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Happy Thanksgiving to our Naval Historical Foundation Family,
By now you should have received a letter from Admiral Fallon that included a resolution that the Board of Directors will consider on the morning of the December 7 to disband the organization and fold into the U.S. Naval Institute at the end of the year. Needless to say, the number of questions and comments we have received this past week reaffirms that we have an engaged membership! We encourage you to continue to contribute to a constructive dialogue about the need for our 96 year-old organization and make every effort to make it to our special meeting scheduled on December 7 at 1 PM at the Navy Museum. To register to attend the meeting in person CLICK HERE. Your well-considered views on whether we still need an independent non-profit heritage support organization as we approach the Navy's 250th Birthday are vital to us. If you can't travel to Washington, we intend to livestream the discussions and make allowances to accept proxies as PDF attachments to e-mails throughout the course of the meeting.
In the spirit of the Holiday we offer some Thanksgiving menus from the Fleet and a book review to encourage holiday reading.
PS: If you have not received a letter from Admiral Fallon it may be an indicator that your membership expired or you had a change of address we did not capture. Please reach out to Gunnery Sergeant Harold Bryant at [email protected] to determine your status.
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As always, fair winds and following seas shipmates. This email is best viewed as a webpage for your reading convenience and best quality.
{View as Webpage}
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS
NAVY MUSEUM STORE
PRE-OWNED BOOK SALE
6-7 DECEMBER
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Watch the Recap
The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
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Did you miss our latest Second Saturday on The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal? You can watch the full program on our YouTube page by following the link HERE. This event featured Trent Hone and Paul Stillwell. | |
Naval Air Station, Norfolk, Virginia Thanksgiving Dinner Menu 1959 | |
Naval Air Technical Training Center, Norman, Oklahoma Thanksgiving Dinner Menu 1956 | |
USS Sperry Thanksgiving Dinner Menu 1950 | |
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The Last Paladin
By Capt. P.T. Deutermann USN (Ret.) St. Martins Press (2022)
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Reviewed by Capt. C. Herbert Gilliland, USN (Ret.)
Once Holland has resolved deTomasi’s vendetta against Japan as embodied in its
submarines, Deutermann makes it the target of a vengeful Japanese command. The result is a spectacular final shootout wrapped in a global framework. By the time we close the book, we have been treated not only to a violent short course in ASW, but also a good deal of surface and air action as well. Faithful Deutermann readers will not be disappointed; nor, I think will new
ones.
READ FULL REVIEW
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If you are interested in the history of the Pearl Harbor attack and the events leading to it, please consider reviewing The Road to Pearl Harbor: Great Power War in Asia and the Pacific, by John Maurer and Erik Goldstein Ed.
Guidelines for getting involved in the NHF Book Review program can be found here,
and a list of titles available for review can be found here.
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Where the Fleet Goes, We've Been
By Mary Heider
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My Dad, John Patrick Whiteman, served in the US Navy from November 21, 1942 until March 4, 1946. He earned the rank of signalman and served on a minesweeper, YMS-346 during WWII.
Dad was known as Jack to his family and friends but his crew mates called him "Flags". He married my Mom, Pauline T. Cederle on September 17, 1949. They had 5 children, John, Joseph, Thomas, Mary and James. Jack passed away on January 18, 2008 at the age of 85.
In January 2021, while preparing to sell our family home in Seaford, NY, I came across a box of letters in the basement. These are letters Jack wrote to his siblings while in the Navy. They begin with his naval training in Sampson, NY through his discharge. The letters are a chronological record of his experiences as a young seaman. His ship, the YMS-346, was among a convoy of YMS ships sweeping mines during the Normandy Invasion to ensure a safe landing on the coast of France. Hence the motto of the minesweepers "Where the fleet goes, we've been." No ship could have entered those harbors on D-Day unless the minesweepers had already been there.
READ FULL BLOG
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Additionally, visit the YMS-346 site, also created by Mrs. Heider, dedicated to sharing information about the YMS-346, a 245-ton auxiliary motor minesweeper, and the men that served on her during the Second World War.
VISIT SITE
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A naval history podcast from Preble Hall - the United States Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Maryland. Preble Hall will interview historians, practitioners, military personnel, and other experts on a variety of naval history topics from ancient history to more current events.
Listen to the most recent episode:
Admiral Mike Mullen, Part I
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Watch the upcoming History Channel series:
The Bermuda Triangle: Into Cursed Waters
Beginning November 22, 2022 at 10pm EST
Pay special attention to the episode airing November 29
about the USS Cyclops
featuring Author Marvin Barrash
and a movie photographed on board the Cyclops in December of 1912 - only showed publicly once before!
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NOUS SNA Joint Pearl Harbor Remembrance Dinner
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
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THE NAVAL ORDER OF THE UNITED STATES - NATIONAL CAPITAL COMMANDERY and the SURFACE NAVY ASSOCIATION request the pleasure of your company at a REMEMBRANCE DINNER to commemorate THE EIGHTY-FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR
Wednesday, December 7th, 2022
at the ARMY NAVY COUNTRY CLUB
1700 Army Navy Drive, *Arlington*, VA 22202
Valet Parking (included)
Tables will be of eight and will have two bottles of wine provided. Additional wine available for purchase.
Reception with cocktails - 6:30 p.m. - credit card/debit card bar - no cash
Dinner - 7:30 p.m.
Guest Speaker: Mr. Trent Hone - a Vice President with a major international consulting group and an award-winning naval historian. His latest book, Learning War: The Evolution of Fighting Doctrine in the U.S. Navy, 1898–1945, brings a new and valuable perspective that explains how the Navy improved its tactical doctrine before and during World War II. It was published by the U.S. Naval Institute in June 2018.
RSVP by November 30, 2022
Reservation: $95 for dinner and includes valet parking
“Cash” Bar (Credit Card or Debit Card only)
RSVP and Choose: Beef, Fish, or Vegetarian
Dinner Dress Blue / Blue Jacket, Evening Dress / Mess Dress
Optional: Black Tie, Business Suit or Jacket & Tie
Cocktail Dress or Smart Business Attire
NOTE: The Army Navy Country Club does not require face masks or vaccination
Refund policy: up to 7 days before the event.
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Navy Trophies 1 and 2
By John L. Morris
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The U.S. Navy designated many historic objects collected for display with “Trophy Numbers,” beginning in the mid-19th C. Almost all of the historic cannons had “Trophy No. ____” stamped and/or engraved midway along the top of the barrel. The first two numbers of this trophy family belong to a pair of US-made cannons as opposed to the usual trophies captured from either foreign enemies or Confederate forces. They were identical to US Army Model 1835 “mountain howitzers” but purchased by the Navy from the maker, Cyrus Alger & Co., Boston, in 1847, probably for use by landing forces. During the Mexican War, the US Navy’s glaring deficiency in “landing guns” to take ashore in boats had hindered operations. Lieutenant John A. Dahlgren solved the problem by developing a family of bronze-barreled “boat howitzers” that unquestionably gave our Navy the world’s best boat/amphibious armament. One of his books explaining his system is here.
A receiving report signed by Dahlgren in 1851 includes these two Navy-ordered and marked mountain howitzers, but the author is unaware of any documentation describing the rationale for purchasing these small, normally mule-borne Army weapons. Some authors have suggested that Dahlgren may have tested these in the course of his boat Howitzer development efforts, but since they first arrived at the Washington Navy Yard in 1851, they were too late for his project. Author speculation: They were ordered as makeshift boat armament during the Mexican War, and shipped directly to the operational commander, but further research is required.
These barrels are marked largely according to Bureau of Ordnance practice, which differed from Army practice: Muzzle face: C.A. & Co, No. 1 (and 2,) Basering: (weights, 201 and 202 resp.), Left trunnions: P (meaning proved by firing) over “AAH” for Navy inspector Andrew A. Harwood. Right trunnions: 12 (for 12 pounder) and date of acceptance, 1847. They are presently mounted on the same style of attractive, cast-metal display stand as are many of the “outdoor” bronze cannons at the Washington Navy Yard. Location history of the pair, with very approximate dates, is: Pensacola Naval Station 1847-1850 (author’s guess based on scant information); Washington Navy Yard 1851-1985; Marine Barracks Portsmouth NH 1985-1987; Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Heritage Center, 1987-present. The photos of these barrels are courtesy of Mr. Joseph Gluckert of PNS.
Neither carriages nor plans for mounting these on boats are known to the author. However, since they are physically identical to the Army model 1835 mountain Howitzer, they would have been mounted on the standard Army “pack” carriage for use ashore. Information on the pack carriage.
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If you would like to recommend online content to be passed on to our Naval Historical Foundation Members in an upcoming edition of Thursday Tidings, please email Jessie Henderson, at: [email protected] | |
Did you know that the Naval Historical Foundation participates in the Combined Federal Campaign? Our CFC number is: 11010
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