An updated repost in honor of Black History Month.
John Henry Turpin was one of the first Black Chief Petty Officers to serve in the United States Navy. He was also a survivor of two naval disasters — the catastrophic explosions of the USS Maine in 1898, and USS Bennington in 1905. He was one of 12 sailors nominated for the Medal of Honor for their efforts in rescuing their fellow crew members on the Bennington.
Turpin was born in Long Branch, NJ in 1876. He enlisted in the Navy at age 20, as a messman, one of the only positions available to Black sailors at the time.
Almost two years later, on February 15, 1898, Turpin was serving in the mess hall of the USS Maine at anchor in Havana Harbor, Cuba when it mysteriously blew up. He was picked up from the waters of the harbor along with 89 other crew members. They were the only survivors of the explosion out of 350 total crew.
Born a slave, 
The 
The current shipping crisis in the Red Sea, precipitated by Houthi drone and missile attacks, has stopped the final disposal of the decrepit 
Gordon Blackmore was out hunting seabirds early in the morning on 
On Saturday, the world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s
On 
Reports suggest that 
Last Saturday, January 20, a series of massive storm-driven waves struck the island of Roi-Namur in the Marshall Islands causing considerable flooding and damage to the 
Encouraging news! Following a 
In 1986, a massive iceberg, more than three times larger than New York City, calved off West Antarctica’s Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and immediately grounded on the floor of the Weddell Sea, where it remained stuck for almost four decades.
UK Royal Navy minehunter 
A new analysis has concluded that a large, grassy hill in Norway known as the Herlaugshagen burial mound was likely the site of a pre-Viking ship burial. What is fascinating is that the site was excavated three times during the late 18th century and no one found the ship within the mound.