Naval history

USS Indianapolis

January 14, 2019 By PNR Leave a Comment

NAVY HISTORY!

Trivia: Do you know who Captain Charles Butler McVay, III is?!

ANSWER: Charles McVay was the captain of the USS Indianapolis, which was torpedoed and sunk between Guam to Leyte Island on 30 July 1945 by a Japanese submarine.

They’d “just delivered the bomb, the Hiroshima Bomb.” Of the 880 men who went into the water, only 321 were rescued. The sharks took the rest during a period of four days, mostly scavenging corpses.

The American public was infuriated to hear of the Navy’s apparent abandonment of the crew and demanded answers.

The Navy was quick to place the blame on Capt. McVay, who, as skipper, was most directly responsible for his men. He stated to his officers that he hoped the sharks would get him while floating in the water.

During the investigation, he was reprimanded primarily for failing to zig zag properly to make his ship more difficult for a submarine to hit.

The Japanese submarine commander, Mochitsura Hasimoto, testified in Capt. McVay’s defense, stating that he would easily have been able to hit the ship whether it was zig zaging or not.

The Navy also claimed that no SOS messages were received, which was not the case. Three were received at separate stations, and none were acted upon.

The mission to deliver the atomic bomb components was so top-secret that almost no one on board, including Capt. McVay, had any idea of its existence, but the ship’s path, arrival, and departure were known on official maps.

The Navy was supposed to announce the arrival, or missed arrival, of the ship at Leyte, and never did so. The crew adrift in the open sea was only discovered by chance when a PV-1 Ventura flew over on routine patrol.

Capt. McVay was court-martialed and stripped of his rank, but Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz reinstated him when the public’s outcry in his defense became hard to ignore.

Capt. McVay did, however, receive hate mail and death threats for the rest of his life from family and friends of the Sailors that died.

This was also the start of the MOVEREPS (Movement Reports) which were to track ships movements.

Capt. McVay committed suicide in 1968.

Lesssons in Leadership

January 4, 2019 By PNR Leave a Comment

TEN LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP!

1. BE CAUTIOUS OF LABELS:

Labels you place on people may define your relationship to them and bound their potential.

2. EVERYONE DESERVES RESPECT:

We often wrongly treat others with less respect than they deserve. Everyone we have contact with deserves respect.

3. COURTESY MAKES A DIFFERENCE:

Be courteous to all around you, regardless of their status in life. Also common courtesies among Sailors and co-workers, help bond a team. When our daily words from perfunctory “hellos” to heartfelt greetings to someone will make a difference.

4. TAKE TIME TO KNOW YOUR PEOPLE:

Life and work can be hectic, but that’s no excuse for not knowing the people that work for you or you work for and with.

5. ANYONE CAN BE A HERO:

Anyone Can Be a Hero. Don’t sell your people short, for any one of them may be the hero who rises to the occasion when duty calls. On the other hand, it’s easy to turn to your proven performers when the chips are down, but don’t ignore the rest of the team. Today’s rookie could and should be tomorrow’s superstar.

6. LEADERS SHOULD BE HUMBLE:

Most modern day heroes and some leaders are anything but humble, especially if you calibrate your “hero meter” on today’s athletic fields. End zone celebrations and self-aggrandizement are what we’ve come to expect from sports greats. Leaders should always be humble.

7. LIFE WONT ALWAYS HAND YOU WHAT YOU THINK YOU DESERVE:

We work hard and, dang it, we deserve recognition, right? However, sometimes you just have to persevere, even when accolades don’t come our way. We do what we do not for the recognition but because it’s the right thing to do and it’s our job. Don’t pursue glory; pursue excellence.

8. NO JOB IS BENEATH A LEADER:

A leader can do any job with a smile and dignity. No job is beneath a leader, they will excel in anything they do.

9. PURSUE EXCELLENCE:

No matter what task life hands you, do it well. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “If life makes you a street sweeper, be the best street sweeper you can be.”

10. LIFE IS A LEADERSHIP LABORATORY:

All too often we look to some school or some class to teach us about leadership when, in fact, life is a leadership laboratory. Those you meet everyday will teach you enduring lessons if you just take time to stop, look and listen. You come in contact with people everyday, learn leadership skills from everyone you meet. Don’t miss your opportunity to learn.

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Hand Salute

January 4, 2019 By PNR Leave a Comment

Hand Salute

Trivia: What is the history of the “hand salute”?!

ANSWER: The hand salute is believed to have began in the days of chivalry when it was customary for knights dressed in armor to raise their visors to friends for the purpose of identification.

By 1700 grenadiers were wearing tall, conical hats held in place with secure chinstraps that were difficult to raise in greeting.

The men began to merely touch their hats as if intending to raise them.

Soon other soldiers adopted the shako, busby or bearskin, all of which were held in place by a chinstrap. They, too, stopped raising the hat and instead merely touched
its brim.

This action was formalized as the salute in European armies by about 1780,

The US Navy adopted the hand salute from the Royal British Navy.

There is general agreement that the salute as now rendered is really the first part of the movement of uncovering. From the earliest days of military units, the junior uncovered when meeting or addressing a senior.

The US Navy hand salute is slightly different than the Royal British Navy so some believe the US Navy salute, with the palm downwards evolved because the palms of Naval ratings, particularly deckhands, were often dirty through working with lines and was deemed insulting to present a dirty palm to an officer; so the palm was turned downwards.

PICTURE: The picture is of Retired Chief Petty Officer William Brown during the presentation of colors on board Naval Station Everett, WA.,in 2004.

Chief Brown was attending the Pearl Harbor Survivors Ceremony. Chief Brown is a Pearl Harbor survivor.

PITCH AND RUDDER SERVICES

DID YOU KNOW…that two Navy legends fought a duel with Marines?!

December 27, 2018 By PNR Leave a Comment

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AMERICAN HISTORY!

SOMETHING YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW!

DID YOU KNOW…that two Navy legends fought a duel with Marines?!

In 1818, two of the Navy’s most famous names, Oliver Hazard Perry and Stephen Decatur, were involved, one as a participant and the other as his second, in a duel that was the culmination of a two year long dispute about Navy discipline and the limits of a commander’s powers.

It was an era when dueling was all too common.

In the late summer of 1816, the USS Java, which Captain Perry commanded, was stopped at Messina, Sicily, when Captain Perry became displeased with what he considered the unsatisfactory appearance and attitude of the ship’s Marines.

Captain John Heath, the Marine commander, added to the problem by responding at least in Captain Perry’s opinion, with what Captain Perry later called, “marked insolence.”

The incident escalated to the point that the two men had words.

Captain Perry allegedly shouted that Captain Heath was a “damned rascal and scoundrel” and had “not acted as a gentleman.”

Captain Perry then summoned 2Lt. Parke G. Howle, the Marine detachment’s second in command, and relieved Captain Heath. In a rash and thoughtless act, Captain Perry, who was known for is short and violent temper, then slapped Captain Heath.

2Lt. Howle stepped between the men and no further blows were exchanged but the damage had been done.

According to a Midshipman Mackenzie, who was aboard the USS Java at the time, the following day was a gloomy one on board the USS Java.

The officers and crew had the most respect for their Commanding Officer, Captain Perry.

Captain Perry realized he had acted in anger, had a fellow officer write to Captain Heath saying that Captain Perry regretted what had happened and was in “readiness to make an honorable and personal apology.”

It was, however, not enough for Captain Heath or the other Marine officer on the USS Java, who thought Captain Perry’s actions had insulted the entire Marine Corps.

On 31 December 1816, a court-martial was convened to hear the charges that had been placed against Captain Heath, namely disrespectful and insolent conduct towards a superior officer, neglect of duty, and disobeying orders, which involved what Captain Perry considered an unacceptable delay in going after deserting Marines.

Captain Heath was found guilty of all but the last charge and was sentenced to receive a verbal reprimand from the Commodore of the squadron.

Captain Perry was also found by the court to have himself used “disrespectful language” toward a fellow officer and to have slapped him.

The incident became a major controversy in the Navy, that made the front page newspaper stories, and even ignited calls that were ignored for a Congressional investigation.

In the summer of 1817, Captain Heath, who had then been dismissed from the service, published a pamphlet about the incident in which he referred to Captain Perry, among other things, as “the slave of the most violent and vindictive passions” who could “descend to acts of revenge and cruelty.”

Captain Perry was also, Captain Heath wrote, filled with “the most consummate arrogance” and “a spirit of the rankest malevolence.”

A duel between the men became inevitable.

As preparations for the meeting began, Captain Perry, who had always opposed dueling, wrote to Commodore Decatur saying that he would meet Captain Heath and stand in the duel, but he would not fire.

He also asked Commodore Decatur to serve as his second, and Commodore Decatur traveled to New York to oblige.

The two men finally met near Hoboken, New Jersey in October 1818, more than two years after the original incident.

Captain Heath and Captain Perry stood back to back, marched five paces each, and wheeled. Captain Heath fired missing Captain Perry who, true to his word, handed his unfired pistol to Commodore Decatur.

Commodore Decatur then approached Captain Heath, told him that Captain Perry had all along intended not to fire and asked if Captain Heath’s honor was not satisfied. Captain Heath said it was.

It was over.