Looking Back

Fiasco in the Bay of Pigs

The End of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

A Night at the Ballpark

Many of the enjoyable days and nights of my life have been spent in baseball parks, past and present. Images of those days were rekindled in early November, the weekend ...

The Durable Lexington

When searching for longevity in aircraft carrier performance, one need look no further than the former USS Lexington, now a museum in Corpus Christi Bay, Texas. Her active service lasted ...

Designing the Arleigh Burke's Hull

For many of the men and women who form the crews of the Navy's warships, the process generally involves going aboard, learning their jobs, and then doing those jobs—without a ...

Korean Surprise

Sixty years ago this summer, the United States was figuratively caught with its pants down on the other side of the world. What we have come to know as the ...

Things Change

Back in the 1980s, I interviewed Rear Admiral Elliott B. Strauss. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1923, retired in the 1950s, and lived to be 100. For ...

A Step Forward

The passing of John Wesley Lee Jr. a few months ago serves as a reminder of his place in the history of the U.S. Navy. On 15 March 1947, one ...

A Survivor's Tale

Some people are particularly gifted at describing the lives they have experienced. One man who had that narrative ability in large measure was Richard Harralson, who joined the Navy as ...

FDR's Island Home

When driving onto Campobello Island, one passes through Lubec, Maine-the easternmost town in the United States-and across the Franklin D. Roosevelt International Bridge. Reaching the island pushes the clock an ...