Crewmen aboard the destroyer USS ARTHUR W. RADFORD (DD-968) participate in the traditional shellback initiation ceremony during Exercise Unitas XXI. The shellback initiation takes place anytime a U.S. Navy ship crosses the equator. By Donn Nemchick There is a long standing maritme tradition to have a ceremony when the ship crosses the
By Bob Smith with Barb Smith In August 1960, The carrier USS Franklin D Roosevelt (CVA-42), pulled into Livorno (“Leghorn”), Italy, one of the largest and main seaports in the Mediterranean Sea. Three liberty launches left the ship for fleet landing. A storm was approaching. The ship began listing heavily. The winds were ferocious.
By Todd DePastino On October 13, 2025, the United States Navy marks its 250th birthday, celebrating the day the Continental Congress first authorized a few modest ships in 1775. To commemorate this milestone, the Veterans Breakfast Club is hosting a special Navy Birthday Conversation with veterans sharing sea stories and reflections on the Navy’s
Petty Officer Donn Nemchick, Naval Communications Station, Guam, 1971. (Donn Nemchick) by Donn Nemchick I completed my U.S. Navy enlistment on board the attack aircraft carrier USS Constellation. After completing our final deployment in the Tonkin Gulf off the coast of North Vietnam, we were finally under way and headed to our home
Written by Todd DePastino Retired Navy Captain Bill Dempsey recently recalled to me a horrific fire on September 24, 1965 at a US Navy signals collection site in Kamiseya, Japan, that killed twelve Americans. I'd not heard of the tragedy, but Bill's story and the 60th anniversary of it prompted me to learn more and
Written by Todd DePastino In a special livestream with the Explorer Vessel Nautilus crew of the Ocean Exploration Trust, we heard about the crew's recent deep-sea discovery of the long-lost bow of the USS New Orleans (CA-32) in the waters of Iron Bottom Sound off Guadalcanal. This remarkable find sheds new light on a dramatic
