Prior to the American Revolution, the colonies had no naval forces, but did have a large maritime population and many merchant vessels employed in domestic and foreign trade. That merchant service was familiar not only with the sea but also with warfare. On Oct. 13, 1775, the Continental Congress authorized the first Navy. On Dec.…
Tag: SOT
Features, December 2021
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
Ross Dunfee It was still dark at 03:42 on Dec. 7, 1941, when the minesweeper USS Condor AMc-14 saw a two-man Japanese submarine two miles from the mouth of Pearl Harbor. The USS Ward APD-16, which located and destroyed the submarine at 06:45, was herself sunk later that day by a Kamikaze. With that, the attack…
Features, October 2021
U.S. Military History: Some U.S. Marine Corps History
Ross Dunfee What is a Marine? A sailor? A soldier? Or an infantry or amphibious assault member? They are all—soldiers serving on ships ready for land action. Their history, etched in antiquity, has records in ancient Greece and Rome. In the 17th century, the English, in its wars with the Dutch, referred to Marine units as naval infantry. In 1739,…
Features, September 2021
U.S. Military History: U.S. Army—Flag, Song, Motto, and Oath
Ross Dunfee Flag—The Army Seal was used originally during the American Revolution to authenticate documents. It displayed the designation “War Office,” which was synonymous with Headquarters of the Army, and the Roman year MDCCLXXVIII (1778), the first time it was used. It remained unchanged until 1947, when the War Office banner was replaced with “Department…
Features, July 2021
U.S. Military History: Independence Day
Ross Dunfee The first successful English colony settled in America was at Jamestown, Va., in 1607—and the migration was on—primarily of British, German, and Dutch extraction, but immigrants arrived from throughout Europe. Communities were settled and financed primarily by privately-organized British settlers or families using free enterprise without any significant English royal or Parliamentary government support or…
Features, May 2021
Memorial Day
Ross Dunfee The killing was over. The four-year long Civil War officially ended at Appomattox, Va. April 9, 1865. There was a large division between the northern states (largely industrial) and the southern states (largely agrarian) over slavery, states’ rights, and westward expansion. The election of Lincoln was the last straw, and by one month…
Features, April 2021
U.S. Military History: Armed Forces Day
Ross Dunfee Armed Forces Day is celebrated May 15 this year, but with Memorial Day also in May, this Armed Forces Day article is printed in April to avoid printing two articles in May. Clip and save. Each of the branches of Military Service (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard) has a day…
Features, March 2021
U.S. Military History: Vietnam Veterans Day
Ross Dunfee When did the Vietnam War begin? France maintained colonial rule of Vietnam from 1864 until the Geneva Accords of 1954. During that time, multiple wars occurred in the area (including Cambodia and Laos). The Geneva Accords divided Vietnam into north (Communist rule) and south (the Republic of Vietnam), and that enticed the U.S. into…
Features, February 2021
Presidents Day
Ross Dunfee While Presidents Day is a federal holiday, celebrated on the third Monday of February, it is not really a national holiday. Splitting hairs? In 1968, Congress passed the Monday Holiday Act for observance of Washington’s birthday, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day to be celebrated on a Monday, but the actual dates for the…
Clubs & Classes, December 2020
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
Ross Dunfee Japan became an aggressor nation near the turn of the 20th century by attacking and winning two wars with China (1894-95 and the Russo-Japanese War 1904-05). Its successful participation in World War I (1914-18) and other military successes helped to fuel its aggressive ambitions. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Japan invaded…