Admiral Evans and President Theodore Roosevelt on board Roosevelt’s yacht, the Mayflower. On Evans’ death in 1912, Roosevelt proclaimed the Navy had never had a man “who more thoroughly and joyously welcomed a fight.”

Fighting Bob Evans

“Even the American Navy, fertile though it has been in gallant fighting men, has never had any man who more thoroughly and joyously welcomed a fight.”

August 2024
The destroyer USS James E. Williams (DDG-95), commissioned on 11 December 2004, was named in BM1 Williams’ honor.

No Exit Ramps

By all accounts, “Willy” Williams was a good sailor.

February 2024
Commander Edward L. Beach (left) on duty on board the USS Amberjack. Beach commanded the Amberjack after a tour in the Navy’s Atomic Defense Section in the Pentagon.

Namesake: Edward L. Beach

Most successful writers are either fiction or nonfiction authors; Ned Beach succeeded in both genres.

Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired)
October 2023
Lieutenant Kennedy on board PT-109

JFK and PT-109: A Sailor’s Assessment

In April 1943, Lieutenant (junior grade) John F. Kennedy assumed command of an 80-foot, 40-ton Elco motor torpedo boat (MTB) at Tulagi in the Solomons.

Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired)
July 2023
Commander Paul X. Rinn

‘Dont Give Up the Ship’—Paul X. Rinn

Commander Paul X. Rinn’s dedication to damage control training and his cool head under pressure helped the Samuel B. Roberts’ crew save their ship after a mine blast broke her ...

April 2023
Johnston (DD-557) off Seattle, Washington, 27 October 1943.

Harm’s Way: Ernest E. Evans

Arguably there are acts of courage in U.S. naval history that equal what Evans did, but none exceed it.

Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired)
January 2023