Three hours after nightfall on Sept. 15, 1942, the U.S.S. Wasp, a United States Navy aircraft carrier, slipped beneath the waves 350 miles southeast of Guadalcanal. Hit by two or possibly three torpedoes from a Japanese submarine, the crippled ship was abandoned, then torpedoed by an American destroyer to send it to the bottom, approximately […]

“Washington called. My head of Underwater Archaeology, Bob Neyland, boarded R/V PETREL after I disembarked. PETREL then went out and found HORNET on the first dive, so no drama for Bob. CBS broke the story on HORNET first, even though she had been found after WASP. (IJN Heie. Photo USN via IJN) PETREL would then […]

The struggle for Guadalacanal was deadly and desperate- running gun battles in a narrow strait; Marines ashore, in contact with Imperial Japanese forces struggling over Henderson Field, the major strategic position on the island. RDML Sam Cox, commander of the Naval History and Heritage Command, visited the late Paul Allen’s unique exploration ship R/V Petrel […]

(RDML SAM COX, USN- RET., Director of the Navy History and Heritage Command. He takes a hands-on approach to the missing sailors and ships, worldwide. His account of operations on Iron Bottom Sound, so named for the ships that lie below). “Upon arrival on board PETREL, I got reacquainted with Mr. Robert Kraft, the head […]

What an interesting week- not that they are not all interesting these days. There are subpoenas flying around Capitol Hill, and, OK, so Uncle Joe is a little more touchy-feely than society appears to be comfortable with at the moment. He is a Delaware politician, for goodness sake, and his larger crime appears to be […]

From Sam Cox, Director of the Naval History and Heritage Command: “Upon arrival on board PETREL, I reacquainted with Mr. Robert Kraft, the head of PETREL’s “A.T.U.” Unit (“All Things Underwater,”) Mr. Paul Mayer, senior researcher and jack of many trades, and Ms. Janet Greenlee, their superb public outreach leader. Onboard with me were also […]

(This is the fourth in a series of accounts of the voyage of RV PETREL and RDML Sam Cox in search of the war graves of some valiant Americans. It was tense, violent and unforgiving to take back this small portion of the South Pacific from the invaders. But it marked the turn of the […]

(This is the third part of the account of the search for two lost aircraft carriers from the war against Imperial Japan. These are the words of RDML Sam Cox, USN-Ret., director of the Navy’s History and Heritage Command. I consider his mission no less than sacred. – Vic) I had been invited aboard the […]

This is the second part of the account of the hunt for the Navy ships that still rest on the bottom of Iron Bottom Sound off the island of Guadalcanal. If you wish to experience the unbelievable carnage inflicted by the US and Imperial Japanese Navies on one another, I suggest a read of “Neptune’s […]

So, I am minding my own business down at the farm. The transition to Spring is in progress. The gophers have come out, Cat is patrolling her property and I almost stepped in some deer spoor emptying what I hope is the last batch of ashes from the winter hearth. I am at peace with […]