Articles by Richard Burgess

NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER

Uriah Levy & VF-142

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired), and Lieutenant Commander Rick Burgess, U.S. Navy (Retired)
May 2007
Uriah Levy One does not expect a naval officer who has been court-martialed six times to go on to command the Mediterranean Fleet and retire as a commodore. But Uriah ...
Naval Historical Center

Lest We Forget: Tip Merrill; VF-43

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired), Lieutenant Commander Rick Burgess, U.S. Navy (Retired)
April 2007
Tip Merrill In the U.S. Naval Academy's Naval Warfare course, midshipmen are taught the principle of "commander's intent." It is defined as the means by which a commander conveys his ...
NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER

Lest We Forget: Leo Young-Radio Pioneer; VAQ-34

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired), Lieutenant Commander Rick Burgess, U.S. Navy (Retired)
March 2007
Leo Young—Radio Pioneer As a young man growing up in the early part of the 20th century, Leo Young had an interest in the new technology of radio. At 14 ...
U.S. NAVY

The Edge: Gerald R. Ford; VS-37

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired), and Lieutenant Commander Rick Burgess, U.S. Navy (Retired)
February 2007
The Edge During the great typhoon that hit Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet on 18-19 December 1944, three destroyers and more than 800 men were lost. One young man was nearly ...
U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE

Lest We Forget: Commander Holloway H. Frost, VA-145

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired), and Lieutenant Commander Rick Burgess, U.S. Navy (Retired)
January 2007
Commander Holloway H. Frost In early 1935, a curious phrase appeared in print. It said, "the U.S. Naval Institute has been deFrosted." These odd words (both in meaning and spelling) ...
U.S. Naval Institute

Lest We Forget: Yogi

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired); Lieutenant Commander Rick Burgess, U.S. Navy (Retired)
December 2006
In the early 1990s, a 70-year-old retired admiral stood before a large contingent of midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy and challenged them to an unlikely competition. He asked who ...
NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER

Lest We Forget: Swede Vejtasa, VF-51 (Part 2)

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired), Lieutenant Commander Rick Burgess, U.S. Navy (Retired)
November 2006
Swede Vejtasa At the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, Stanley W. "Swede" Vejtasa was one of several American dive bomber pilots who scored 12 direct hits on ...
DoD

Lest We Forget: Homefront, VF-51 (Part 1)

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired), Lieutenant Commander Rick Burgess, U.S. Navy (Retired)
October 2006
Homefront While still a young girl, Doris Biorseth left South Dakota in the summer of 1941 and headed west, settling in Washington, where, for a time, she worked in a ...
GREG E. MATHIESON

Amazing Grace & VAH-8

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired), Lieutenant Commander Rick Burgess, U.S. Navy (Retired)
September 2006
Amazing Grace As a young girl Grace Brewster Murray had an unusually inquisitive mind. One day, when she was seven years old, she disassembled an alarm clock to see how ...
U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE PHOTO ARCHIVE

Lest We Forget: History Repeats Itself; HS-12

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired), Lieutenant Commander Rick Burgess, U.S. Navy (Retired)
August 2006
History Repeats Itself In the lobby of the headquarters of the U.S. Naval Institute is an odd-looking apparatus that resembles the control wheel of an airplane. A trained eye might ...
U.S. NAVY

Lest We Forget: John Henry Balch; VF-74

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired), Lieutenant Commander Rick Burgess, U.S. Navy (Retired)
July 2006
John Henry Balch World War I appropriately enough conjures up images of soldiers in trenches, gas attacks, relentless shelling, and machine gun slaughters. One does not usually picture an American ...
U.S. NAVY (BRYAN LOGAN)

Lest We Forget: Fire and Sword; VC-10

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired), Lieutenant Commander Rick Burgess, U.S. Navy (Retired)
June 2006
Fire and Sword On 24 October 1776, the Continental Congress issued secret orders to Lambert Wickes, captain of Reprisal , a ship-rigged vessel of 18 six-pound carriage guns and a ...