My pal Bronco’s lovely wife attended a Wounded Warrior fundraiser the other night. Centerpiece of the decoration was a tattered American flag that has seen the best and the worst of times. Here is the descriptive account of what this tattered but proud fabric has seen: The words made me think of the people that […]

There is a new movie out about the most significant naval engagement of the last century. Perhaps all the centuries. Reviews say the cinematographic treatment is extraordinary, and retired Admiral Sam Cox, Director of the Navy’s History and Heritage Center, was on-scene to nudge the script back to events that actually happened. We had it […]

Things are so loony up here that I felt a little information shocked. Or maybe it was the time change last weekend. This one wiped me out for some reason, so the news from Mexico really made me sit up when I first heard it.. Last week, the authorities rounded up the son of drug […]

(1) 10 September …. Japan Environment Ministry said the only option available to dispose of treated radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant is to release it into the Pacific Ocean …. The government will continue to have careful discussions on the matter …. Tokyo Electric Power Company is considering how to […]

I dunno either. I am glad to be living at Refuge Farm. The big deal down here was the raccoon that got squashed out on the County road, and the convention of turkey buzzards that convened to supervise the disposition of the remains. Actually, (and you know that metaphors come to me with ironic difficulty), […]

Yeah, I will admit that most right-thinking folks are a little bleary today. At least the ones that watched the Astros-Nationals game last night until midnight. I confess I watched every pitch of both games so far, a first for this Major League Season, and I was gratified that no pro-Hong Kong demonstrations erupted. The […]

Today, and forty years ago: 23 January, 1979 Wanchi Cherry Boy It all makes me feel a little sullied this morning, listening to the blather of absurdities we are supposed to believe. I have no idea if we are headed for times as troubling as 1968 was, and while exhilarating at times, mostly it was […]

Gentle Readers, An alert reader noted that Point Loma stood bridge watches on big ships. Most intelligence officers did not stand underway watches, since they are (were?) commissioned as Special Duty- Intelligence officers. That was not true in the Amphib Fleet. The leadership there felt an officer was an officer, and I recall visiting big-deck […]

Editor’s Note: Pt. Loma’s piece on Hong Kong really brought back memories from salty old WESTPAC sailors. The events this week in Hong Kong- ten dead, so far- makes these recollections that much more precious. I personally was skewered for failing to mention famed Jimmy’s Kitchen in Central was snubbed. Not true. Just visited on […]

“In no engagement in its entire history has the United States Navy shown more gallantry, guts and gumption than in the two morning hours between 0730 and 0930 off Samar.” – Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison, “History of U.S. Naval Operations in World War II.” Earlier this year, I suggested to then-CNO Admiral Richardson that […]