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21 November 2023
Welcome back to our National Maritime Historical Society members and friends who share a love for naval history!
Happy Thanksgiving! As we gather with families over this coming four-day weekend to celebrate this great American traditional holiday, please take a moment to offer thanks for those serving the nation on the high seas and elsewhere who are away from family this season.
As promised last week, Tom Duffy’s recap of the NATO navies post-1985 workshop in Wilhelmshaven is our lead story.
Yesterday also marked a deadly anniversary: the day that Marines landed on the mid-Pacific atoll of Tarawa. Brent Hunt’s overview is provided, to mark this event that occurred 80 years ago. Also included are two Navy press releases involving the recent passing of Capt. Don Walsh and the naming of a new destroyer for Ernest E. Evans of Battle of Leyte Gulf fame.
Naval History Book Reviews is taking the week off to prepare turkey! An updated book review list is provided.
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 are welcome at nmhs@seahistory.org.
| ITEMS OF IMMEDIATE INTEREST | |
21 November: Military Classics Seminar (in person)
to review Hal Brands, ed. The New Makers of Modern Strategy: From the Ancient World to the
Digital Age featuring Lt. Col. Clifford Lucas (USAF) and Lt. Col. Ben Middendorf (USMC).
Fire Works Pizza, 2350 Clarendon Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201. Seminar sessions begin at 5:30 PM with a no-host reception, buffet dinner starting at 6:20, and the formal presentation beginning at 7:30. Dinner is now $40 per person. Questions to hdv3001@yahoo.com.
7 December: Naval Order Pearl Harbor Remembrance Dinner
Army-Navy Club, Washington, DC
7–9 December: International Conference on WWII (in person sold out; virtual attendance available)
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First of two workshops held on NATO maritime strategies and operations
By Tom Duffy
In Wilhelmshaven, Germany, on 8 and 9 November, the Center for Military History and Social Sciences of the German Armed Forces (ZMSBw), represented by Commander Dr. Christian Jentzsch, and the Institute for Security Policy, Kiel University (ISPK), represented by Dr. Sebastian Bruns, held the first of two workshops examining “NATO’s Maritime Strategies and Naval Operations since 1985.” The workshops are an interdisciplinary—political science/military history—approach identifying maritime trends and watershed events on the naval side of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
This first two-day workshop, focused on NATO maritime strategies, was held on the grounds of the Deutsches Marinemuseum, an extraordinary German naval history museum that, inter alia, features one of the last surviving US Adams-class destroyers as a museum ship: FGS Mölders, built at Bath Iron Works under hull number DDG-29 and launched in 1967 in German naval service as D186.
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Workshop participants pose on the ladderway leading to the German destroyer Mölders. | |
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The workshop began on November 8 with an examination of historic cases; legendary American maritime strategist Dr. Stanley Weeks of SAIC spoke of being “Present at the Creation” of the US maritime strategy of the 1980s, Dr. Duncan Redford of the UK’s Maritime Warfare Centre presented “Confronting Russia at sea in the 1980s” and asked, “Is it time for a new Forward Maritime Strategy?” and Dr. Anselm van der Peet of the Nederlands Institut voor Militaire Historie examined “Maritime Strategy al la carte: securing a new course for balanced Dutch navy in the mid-1980s.” This session, along with all subsequent sessions, featured robust debate among the participants and the presenters were encouraged to incorporate points raised in the discussions in the final versions of their papers.
The next session looked at special case studies, with Berk Vindevogel of the Ghent Institute for International and European Studies presenting on “Deepfreeze Defence: The Evolution of NATO’s Maritime Strategy in the Arctic,” Emma Salisbury of Birkbeck College, London, addressing “From Hulls to Pods: Why NATO’s Navies Should be Aware of the Allure of Mission Modularity,” and the National Maritime Historical Society’s own Dr. David Winkler describing “The NATO-USSR Bilateral Incidents at Sea Agreements: The Multilateral Accord that Never Was.”
Read full article>>
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Battle of Tarawa—80 Years Ago
By Brent A. Hunt, Naval History and Heritage Command’s Communication and Outreach Division
On Nov. 20, 1943, during the Battle of Tarawa, Vice Adm. Raymond A. Spruance’s Fifth Fleet landed approximately 35,000 troops from the 2nd Marine Division and the Army’s 27th Infantry Division on Tarawa’s Betio Island and Makin Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. At the time, it was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific during World War II. Codenamed Operation Galvanic, the assault was part of the Allied “island hopping” campaign to take control of Japanese outposts on enemy-held Pacific islands. The strategy would allow Allied forces to eventually establish air supremacy and a series of bases throughout the Pacific, providing stepping stones to the strategically located Marshall and Marianas island chains in the central Pacific and ultimately Japan’s mainland. While a light Japanese defense on Makin led to less resistance and fewer casualties, the heavily fortified and concentrated defenses on Betio Island led to a long and costly fight. On the morning of D-Day, following naval bombardment, the first wave of Marines approached Betio’s northern shore in transport boats. The Marines encountered lower tides than expected and were forced to abandon their landing craft on the reef that surrounded Betio and wade hundreds of yards to shore under intense enemy fire. When the Marines finally reached the beach, they struggled to move past the seawalls and establish a secure beachhead. By the end of the day of bloody fighting, the Marines held the extreme western tip of the island, as well as a small beachhead in the center of the northern beach. In total, it amounted to less than a quarter of a mile.
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Despite heavy enemy fire, US Marines waded through the surf off Betio Island during the Battle of Tarawa, November 1943. Photo: From the Julian C. Smith Collection (COLL/202), Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections. | |
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The following day, US forces pushed inland toward the airstrip positioned in the island’s center and continued to work to secure the beaches. Marines had the greatest success on the western beach, where naval gunfire enabled the Marines to quickly secure a beachhead. When the Marines began to advance eastward the next day, supported by two borrowed Sherman tanks, Japanese machine gun nests impeded their advance. However, on Nov. 22, continued American pressure from the north and west pushed most of the remaining Japanese defenders into a small area east of the central airstrip. That night, in desperation, the Japanese consolidated for a banzai-style counterattack against the Marines. The American line wavered, and every last reserve, including cooks and administrative staff, was thrown in but the line held.
Read full article>>
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History-Making Oceanographer and Ret. Navy Captain Dies at 92
16 November 2023
Retired US Navy Capt. Don Walsh, best known for his daring dive to the deepest spot on Earth, nearly 36,000 feet below the ocean’s surface, has died at age 92. Walsh was a co-pilot of the Trieste bathyscaphe, a deep submergence vehicle acquired by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in 1958. Two years later, on January 23, 1960, Walsh and Swiss engineer Jacques Piccard, son of the inventor of the bathyscaphe, became the first humans to descend into the Challenger Deep, located in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench.
“ONR sponsored the Trieste, but it was then-Lt. Don Walsh who made the very daring decision to make the first descent into the deepest spot of the earth’s ocean. Walsh was a Navy officer, a submariner, an adventurer, and an oceanographer. To his family, we extend our deepest condolences and gratitude for allowing him to explore, and share his extraordinary experiences and knowledge with us,” said Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Kurt Rothenhaus.
Years later, Walsh described his dive with Piccard in a 2016 Future Force interview as “a pretty big deal” and a big relief to Adm. Arleigh Burke, who had greenlighted the expedition.
“Because he’d rolled the dice with us, just like ONR rolled the dice with us. He figured …they could probably do it. And we did it. And so he was pretty happy about that,” said Walsh.
Read full article>>
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SECNAV Names Ship After World War II Hero, Medal of Honor Recipient Ernest E. Evans
15 November 2023
Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro announced today that a DDG 51 Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer will be named after World War II hero Ernest E. Evans, the first Native American in the Navy to earn the Medal of Honor and one of only two World War II destroyer captains to attain it.
Secretary Del Toro made the announcement during Native American Heritage month. Additionally, Secretary Del Toro announced that the ship’s sponsor will be US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary.
“Since our nation’s founding, Native Americans, such as Ernest Evans, have volunteered to serve in our armed services. From the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I and II, to Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Native Americans have fought with honor and distinction to preserve our union and defend our ideals of freedom and democracy, even during periods where they were not recognized as citizens of our country,” said Secretary Del Toro.”
“Today, we honor Commander Ernest Evans for his courage and ultimate sacrifice,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “While this nation has not always welcomed them, Native Americans have consistently and honorably served in disproportionately high rates across the Armed Forces to keep us safe at home and abroad. As we honor Commander Evans with this stunning vessel, we also honor the service of Indigenous servicemembers nationwide, past and present. Native American history is American history, and today’s designation ensures that our story continues to be told.”
Read full article>>
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Naval Order of the US Heritage Night – 8 November 2023
Dr. Phillip T. Parkerson, PhD
“The One Ship Fleet: USS Boise - WWII Naval Legend”
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NAVAL HISTORY BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW | |
USS Arizona Thanksgiving Day Dinner Menu 1917 | |
Commander and Mrs. Ellis were guests at the Thanksgiving Dinner at the First Regiment at the US Naval Training Camp, Charleston, South Carolina, ca. 1911–1918, seated at the head table. | |
USS Oklahoma Thanksgiving Dinner Menu 1935 | |
NAVAL HISTORY CALLS FOR PAPERS | |
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Brigadier General James L. Collins Jr. Book Prize in Military History
The US Commission on Military History proudly announces the submission date for all books for consideration for the Brigadier General James L. Collins Book Prize in Military History. The prize entails a $1,000 award to the author, irrespective of nationality, of the best book written in English on any field of military history published during 2022. The Book Prize Committee, comprising USCMH members Dr. Edward J. Marolda, (Chair), Dr. Jeffrey Clarke, and Dr. John Hosler, will review the submitted books and select the winner. Topics in all periods and all aspects of military history (including naval and air warfare) will be considered.
One copy of books for consideration by the Collins Prize Committee must be submitted to each of the following addresses:
Dr. Edward J. Marolda
15570 Golf Club Drive
Montclair, VA 22015
Dr. Jeffrey Clarke
1011 North Van Dorn Street
Alexandria, VA 22304
Dr. John Hosler
Command and General Staff College
Department of Military History
100 Stimson Avenue
Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027
Copies must be postmarked no later than 31 December 2023. Upon notification from the selection committee, the Collins Prize will be presented at the USCMH Annual General Meeting usually held in early November of the following year. For further information contact the Collins Prize Committee Chair at: edwardmarolda@yahoo.com.
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UPCOMING NAVAL & MARITIME HISTORY GATHERINGS | |
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28–29 November: Historic Ships 2023 – National Maritime Museum, London Historic Vessels – Sustainable Futures
7–9 December: 16th International Conference on World War II – National World War II Museum, New Orleans
9–11 January 2024: Surface Navy Association National Symposium
17-18 February 2024: Western Naval History Association Symposium, San Diego, CA.
29 February–1 March 2024: Women’s History Symposium, National World War II Museum, New Orleans
18–21 April 2024: Society For Military History Annual Conference Arlington, VA
24–25 April 2024: Council of American Maritime Museums, Constitution Museum, Boston, MA
20–23 June 2024: Joint NASOH/CNRS Conference, St. Catherines, Ontario
24–28 September 2025: 12th Maritime Heritage Conference, Buffalo, NY
| PREBLE HALL NAVAL HISTORY PODCAST | |
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.
Click here for the latest episode: 210: The Maine Maritime Museum>>
Click here for all Preble Hall Podcasts >>
| DRACHINIFEL YOUTUBE CHANNEL | |
Welcome to Navy History Matters, 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>>
| INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NAVAL HISTORY | |
The International Journal of Naval History (IJNH) provides a preeminent forum for works of naval history, researched and written to demonstrable academic standards, with the goal of stimulating and promoting research into naval history and fostering communication among naval historians at an international level. IJNH welcomes any scholarly historical analysis, focused on any period or geographic region, that explores naval power in its national or cultural context. The journal is independent of any institution and operates under the direction of an international editorial board that represents various genres of naval history.
Click here to read the February 2023 edition and archived issues on the IJNH 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 >>
If you are one of those friends who have considered joining the Society or have wanted to recommend membership to friends, the Society is offering a 60th anniversary membership sale: ten bucks! See:
Anniversary Membership Special Offer.
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