BOOK REVIEW – Voyage to Jamestown: Practical Navigation in the Age of Discovery
By Robert D. Hicks, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD. (2011)
Reviewed by Mark Lardas
When Britain’s first North America colonies were established, transatlantic voyages were challenges analogous to trips to the Moon today. What did it take to sail the Atlantic four centuries ago? Voyage to Jamestown: Practical Navigation in the Age of Discovery; by Robert D. Hicks, explores that question.
On 20 April 1861 during the American Civil War, Norfolk Navy Yard was abandoned and burned by Union forces. This line engraving was published in “Harper’s Weekly”, 1861, providing two scenes of the burning of Norfolk Navy Yard and the destruction of ships located there. NHHC image NH 59179.
On 19 April 1989, an explosion tore through the Number Two sixteen-inch gun turret of the battleship USS Iowa (BB 61), killing 47 crewmen.
BOOK REVIEWS – I Remember the Yorktown; They Called Me Wee Vee; Apology
Reviewed by Charles Bogart
I Remember the Yorktown (2006) is the first of three self-published books that Gene Domienik has written concerning his service in the U. S. Navy during World War II. The book focuses on his tour of duty onboard Yorktown (CV 5) from October 1941 to its loss at the Battle of Midway on 7 June 1942. The author was a 17-year old who had just graduated from the Navy Machinist Service School when he was assigned to Yorktown. On board Yorktown, he served in M (main propulsion) Division. This book is an interesting read of life in the prewar and early war Navy as seen by an enlistedman. At times, the author’s memory is at odds with accepted historical facts, but these glitches do not destroy this account of Yorktown going to war.
On 18 April 1942 aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV 8) launched 16 Army B-25 bombers for the first aerial attack on Japan. The raid, led by Lieutenant Colonel James “Jimmy” Doolittle, would be immortalized as “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.” National Archives image 80-G-41197.
NHF Hosts San Diego Member Event On Board USS Midway Museum
On Sunday, April 7th, the Naval Historical Foundation (NHF) hosted a festive event aboard the USS Midway Museum in beautiful San Diego harbor. Over 40 members and friends of the Foundation gathered on the historic aircraft carrier to catch up with old friends and learn more about the latest developments at the Foundation. Guests were welcomed by Midway CEO, Rear Admiral Mac McLaughlin USN(Ret.) and were greeted by NHF President Rear Admiral John Mitchell USN(Ret.), who welcomed southern California members and guests and provided an overview of the Foundation’s latest activities.
Norman’s Corner: Pointing to General Genda
By Norman Polmar
While in high school I became interested in the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. As I read about the “date that will live in infamy,” I began to wonder about the six Japanese aircraft carriers that carried out the air strikes: Were they built specifically for the attack? Were they the entire Japanese carrier fleet? Were Japanese carriers involved in World War I? At Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C., I did a term paper entitled “Prelude… to Pearl Harbor”—and received an “A.” My “research”—such that it was at the time—at the public library revealed no answers to those questions about aircraft carriers. Some information was found at the Navy Department Library. But the “germ” was planted and I developed an interest in writing a history of aircraft carriers, not just Japanese, but a record of all of the world’s aircraft carriers.
71st Battle of Midway Commemoration Dinner
Tuesday 4 June 2013
Army Navy Country Club, Arlington, VA
Guest Speaker: The Honorable Robert O. Work, Former Undersecretary of the Navy
On 16 April 1863, during the American Civil War, Union gunboats under the command of Admiral David Dixon Porter passed a blockade of Confederate batteries at Vicksburg. This colored lithograph published by Currier & Ives, New York, 1863, depicts the fighting. NHHC image NH 76557-KN.
Naval Historical Foundation Announces Knox Prize for Naval History
NHF is pleased to establish the Commodore Dudley W. Knox Lifetime Achievement Award recognizing an individual for a body of work in the field of U.S. naval history. The award is named for Commodore Dudley Wright Knox (21 June 1877 – 11 June 1960). A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and Naval War College, Knox had a distinguished career as a naval officer with service in the Spanish American War, Boxer Rebellion, Great White Fleet, and World War I. But it was his abilities as a historian, librarian, and archivist that earned him respect and admiration amongst his peers and later generations.
