In His Own Words: The Honorable Sean O’Keefe
My father was a submariner, so I first became aware of the Naval Institute and Proceedings magazine through his encouragement when I was a teen. This was solidified during my service at the Pentagon 20 years ago. The intellectual content of the Institute is an important basis for helping young naval professionals establish a framework to understand the strategy, values, and capability of the naval services to accomplish national objectives.
More recently, I was inspired to become a Member because of the exceptional capability of the Naval Institute to focus on strategic events and frame them relative to the rich history of the naval services, to provide for the common defense, and shape our nation’s foreign-policy objectives and interests around the globe. Providing support to the Institute offers me a chance to help give something back to the naval services, which informed my thinking from an early age.
Revitalizing Oral History
Since its launch in 1969, the Naval Institute’s Oral History Program has earned the respect of historians as a modest but valuable service to researchers. Now, the editorial and technical expertise of the Naval Institute Press will transform the program into a relatively large and dynamic publisher of important and highly accessible primary-source material. By increasing its scope and modernizing its procedures, the Institute’s Oral History Program will not only be recognized as a treasure of historical knowledge about the Sea Services in an easily searchable format, but it will also solidify the Institute’s claim to leadership in the field of military oral history.
Our new initiative includes an ambitious plan to complete the current backlog of projects—a promise kept to those who gave their time to participate in the program. In addition, we will aggressively identify, cultivate, conduct, and publish fresh oral histories in a timely fashion, working from an evolving list of prospects. These new candidates will include strategic and operational leaders, such as former Chiefs of Naval Operations, Fleet leaders, intellectual leaders, and technologists. We will also capture the recollections of personalities in unique circumstances, such as Medal of Honor recipients and astronauts.
With greater output, the Institute will ultimately provide a vital service beyond naval history to students of broader fields such as military history, national security, and the history of technology. Success will draw favorable notice to the Naval Institute and its programs—and to the contributions of the Sea Services.
You have an opportunity to participate in this revitalization and to strengthen the Naval Institute’s Oral History Program. For more information, contact Kirk McAlexander at (410) 295-1056 or at [email protected].
Newly Available Oral Histories
The Naval Institute oral histories of Rear Admiral Denys W. Knoll, USN (Ret.) and Commander Norman H. Meyer, USNR (Ret.) have recently been completed.
Admiral Knoll (1907–1989), a 1930 U.S. Naval Academy graduate, served on the staffs of several of the top naval leaders of the 20th century, including Admirals Arleigh Burke, Ernest King, Richmond Kelly Turner, and Thomas Hart. He was among the last group of Americans to be evacuated before Corregidor fell to the Japanese in World War II.
Commander Meyer (1913–2006), a 1935 U.S. Naval Academy graduate, discusses his World War II service as commanding officer of the USS Mason (DE-529), a destroyer escort with an all-black crew.
Advancing the Next Generation of Naval Leaders
The following is an update on sponsored Naval Institute membership for Sea Service midshipmen and cadets for the 2013–14 academic year:
• NROTC Units: 20 of 58 sponsored
• U.S. Naval Academy Companies: 12 of 30 sponsored
• U.S. Coast Guard Companies: 8 of 8 sponsored
• U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Companies: 0 of 5 sponsored
For more information and to sponsor midshipmen at your alma mater, please visit www.usni.org/donate-student-memberships or contact Heather Lancaster at (410) 295-1048 or at [email protected].