The USS Panamint, Captain Eller’s vessel during the Okinawa campaign.

‘I Don’t Think He Would Have Let the Devil Stop Him’

In his U.S. Naval Institute oral history, Rear Admiral Eller touches on the initial landings at Okinawa, the kamikaze factor, and the sinking of the great Japanese battleship Yamato.

Rear Admiral Ernest M. Eller, U.S. Navy (retired)
May 2025
Admiral Reason remembered Jimmy Carter as “probably the most honest man I’ve ever known.”

Naval Aide to President Carter

Among those whose frequent close contact with President Jimmy Carter provided many observations on his personality and character was Lieutenant Commander/Commander (later Admiral) Reason. Both Carter and Reason had received ...

March 2025
Partners for life: “I feel very fortunate that my husband and I could live together as long as we did.”

Passing of a Pioneer

As the wife of Vice Admiral Samuel L. Gravely Jr., the U.S. Navy’s first African American flag officer, Alma Gravely was a pioneer as well.

February 2025
AIR Hero Dec24

CNO Succession—Two Views

Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr. served as an innovative Chief of Naval Operations from 1970 to 1974. His actions elicited praise on one hand and criticism on the other.

December 2024
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