The theme of the 63rd anniversary Pearl Harbor Commemoration at the USS Arizona Memorial was "Voices of Pearl Harbor." In recognition of the importance of capturing the accounts of on-scene participants in such defining events as the attack on Pearl Harbor, Naval Institute Oral Historian Paul Stillwell delivered the keynote address at this widely attended and internationally covered ceremony. Joining Paul in the official program and delivering remarks before the keynote address were U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii and Dr. Ronald F. Sugar, Chairman, CEO, and President of Northrop Grumman Corporation. The event included a pass-in-review by the Navy's newest Arleigh Burke (DDG-51)-class guided missile destroyer, the USS Chung-Hoon (DDG-93)—featured on the cover of last month's Proceedings. The ship is named for the late Rear Admiral Gordon Chung-Hoon, who served in the battleship Arizona (BB-39) as a junior officer.
The author or editor of nine books—including Air Raid: Pearl Harbor! Reflections of a Day of Infamy (Naval Institute Press, 1981) and Battleship Arizona: An Illustrated History (1991)—and a 30-year member of the Naval Institute's professional staff, Paul shared with the Pearl Harbor audience many Arizona sailors' and officers' accounts of the "day of infamy." He helped put the human face on the core values of today's Navy—honor, courage, and commitment. Paul's remarks are posted on our Web site.
Paul has been the Naval Institute's oral history program since 1982, when he took over from Dr. John T. Mason. The program began in 1969 with Dr. Mason, who had been doing naval oral histories for Columbia University and was the natural candidate when the Naval Institute inaugurated its program to preserve important history by interviewing key participants in World War II before they passed. Dr. Mason conducted interviews with, among others, Admiral Arleigh Burke, Admiral Thomas Moorer, Rear Admiral Draper Kaufman, Rear Admiral Dan Gallery, Admiral Robert Dennison. and many associates of Admiral Chester Nimitz. All these oral histories—and many others—have contributed significantly to books published on a variety of topics involved in the profession of arms.
During Paul's run as oral historian he has conducted multiple interviews with more than 100 individuals who have played critical roles in the sea services from before World War II to the present. Volumes completed this year, for example, include four former Commandants of the Coast Guard: Admiral James Gracey, Admiral Paul Yost, Admiral Owen Siler, and Admiral Merlin O'Neil. Others recently added to the library include Vice Admiral Don Engen, a prominent naval aviator; Rear Admiral Rich Schneider, who had a hand in transforming the Coast Guard Reserve; Rear Admiral Edmond Moran, who had a key role in the invasion of Normandy in 1944; and Vice Admiral Samuel L. Gravely, the Navy's first black flag officer.
Paul's proudest accomplishment during his long tenure was interviewing the Navy's first black line officers. Of the members of the original Golden 13, as they are known, he interviewed the eight still living when he began the project in 1986. He edited these interviews into a powerful Naval Institute Press book that remains in print in our Bluejacket Series—The Golden Thirteen: Recollections of the First Black Naval Officers. Paul currently is editing a new Naval Institute Press book based on exciting first-person accounts of diesel submariners from the World War I era to the 1970s. This book will be available in the fall of 2005 or spring of 2006.
Despite the oral history program's well-documented contributions to naval history and to numerous published books, the Naval Institute has been unable to develop a business model to cover its expenses. In years past, this program has been underwritten by gifts from individuals and grants from foundations and by a subsidy from Naval Institute operations. The 2005 budget of the Naval Institute does not fund oral history on a full-time basis. The Naval Institute Foundation intends to raise the funds to complete the oral histories under development and to relaunch this program on a more solid financial footing. Those interested in contributing to the oral history effort are encouraged to contact the head of the Naval Institute Foundation, Bill MacIntosh (410-295-1056).
Editor's Page
By F.H. Rainbow