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1 April 2025
Welcome back to our National Maritime Historical Society members and friends who share a love for naval history!
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Back in the day, when Tidings fell on April 1st, we would just make weird stuff up and figure that folks would get the joke that it was April Fool’s Day! But then we noticed some of our strange naval history revelations were going viral on social media—so everything in this edition is on the up and up—even the Masso announcement! For example, today, back in 1893, Navy General Order 409 established the rank of chief petty officer. That really happened! So, if you ever ask why US Navy ships are so well operated, you have that General Order dating back late in the 19th century as an answer. Happy Birthday to the CPO community!
With the Society of Military History conference behind us, the next large gathering to feature naval history-related presentations will be the North American Society of Oceanic History (NASOH) Conference in Natchez, Mississippi, from 15–17 May. NASOH president Paul Fontenoy is pleased to announce registration is now open HERE. Also, there is a submarine history conference scheduled at the Navy Memorial later this month. Details below.
For this week’s Naval History Book Review, we thank Peter H. Hames, who takes a look at a new book that aims to address a historic problem. Thanks to quite a few review requests last week, our stack is getting low. If you have recently authored a naval history book, please have your publisher send us a review copy!
Anniversary Note: Today marks the 80th Anniversary of the Invasion of Okinawa — The Friends of the World War II Memorial commemorative video can be found HERE.
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Tuesday Tidings is compiled by Dr. David F. Winkler and Jessie Henderson as a benefit for members of the National Maritime Historical Society and friends of naval history.
As always, comments and naval history news items are welcome at nmhs@seahistory.org.
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ITEMS OF IMMEDIATE INTEREST | |
Tuesday, 1 April – World War II Discussion Forum
Nimitz’s Newsmen: Waldo Drake and the Navy’s Censored War in the Pacific
With Hamilton Bean
8 PM (EST) (Virtual)
Wednesday, 2 April – USS Constitution Museum Sailing through History Series
Strong Ship Maneuvers: How USS Constitution Worked Wind to Strategic Gain in Battle
With Carl Herzog
12:30–1 PM (EST)
Thursday, 3 April – NMHS First Thursdays Seminar Series: Wreck Divers & Archaeologists: A History of Maritime Archaeology in California
With Dr. James Delgado
7 PM (EST) (Virtual)
Saturday, 5 April – National Naval Civil War Museum River Blast
10 AM-4:30 PM (EDT)
Columbus, GA
Wednesday, 9 April – Naval Order History Happenings
U Boats in the Atlantic: Halifax to Archangel
With Micheal J. Dodd
8 pm (EDT) (Zoom)
Friday April 11, Noon – Mariners’ Museum Legacy Series
Carolina Ironclads: Vain Efforts to Defend the Tar Heel State
With John V. Quarstein
1 PM (EDT) (In person-virtual)
Newport News, VA
| | The Navy Department Library @ 225: 1800–2025 | | NHHC Director Rear Adm. Sam Cox (Ret.) cuts the ceremonial cake. Photo courtesy Capt. Todd Creekman (Ret.) | | Yesterday the Navy Department Library celebrated its 225 th birthday with a cake-cutting ceremony and other festivities at its new location within Building 46 of the Washington Navy Yard. The Navy Department Library traces its roots to a letter dated 31 March 1800 from President John Adams to Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert, directing him to establish a naval library. Today, the Navy Department Library acquires, organizes, preserves, and provides access to materials related to naval and maritime history, customs, and traditions through reference services and Internet outreach. One of the few major military historical libraries open to the public, the library serves an international audience. The library’s collection consists of 114,000 book titles, 374,000 manuscripts, and 189,000 periodicals, with an emphasis on naval, nautical, and military history, including foreign navies. Individual highlights of the collection include the US Navy’s first signal book; calling cards collected by John Paul Jones in Russia; hundreds of unpublished World War II administrative and cryptological histories; and documents captured on German submarine U- 505 in 1944. | | Retired Rear Adm. Edward “Sonny” Masso to relieve Vice Adm. Al Konetzni as Navy Museum Development Foundation President | | |
Sonny Masso is returning to his former office space at the Washington Navy Yard, where he once served as the executive director of the now-decommissioned Naval Historical Foundation (NHF). Today it’s the headquarters of the Navy Museum Development Foundation (NMDF), the non-profit that was established to manage a capital campaign for a new facility to be built on property adjacent to the current Washington Navy Yard that the Navy recently obtained in a land-swap deal with a local developer. With the land-swap consummated last fall, the NMDF is growing its staff. Of note, Masso’s administrative assistant is none other than retired GySgt. Harold Bryant, who held the same position with the NHF. In a LinkedIn post, Masso writes:
For nearly 250 years, our Navy has safeguarded the republic by ensuring freedom of the seas. To tell this story, the Navy Museum Development Foundation, in partnership with the US Navy, has embarked on a journey to create a new flagship Museum in our Nation’s Capital. Through a skillful blending of artifacts, historic narrative and cutting-edge interactive technology, this world-class Museum will convey the value of sea power to visitors of all ages--serving to educate, engage, and inspire the next generation of Sailors, citizens, and leaders our country needs. The story of our Navy is the story of our Nation.
As the new president, Masso will draw on his 32-year naval service as well as leadership in the private sector where he was the founder and president of Flagship Connection, a consulting company focused on business development, strategic planning, and operations analysis in the areas of missile defense, cyber security, and data analytics. A native of Southern California, Masso earned his commission as a naval officer in 1977 through the NROTC program at the University of Mississippi and qualified as a surface warfare officer. He held nine command assignments in the Navy and Navy Reserve and found himself as one of the first responders on 9/11 when the Pentagon was struck by a hijacked American Airliner. We wish him success!
A Huzzah to Vice Admiral Konetzni, who stood the watch as the first NMDF president and kept the fires stoked as the Navy negotiated the acquisition of property closer to public transportation that will contribute to the viability of the new facility. He remains committed to the project, now serving as the vice chairman alongside the chair, former Navy Secretary Kenneth J. Braithwaite.
| | Dr. David Alan Rosenberg will moderate a panel that will discuss how submarines have defended the nation over the past 125 years. Panelists will include retired Adm. Cecil Haney, Vice Adm. William Hilarides, Vice Adm. Jeff Trussler, and Capt. Truss Merkel. The doors of the Navy Memorial theater will open at 2:45 PM. A reception follows. For more details visit: Submarine History Seminar | Naval Submarine League. | | Society of Military History Conference a Success! | | Attendees at last week’s SMH meeting had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of SS United States. Photo courtesy Dave Winkler. | | Congratulations to the Society of Military History for pulling through this past weekend in Mobile, Alabama, despite some approximately 150 attendance cancellations from historians from various Federal agencies—mostly within the Department of Defense—who had travel restrictions imposed on them. Many of those who had planned to attend had plans to share scholarship and attend sessions to benefit their professional development in the service of the nation. Still, an estimated 485 attendees, mostly from academic institutions and a number of retirees, carried the load to make the three-and-a-half day gathering a remarkable exchange of knowledge. Kudos to the organizing committee of SMH to adjusting and accommodating those who could not attend. | | NAVAL HISTORY BOOK REVIEWS | | |
Zero Point Four: How US Leadership in Maritime Will Secure America’s Future, By Rear Adm. James Watson (USCG, Ret.), Carleen Lyden Walker, Rich Mason, Jonathan Kempe, Nishan Degnarain, and Capt. Anuj Chopra, New Castle, DE: Maritime Accelerator for Resilience (MAR), (2024.)
Review by Peter H. Hames
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| |  | This book was written by a team of six authors, led by James Watson, a retired US Coast Guard rear admiral, and Carleen Lyden Walker, a maritime executive and co-founder of MAR, the publisher of this advocacy book. According to the authors, only 180 of over 50,000 ships currently operating in commercial ocean-going service around the world fly the US Flag. This equates to Zero Point Four percent (0.4%) of the global fleet, or about 0.57% of the total tonnage. Whereas in 1950, the United States had 1,000 private and 2,200 government-owned and -operated vessels, equating to 50% of the world's total tonnage, and transporting 80% of global trade, today around 98% of American imports and exports are transported on vessels controlled by foreign countries and operated by foreign crews. Zero Point Four points out how this exposes the United States to undue external influences, complex security risks, and diverts billions of dollars from US businesses and citizens annually. The authors’ vision “is to motivate the US maritime industry to global competitiveness, navigating challenges and embracing opportunities in the next decade.”
Read full review>>
| | NAVAL HISTORY BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW | | |
Check out the WETSU (We Eat This Stuff Up) Battleship New Jersey Podcast
Listen here>>
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Maritime Communities Celebrating Milestones
SAVE THE DATES!
24–27 September 2025 • Buffalo, NY
We are delighted to be holding the 12th Maritime Heritage Conference in Buffalo in September 2025.
The conference brings together organizations and participants that engage in all aspects of maritime heritage. This includes maritime museums, historic lighthouses, tall ships for sail training and youth, small craft, marine art, sailing, naval and maritime scholars, advocacy, and more. It is also a gathering of the leadership of the maritime heritage community. Buffalo will host the first Maritime Heritage Conference to be held in the Great Lakes region.
The 12th Maritime Heritage Conference (MHC) will bring together nautical heritage organizations and individuals for an information-packed conference encompassing a broad array of topics on the banks of Lake Erie at historic Buffalo, New York. Following in the wake of the World Canal Conference, which concludes with a bicentennial celebration of the opening of the Erie Canal, the 12th MHC will use that historic milestone to open a three-day program that invites attendees to consider other historic nautical milestones worthy of broader public attention.
The MHC has earned a reputation for its high take-away value, networking opportunities, and camaraderie. The conference steering committee invites you to become involved as a presenter; both session and individual proposals are encouraged. Don’t miss this opportunity to gather with individuals from all segments of the maritime community.
Call for Papers & Session Proposals
Papers and session topics include, but are not limited to:
• Inland Water Commerce and Seaport Operations (Erie Canal bicentennial!)
• Maritime and Naval History (2025 marks USN/USMC 250th Birthday)
• Maritime Art, Literature, and Music
• Education and Preservation
• Underwater Archaeology
• Trade and Communications
• Maritime Libraries, Archives, and Museums
• Marine Science and Ocean Conservation
• Historic Vessel Restoration
• Maritime Heritage Grant Program
• Maritime Landscapes
• National Marine Sanctuaries
• Small Craft
• Shipbuilding
• Marine Protected Areas
Focus sessions include, but are not limited to:
• Non-Profit administration
• Event Management
• Fundraising
• Media and Publications
• Media and Social Media
Submissions
Individual paper and session proposals should include a 250–400 word abstract and a one-paragraph biography about each presenter.
Please e-mail proposals and other queries to Dr. David Winkler at: MHC@seahistory.org
Deadline for proposals for papers and sessions is 31 May 2025.
| | UPCOMING NAVAL & MARITIME HISTORY GATHERINGS | | PREBLE HALL NAVAL HISTORY PODCAST | |
A naval history podcast from Preble Hall – the United States Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Maryland. Preble Hall interviews historians, practitioners, military personnel, and other experts on a variety of naval history topics from ancient history to more current events.
Click here for the latest episode: 245 - Brian Dickinson: Calm in the Chaos>>
Click here for all Preble Hall Podcasts >>
| DRACHINIFEL YOUTUBE CHANNEL | |
NAVY HISTORY MATTERS
Welcome to Navy History Matters, the Naval History and Heritage Command’s biweekly compilation of articles, commentaries, and blogs related to history and heritage. Every other week, they gather the top-interest items from a variety of media and social media sources that link to related content at NHHC’s website, your authoritative source for Navy history.
Click here for most recent article>>
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NAVAL HISTORY
The International Journal of Naval History (IJNH) is an independent, peer-reviewed forum for scholarly analysis of naval power in all periods and regions. Directed by an international editorial board, the journal fosters research and global dialogue among naval historians.
After a publishing pause, IJNH is back, with a new edition and a new home at the new IJNH portal on the NMHS website. This issue features articles on foreign navies (unless, of course, you happen to be British, Russian, or Dutch), plus six book reviews. The journal plans to publish two editions in 2025 and return to three annually in 2026.
Click here for the March 2025 edition and archived issues on the new website >>
| SUPPORTING US NAVAL HISTORY & HERITAGE | |
With the 250th anniversary of the US Navy on the horizon, NMHS seeks your support as we plan to honor those who have provided for our maritime security.
Click here to donate today >>
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