A Sailor's History of the U.S. Navy (2 page)

Although this is a proud celebration of the greatness of our Navy and how it came to be great, it is not intended to be a whitewash. You will see some mistakes made; after all, our predecessors were human beings like us. There are defeats as well as victories, and you will see ships and aircraft and their crews lost. But despite the setbacks and the sacrifices, you will see a Navy that moves ever forward: avenging, learning, correcting, and growing stronger and smarter as tragedy is turned into triumph. This is a story that has no happy ending simply because it is far from ended. But a story emerges that has a happy
middle,
a story that is still being written as each day dawns.

If you are a Sailor reading this
heritage
book, never forget that you are one of the main characters of this ongoing story. Unlike the high school or college student who can merely
read
history, you are
writing
history every day that you serve in the U.S. Navy. The more you know about the Sailors who served before you, the better prepared you will be to do your job, and do it well. It is your turn to follow in the wakes of those who went before you, to lead the way for others who will follow you, and to make your contributions to the Navy's ongoing legacy of honor, courage, and commitment.

Don't forget to look in the mirror—you just might like what you see.

Authors who claim to have written a book all by themselves are either extraordinary or liars. This work is the product of a great many impressive and important people who generously took time out of their busy lives to help me create this book. Together, they served as a board of advisors who helped me locate information, provided creative advice, and vetted my chapters as I wrote them. I am tempted to describe what each one did to contribute, but this book would be many pages longer if I did. Suffice it to say that each played a vital role, and all have my everlasting gratitude.

Lieutenant Commander Richard R. Burgess, USN (Ret.)—Managing editor of the U.S. Navy League's
Sea Power
magazine.

Commander Anthony Cowden, USNR—Mobilized following the attacks of 11 September 2001 and served for two years as liaison officer to the Joint Staff and battle watch captain in the Navy Operations Center in the Pentagon.

Dr. Michael Crawford—Head of the Early History branch of the Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C.

Captain Todd Creekman, USN (Ret.)—Executive director of the Naval Historical Foundation in Washington, D.C.

Deborah W. Cutler—Author, editor, critic, creative consultant, and loving wife.

Lieutenant Commander Youssef H. Aboul-Enein, MSC, USN—Author and director for North Africa and Egypt, and special advisor on Islamic militant ideology, for the Office of the Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.

Vice Admiral Robert F. Dunn, USN (Ret.)—President of the Naval Historical Foundation in Washington, D.C.

Journalist First Class Mark Faram, USNR—Military correspondent for
Navy Times
newspaper.

Dr. Alan B. Flanders—Naval historian at the Navy's Center of Naval Leadership in Norfolk, Virginia.

Colonel Charles Gentile, AUS (Ret.)—A former Army counterintelligence officer and staff assistant and tutor at the Schuler School of Fine Arts in Baltimore, Maryland.

Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Mark T. Hacala, USNR—Director, Education Institute Foundation at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Hagan, USN (Ret.)—Master chief petty officer of the Navy (1992-98) and coauthor of the
Chief Petty Officer's Guide
; currently the human systems integration lead for the Navy's destroyer concept (DDX) program.

Dr. John B. Hattendorf—Ernest J. King Professor of Maritime History and chairman of the Maritime History Department at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Command Master Chief Delta Hinson, USN—Command master chief USS
Wasp
and former member of the U.S. Naval Institute's editorial board.

Vice Admiral Al Konetzni, USN (Ret.)—Chairman of the U.S. Naval Institute's board of control.

J. F. (Jack) Leahy—Executive director of the Naval Writers' Group and author of
Honor, Courage, Commitment: Navy Boot Camp; Ask the Chief: Backbone of the Navy
; and coauthor of the
Chief Petty Officer's Guide.

Dr. Edward J. Marolda—Senior historian at the Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C.

Rear Admiral Larry Marsh, USN (Ret.)—Vice president of the Olmstead Foundation in Alexandria, Virginia.

Force Master Chief Michael McCalip, USN—Force master chief at the Naval Education and Training Command.

Chief of Naval Operations Directed Command Master Chief Sean McGurk, USN—Executive assistant to the master chief petty officer of the Navy in Washington, D.C.

Chief Journalist Lisa Mikoliczyk, USN—Special assistant to the master chief petty officer of the Navy in Washington, D.C.

Vice Admiral Jerry Miller, USN (Ret.)—Author who has served the Navy as commander of fourteen sea commands, including special task forces and the U.S. Second and Sixth Fleets.

Chief of Naval Operations Directed Command Master Chief Bernard Quibilan, USN—Command master chief at the U.S. Naval Academy.

John C. Reilly Jr.—Ambassador J. William Middendorf Naval History Research Chair at the Naval Historical Foundation in Washington, D.C.

Rear Admiral Ann E. Rondeau, USN—Commander, Naval Service Training Command.

Captain David Alan Rosenberg, USN—Chairman of the secretary of the Navy's subcommittee on naval history and former head of the Navy's Task Force History project.

Vice Admiral James Stavridis, USN—Senior military assistant to the secretary of defense.

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry Scott, USN—Master chief petty officer of the Navy, 2002 to present.

Commander Paul Stillwell, USNR (Ret.)—Director of the history division at the U.S. Naval Institute.

Captain Peter M. Swartz, USN (Ret.)—Author and commentator on naval affairs at the Center for Strategic Studies at the CNA Corporation (formerly Center for Naval Analysis).

Dr. Craig L. Symonds—Professor and former chairman of the U.S. Naval Academy's history department.

Chief Hospital Corpsman Anna Wood, USN—Special assistant to commander of Naval Service Training Command.

A few final words of acknowledgment are in order. This book would not have been possible without the trust and encouragement of Ron Chambers, former Naval Institute Press Director. Nor would it have been possible without the tireless efforts of an extraordinary team that expended a great deal of midnight oil to produce it in less than half the time it normally takes. In the long-standing tradition of the Naval Institute, each has served the Navy well, and I am deeply indebted to them all: Susan Artigiani, Patti Bower, Jim Bricker, Donna Doyle, Karen Eskew, Mark Gatlin, Tom Harnish, Linda O'Doughda, Fred Rainbow, Dewitt Roseborough, Sara Sprinkle, Faith Stewart, Mary Svikhart, Jennifer Till, Eddie Vance, Tom Wilkerson, and Jon Youngdahl.

The U.S. Naval Institute is a private, nonprofit, membership society for sea service professionals and others who share an interest in naval and maritime affairs. Established in 1873 at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where its offices remain today, the Institute has members worldwide. Membership includes the influential monthly magazine
Proceedings
and discounts on books, photos, and subscriptions to the Institute's bimonthly magazine
Naval History
, as well as reduced admission fees to Institute-sponsored seminars. The Naval Institute Press publishes about seventy new books a year, ranging from navigation guides and ship references to biographies and fiction. Nearly nine hundred titles are currently available online and at bookstores. For further information, please visit our Web site,
www.usni.org
.

The Naval History & Heritage Command (NHHC), located in the Washington Navy Yard not far from the U.S. Capitol, holds the keys to the history and heritage of the U.S. Navy from its creation in 1775 to the present. With good reason, NHHC has been called “the Navy's Smithsonian Institution.” The Navy Department Library, Navy Art, and United States Navy Museum branches maintain thousands of books, artifacts, photographs, and paintings, and the Operational Archive holds the Navy's most important records from 1945 to the present. In support of the operating forces and their global mission, NHHC's civilian staff historians, curators, and artists deploy with uniformed members of Naval Reserve Combat Documentation Detachment 206 to capture the vital history of the U.S. Navy in the twenty-first century. For further information, please visit the Naval History & Heritage Command Web site at
www.history.navy.mil
.

The U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1977 by naval, civic, and national leaders to perpetuate and honor the best that the Navy represents—its heritage, values, and traditions. The Foundation honors the legacy of those who have served, are serving, and will serve our nation at sea—in the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine—by preserving their history and educating the public about their bravery, sacrifices, and triumphs in keeping our nation free. The Foundation also seeks to inspire the nation's youth to follow in the footsteps of these American heroes. Through its commemorative ceremonies, education programs, and visitor facilities, the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation passes on the values and traits of honor, courage, and commitment that have been the hallmark of the sea services for more than two centuries. For further information, please visit the Navy Memorial Web site at
www.lonesailor.org
.

Thomas J. Cutler is a retired lieutenant commander and former gunner's mate second class who served in patrol craft, cruisers, destroyers, and aircraft carriers. His varied assignments included an in-country Vietnam tour, small craft command, and nine years at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he served as executive assistant to the chairman of the Seamanship & Navigation Department and associate chairman of the History Department. While at the Academy, he was awarded the William P. Clements Award for Excellence in Education (military teacher of the year). He is the founder and former director of the Walbrook Maritime Academy in Baltimore. Currently he is a professor of Strategy and Policy with the Naval War College and senior acquisitions editor for the Naval Institute Press.

Winner of the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Naval Literature, his published works include
Brown Water, Black Berets: Coastal & Riverine Warfare in Vietnam
(Naval Institute Press, 1988) and
The Battle of Leyte Gulf
(HarperCollins, 1994). His books have been published in various forms, including paperback and audio, and have appeared as main and alternate selections of the History Book Club, Military Book Club, and Book of the Month Club. He is the author of the 22nd and 23rd (centennial) editions of
The Bluejacket's Manual.
His other works include revisions of Jack Sweetman's
The Illustrated History of the U.S. Naval Academy
and
Dutton's Nautical Navigation.

Cutler has served as a panelist, commentator, and keynote speaker on military and writing topics at many events and for various organizations, including the Naval Historical Center, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation, U.S. Naval Academy, MacArthur Memorial Foundation, Johns Hopkins University, U.S. Naval Institute, Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, Naval War College, Civitan, and many veterans organizations. His television appearances include the History Channel's
Biography
series, A&E's
Our Century
, Fox News Channel's
The O'Reilly Factor,
and CBS's
48 Hours.