

The following is an edited excerpt from an oral history interview with Admiral Smith and the Naval Institute’s Paul Stillwell in March 2006.

November 2022
plant

‘Not In My Navy’

The drug problem surfaced across the nation in the late ’60s and was enhanced because of Vietnam.

September 2022