I miss hearing it and the National Anthem at the end of the broadcast day.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 - 03:45 am: Edit

Amazing and very emotional Poem.

I can see why lots of institutions and people use it.

Really gets to you.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 - 06:52 am: Edit

The Air Zoo (Kalamazoo Air and Space Museum, Kalamazoo, Michigan) posted a video series on YouTube about a SBD-1 restoration project.

Video of the work being done is shown by volunteers and generally well done.

The facility has a history of restoring World War 2 aircraft salvaged from Lake Michigan, and the current project is an early example of a Dauntless Dive Bomber.

There is a link for “Surplus” aircraft for sale, as well! Just the thing for those people wanting to start their own classic aircraft collection!

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Saturday, March 29, 2025 - 11:38 pm: Edit

The U.S.S. Kidd, DD-661, a World War 2 Fletcher class destroyer, is currently under going over haul, refit. (Apparently the first in many decades, after being turned over to a civilian museum group).

During the refit (detailed in a You Tube channel vlog.) it was discovered that the main deck of the ship had been built with Galvanized Steel deck plating.

This may not surprise those with experience using Galvanized Steel, as the treatment is intended to minimize the effect of oxidation (aka rust.)

The problem, (and it was confirmed by the U.S.S. Sullivans museum ship, another Fletcher Class destroyer museum ship) is back in the day, normal maintenance on navy ships was to chip paint, and repaint on a regular schedule to prevent rust from weakening the ships structure.

That procedure apparently works quite well on the grade of steel normally used in ship construction, but chipping painted galvanized steel damages the coating, and instead of protecting the steel from oxidation and rust, actually led to more damage.

The survey of the U.S.S. Kidd revealed significant damage to the ship s deck, and a subsequent check of the U.S.S. Sullivans, a similar deterioration to that ships deck.

The company working on the U.S.S. Kidd will be replacing the rotted/rusted Galvanized decking instead of patching what was initially thought to be a relatively few holes in the decking.

Repair and restoration of old ships, like old houses, can be exciting when problems are discovered. Hopefully they will be able to complete the project without too many more surprises.

The U.S.S. Kidd was the site of all of the exterior (and some interior) filming on the tom Hanks 2020 movie Greyhound).

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Tuesday, April 01, 2025 - 08:25 am: Edit

And another veteran dies.

Charlottee "Betty" Webb MBE, died yesterday aged 101.

Probably fairly uniquely, she worked at both Bletchley Park in the Code breaking team for 4 years - but she was moved to the Pentagon (and worked on trancsribing broken Japanesse messages) when the War in Europe ended.

Thank your work and may you rest in peace.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 - 08:16 am: Edit

The Canadian Tank Museum, in Ontario, Canada, posted to it’s You Tube channel, an episode (part of a series until complete), of their restoration of a German 8.8 cm mobile Flak gun.

If you are interested in military history, equipment or technology from the various wars that Canada has participated in, this might be worth a look.

By John M. Williams (Jay) on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 - 07:51 pm: Edit

Earlier this month (the videos posted the 19th and 20th; not sure of the dive dates), two more dives were made on the wreck of the Yorktown (CV-5). Video from the dives can be found on YouTube, and the resolution is incredible. In the first video, they went into the hanger and filmed a hand-painted world map that served as an informal "track chart" for the Yorktown's voyages. On a second look, they found some of the track lines from when the Yorktown served in the Atlantic. The second dive found the remains of several aircraft in the hanger, including one inverted dive bomber that still had a bomb attached. Truly remarkable images.

The YouTube channel is Okeanos Redux.

By Mike Erickson (Mike_Erickson) on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 - 10:26 pm: Edit

To my tired old eyes, the videos do indeed seem quite clear. The water is so clear and still, many of the shots don't even seem like they are underwater.

Bear in mind that each video is 10 hours long. So, either skip ahead to sections that seem interesting, break it up into multiple viewing sessions, or prepare adequate living room provisions for a full viewing experience!

--Mike

By John M. Williams (Jay) on Tuesday, April 22, 2025 - 10:36 pm: Edit

Each video is ten hours long, but over two hours on each end are the ascent and descent. They only had about six hours on the wreck for each dive. Though "only" six hours will still require a big bowl of popcorn.

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 - 07:53 am: Edit

Are they on exotic gases?

By John M. Williams (Jay) on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 - 09:23 am: Edit

No, using what I'm sure was a VERY expensive ROV. The difference in resolution in this footage compared to the 2023 dive's footage was incredible.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Friday, April 25, 2025 - 10:02 am: Edit

The gun that fired the first shell of Americas participation in World War 2, is potentially going to be moved from the State Capital, St. Paul, Minnesota, to Little Falls, Minnesota.

On December 7, 1941, the U.S.S. Ward, a 4 stack ww1 era Destroyer, detected and fired on a submarine in a restricted zone near the harbor entrance of Pearl Harbor.

I cant explain why the monument and Gun are being moved without detailing the politics.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Friday, April 25, 2025 - 10:19 am: Edit

Relocation of the gun has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with the new Minnesota Military & Veterans Museum that is planned to open next year; the gun will feature prominently at the museum.

By MarkSHoyle (Bolo) on Friday, April 25, 2025 - 12:27 pm: Edit

The gun that fired the first shell of Americas participation in World War 2,

No reason to believe the shells were kept, though weren't there shells fired in the Atlantic against U-Boats a year or so earlier....

By John M. Williams (Jay) on Friday, April 25, 2025 - 01:18 pm: Edit

The USS Reuben James (DD-245) was sunk by a U-boat October 31, 1941.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Friday, April 25, 2025 - 08:01 pm: Edit

John M. Williams, the attack on the USS Rueben James did not cause the U.S. to declare war.

Germany, at the time, did not declare war on the United States.

That, had to wait until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Friday, April 25, 2025 - 08:11 pm: Edit

Again, I can’t discuss moving the War Memorial without discussing politics.

I don’t know about the local politics of Missouri, but the relocation of the war memorial has been a huge issue for decades. Not as big an issue as Civil War Generals statues, but veterans are a large demographic in the Minnesota community.

There is a minority that has been trying to link the memorial to the gun control debate. Never mind no one In Minnesota actually uses a four inch diameter dual purpose naval rifled gun in the execution of crimes…. But there are people so…. Well guess I better stop there.

Point is, its not a rational argument.

By John M. Williams (Jay) on Friday, May 02, 2025 - 11:25 am: Edit

The NYTimes is reporting that Julia Parsons, a U.S. Navy codebreaker during WW2, has died at age 104. She worked on a team that decoded Enigma messages to and from U-Boats.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Tuesday, May 06, 2025 - 12:01 pm: Edit

Well, a tad disappointed in the UK's 80th VE Day Celebrations (although some of the stuff is spread over 4 days).

We had a Bank Holiday yesterday - and as the 8th is a Normal working day - every area could have done something to celebrate it - but other than some 'Bunting' and afew flags - nothing in the area I live in seems to have been done.

The few 'today' (aged 97+) will be even fewer in 5 years time.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Saturday, May 10, 2025 - 07:06 pm: Edit

Couple of news items posted this week:
final ceremony on board the former U.S.S. Enterprise, CVN-65 was held. The last working elevator (#4) nearest the stern of the ship has been welded into position.

The ceremony was for the benefit of the public and still living plank owners, and was apparently held in Norfolk Naval base (near Newport news, VA. Which is where the ship had been constructed).

The ship is to be towed to a ship inactivation facility for removal of her eight nuclear reactors, prior to dismantling and scrapping.

In passing, it should be mentioned that the original materials that had been installed into CVN-65 during construction, from U.S.S. Enterprise, CV-6, has already been removed and has been integrated into the current U.S.S. Enterprise, CVN-80, As well as certain components from CVN-65, steel, port holes etc.

Gentlemen and ladies, We are witnessing the passing of a torch, metaphorically.

U.S.S. Enterprise.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, May 12, 2025 - 10:34 pm: Edit

I just read a fascinating book: FEEDING LEE'S ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, which is the history of Confederate food. Lots of information on what they ate and how they got it and why they couldn't get enough. Lee lost Sharpsburg/Antietam because too much of his Army had fallen out of the march to the battle due to a lack of food. US yankees made it a point to force our way into Tennessee and take it away from the Confederacy because it denied the south half of its pork supply and a third of its corn.

I can remember when I read GUNS OF THE SOUTH and discussed it with professional military officers. Their answer to the book was "Lee doesn't need AK47s. Send him enough MREs and he'll win the war on his own."

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, May 12, 2025 - 10:37 pm: Edit

Paul: Well said. Think about it, the last veterans of the Crimean War, the US Civil War, the Zulu War, and the Great European War (WWI) all died during our lifetimes.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - 02:33 am: Edit

85th Anniversary of Dunkirk and the 'Small Boat Flotilla'.

45,000 men was expected to be evacuated from the beaches and someone around 340,000 (including alot of French) was rescued.

If you had a small boat 30 feet or bigger - your help was requested - and perhaps the youngest child who helped on a boat was 14!

Which would make the youngest civlian veteran 99.

We thank you all for your sacrifice and hopefully some will still be alive for the 90th Anniversary.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - 12:22 pm: Edit

Navy Secretary John Phelan’s D.C. Kalorama home damaged in
Washington — The home of U.S. Navy Secretary John Phelan in Washington, D.C., was damaged in a fire on Monday, according to multiple U.S. officials.

The house, purchased last month for about $8.6 million, was being renovated and was unoccupied when the fire began, sources told CBS News.

The home, a three-story English manor-style mansion in the 2400 block of Kalorama Road, caught fire twice in 24 hours. Officials said the fire, initially limited to one floor, had been extinguished just after 10 p.m., but was on fire again early Tuesday, WUSA reported. Flames swept through all three floors out the roof.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - 12:23 pm: Edit

Where is Gibbs, when you need him.