On October 1, the US Naval Institute tweeted this story of Seaman Apprentice John Urtchok who, in 1943, was swept off the deck of his destroyer. He flailed in rough seas for 40 minutes before another huge wave lifted him onto the deck of a different destroyer. Where did this story originate? It's a
The little-known SS Mayaguez Incident of 1975 was the last act of the Vietnam War. Coming two weeks after the Fall of Saigon, the armed conflict between the US military and Cambodian Khmer Rouge naval forces resulted in the last US casualties of the war. The names of these 41 casualties appear at the very
October 22, 1962 started out like a normal day aboard the USS Canberra (CAG-2), an old heavy cruiser in port at Norfolk. But then word came from President John F. Kennedy himself that we were to head south toward Cuba to blockade the island. It was the culmination of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a
Efforts are underway to fly Great Britain's only Douglas C-54 Skymaster to Germany in 2024 for the 75th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift. The Skymaster, serial number 56498, flew in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War before being struck from the list of military aircraft in 1972. Now, the British
Aboard the USS Missouri 77 years ago, Admiral “Bull” Halsey’s Fleet “Aerologist" (Navy-speak for meteorologist) borrowed a camera and shot the only color footage of the Japanese Surrender in Tokyo Bay. On September 2, 1945, Commander George F. Kosco borrowed a camera from Chief Petty Officer (and Hollywood actor) Leif Erickson. Then, he took a
Written by Dave Lozier Last year, in our fall 2021 issue of VBC Magazine, we ran a story on the Navy’s phase-out of the venerable Navy peacoat in favor of the “Black Cold Weather Parka.” We received many responses, including this moving story from Army veteran Dave Lozier. Sailors with the
