USS Oklahoma Sailor John Auld Who Died in Pearl Harbor Attack Finally Buried in Albuquerque

Posted on by December 11, 2024

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced on Thursday that US Navy Seaman 2nd Class John C. Auld, 23, of Newcastle, England, killed on the USS Oklahoma, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor of 1941 has been identified.  He was buried last Friday, with full military honors in Fairview Memorial Park, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

DPAA accounted for his remains on Oct. 15, 2018, but was only recently made aware of Auld’s family receiving their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification were shared.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Auld was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Auld.  Only 32 crewmembers from the Oklahoma survived.

Continue reading →

One Year After Pearl Harbor, the Sleeping Giant Awakes

Posted on by December 8, 2024

Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor  reportedly wrote in his diary, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” Whether or not the Admiral actually penned those words is subject to debate, however, there is no doubt that the attack did awaken a sleeping giant — the industrial might of the United States.

On December 7, 1942, exactly one year after the attack on Pearl Harbor, American shipyards launched 25 ships, 15 for the US Navy, including the Essex Class aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill and the 45,000-ton battleship USS New Jersey. The British Movietone newsreel below described the launchings on Pearl Harbor Day in 1942 as “only a fraction of Roosevelt’s mathematical certainty of the fate in store for Japan.”

Launching Of Aircraft Carrier Bunker Hill and Battleship New Jersey

Continue reading →

Radio Broadcasts Reporting Attack on Pearl Harbor 83 Years Ago Today

Posted on by December 6, 2024

An interrupted broadcast of a football game, a newsbreak during a performance by the New York Philharmonic, a weather report followed by an announcement from President Roosevelt that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor. Reports of attacks on the Philippines. Here is a compilation of news reports from Sunday, December 7th, 1941, eighty-three years ago today.

Pearl Harbor Attacks – As It Happened – Radio Broadcasts

Remembering the Halifax Explosion of 1917 & the Boston Christmas Tree

Posted on by December 6, 2024

One hundred and seven years ago today, on the morning of December 6, 1917, the French freighter SS Mont-Blanc and the SS Imo, a Norwegian ship chartered to carry relief supplies to Belgium, collided in the Narrows, a strait connecting the upper Halifax Harbour to Bedford Basin. The collision at first seemed minor, the two ships hitting at only about a knot.

Nevertheless, a fire broke out aboard the Mont-Blanc, which was loaded with munitions and high explosives. The fire burned out of control and ignited the cargo, causing the largest man-made explosion the world had ever seen before the nuclear age.  Roughly 2,000 died and 9,000 were injured. Many thousands more were made homeless. Large sections of Halifax, Nova Scotia were leveled.  A tsunami created by the blast wiped out the community of Mi’kmaq First Nations people who had lived in Tuft’s Cove, on the harbor’s eastern shore.

Continue reading →

Update: Wisdom, the World’s Oldest Wild Bird, Lays a New Egg at 74

Posted on by December 5, 2024

Wisdom (left)

In March 2021, we posted about a Laysan albatross nicknamed Wisdom who, at the age of 70, had hatched a new chick. Wisdom is the oldest confirmed wild bird and the oldest banded bird in the world, having been first identified and banded on Midway Atoll in 1956 at about the age of five. 

Now at 74, Wisdom is still hale and hearty, returning each fall to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, having outlived most of her mates, and raised an estimated 30-40 chicks. Members of the species usually only live for 12-40 years.

Biologists report that the world’s oldest wild bird has laid another egg. She was recently filmed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) with her latest partner looking after the egg.

Continue reading →

Swedish Sailor Lost Overboard in ARC Ralley 2024

Posted on by December 4, 2024

Yesterday, the World Cruising Club (WCC) released a statement regarding a Swedish sailor lost overboard in the mid-Atlantic from the Volvo 70 racing yacht Ocean Breeze on Monday while sailing with the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC).

“It is with great sadness that World Cruising Club confirms that a 33-year-old sailor was lost overboard from yacht Ocean Breeze on Monday 2 December at 02:27 UTC. Next of kin have been informed and the other 14 crew onboard the yacht are safe.

“The search was coordinated by Marine Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) Norfolk USA and involved Ocean Breeze, ARC yacht Leaps & Bounds 2 and motor vessel Project X. Air cover was not possible due to the distance of the incident from land.

Continue reading →

Northwest Pacific Orcas Wearing Dead Salmon Hats, Again

Posted on by December 2, 2024

Here is yet another story to remind us how little we understand about orcas, also known as killer whales. We are still scratching our heads over why Iberian orcas attack sailboats near Gibraltar or why orcas off South Africa attack and kill sharks, including great whites, and eat only their livers.

Now, it appears that orcas on the Northwest Pacific coast of North America have started wearing salmon hats again, bringing back a bizarre trend first described in the 1980s.

Live Science reports that scientists and whale watchers last month photographed a 32-year-old male orca known as J27 Blackberry in South Puget Sound and off Point No Point in Washington State swimming with dead fish on his head.
 
Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Repost — Whaling Ships, Sarah Josepha Hale, Mary’s Lamb & a Liberty Ship

Posted on by November 28, 2024

Happy Thanksgiving to those on this side of the pond and below the 49th parallel. (The Canadians celebrated the holiday in October.)

What do whaling ships, a child’s nursery rhyme, a female magazine editor, and Abraham Lincoln have to do with Thanksgiving? An updated repost.

Until the Civil War, Thanksgiving was a sporadically celebrated regional holiday.  Today, Thanksgiving is one of the central creation myths of the founding of the United States, although not universally admired. The story is based on an account of a one-time feast of thanksgiving in the Plymouth colony of Massachusetts during a period of atypically good relations with local tribes. 

The actual history of what happened in 1621 bears little resemblance to what most Americans are taught in grade school, historians say. There was likely no turkey served. There were no feathered headdresses worn. And, initially, there was no effort by the Pilgrims to invite the local Native American tribe to the feast they’d made possible.

Thanksgiving only became a national holiday in 1863.  Before the celebration spread across the country, Thanksgiving was most popular in New England. On 19th-century American whaling ships, which sailed from New England ports, they celebrated only the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Of the three holidays, Thanksgiving may have been the most popular. On Norfolk Island in the Pacific, they also celebrate Thanksgiving, the holiday brought to the island by visiting American whaling ships.

Continue reading →

Update: Egyptian Dive Boat Sinking — 5 Survivors Rescued After 30 Hours Trapped in Air Pocket

Posted on by November 27, 2024

After the Egyptian liveaboard dive boat, Sea Story, capsized and sank in heavy weather in the Red Sea early Monday morning, 28 of the 44 passengers and crew were rescued. On Tuesday, divers rescued five additional survivors trapped in air pockets for roughly 30 hours within the sunken boat.

The rescue divers also recovered four dead bodies from the boat. Seven passengers or crew remain missing.  

Continue reading →

New Zealand Community Rallies to Save 30 Stranded Pilot Whales

Posted on by November 26, 2024

Good news for change. On Sunday, a pod of more than 30 pilot whales became stranded on Ruakākā Beach near Whangārei in northern New Zealand. Hundreds of residents joined forces with conservationists to save the pod. The rescue effort was spearheaded by the local Māori group, Patuharakeke. Remarkably, most of the pilot whales were refloated and swam out to sea, but three adults and one calf died.

Patuharakeke remained on the beach through the night to make sure none of the rescued whales were re-stranded.

The Department of Conservation (DOC), which is responsible with managing stranded marine rescues, called the rescue effort “incredible, with everyone coming together for the whales”.

Continue reading →

Egyptian Liveaboard Dive Boat Sinks in Red Sea, Sixteen Missing

Posted on by November 25, 2024

The Sea Story, a 44m Egyptian tourist liveaboard dive boat, sank in the Red Sea early this morning. Of the 44 aboard, including 13 crew, 28 were rescued while 16 remain missing. The crew was all Egyptian, while the tourists were reported to be from a mix of countries including Great Britain, the US, Finland, Germany, China, Spain, and Poland. It is unclear who is among the rescued and who is still missing.

The Sea Story left port near Marsa Alam on Sunday for a five-day diving trip. The vessel sent a distress signal at 05:30 (03:30 GMT).

Authorities have not indicated the possible cause of the incident but added accounts of people onboard mentioned a wave hit the boat and caused it to capsize. The BBC reports that weather forecasters had warned against marine activities for Sunday and Monday.

Continue reading →

US Navy’s Military Sealift Command to Sideline 17 Ships Due to Mariner Shortage

Posted on by November 22, 2024

The Military Sealift Command (MSC) operates approximately 125 replenishment and military transport ships to support the US Navy. Currently, MSC has more ships than it has civilian mariners to sustainably operate them.  MSC’s commander confirmed Thursday that the command will sideline 17 ships to ease the stress on civilian mariners.

“That number’s based on again the number of mariners that we need to get us to 95 percent [manning],” Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck told reporters in a call Thursday morning. “It is aligning the force so that we are most ready and that we are getting after the fleet requirements.”

MSC crews the Navy’s logistics and support vessels, with 4,500 billets across the command. There are about 5,500, or 1.27 mariners per billet, to fill positions on an MSC ship. That ratio means a mariner is at sea for four months, off for one month and then must return to work. The new move will allow mariners more time on shore.

Continue reading →

Facing Rising Seas, Can Tuvalu Become the First Digital Nation?

Posted on by November 21, 2024

The Pacific island nation of Tuvalu is facing an existential threat due to rising sea levels, caused by climate change. According to NASA, the sea level in Tuvalu has risen nearly 6 inches in the past 30 years and is expected to rise further in the coming decades, potentially inundating large parts of the country during high tides. At the current rate of global sea level rise, the entire country will be submerged in a matter of decades.

Rather than be erased by the rising waters, Tuvalu is attempting to become the “First Digital Nation,” by digitally recording its land, archiving its culture, and digitizing its government, so that Tuvalu can exist as a nation even after its land is no more. 

Continue reading →

Update: Undersea Cables Cut — Chinese Bulk Carrier Suspected, Irish Navy Intercepts Russian Spy Ship

Posted on by November 20, 2024

We posted yesterday about a telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Germany that was severed Monday morning, and a 218km internet link between Lithuania and Sweden’s Gotland Island that stopped working on Sunday.

Chinese Bulk Carrier Detained

Today, a Chinese-flagged bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 is suspected of being involved in the sabotage of the two undersea fiber optic cables. The Danish Navy detained the Chinese bulk carrier last night. Yi Peng 3 is now anchored in the Kattegat strait between Denmark and Sweden on Wednesday, with a Danish navy patrol ship at anchor nearby.

Continue reading →

Baltic Sea Communications Cables Severed — Sabotage Suspected

Posted on by November 19, 2024

Early Monday morning, a 1,170km (730-mile) telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Germany was severed, while a 218km internet link between Lithuania and Sweden’s Gotland Island stopped working on Sunday.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said damage to two undersea cables looks like an act of sabotage and a “hybrid action”, without knowing who is to blame.

The incidents came at a time of heightened tension with Russia and Pistorius said “nobody believes that these cables were cut accidentally”, reports the BBC.

Continue reading →

Watch Given to Captain of Carpathia, Rescuer of 700 on Titanic, Sells for Record £1.56M at Auction

Posted on by November 18, 2024

An interesting story from the Guardian. When the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912, approximately 1,500 died. The RMS Carpathia, under the command of Captain Arthur Rostron, rescued 706 passengers and crew from the Titanic‘s lifeboats.

A gold pocket watch, presented to Captain Rostron by Madeleine Astor and two other widows of high-profile and wealthy businessmen, was sold at auction over the weekend for a record £1.56m, the highest amount ever paid for Titanic memorabilia, according to auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son of Devizes, Wiltshire.

The 18-carat Tiffany & Co timepiece bears an inscription reading “Presented to Captain Rostron with the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of three survivors of the Titanic April 15th 1912 Mrs John B Thayer, Mrs John Jacob Astor and Mrs George D Widener”.

Continue reading →

Rescuing Rye Seeds From 146 Year Old Shipwreck in Hopes of Resurrecting Michigan Crop

Posted on by November 17, 2024

In November 1878, the wooden schooner James R. Bentley set sail from Chicago bound for Buffalo loaded with a large shipment of rye. It encountered heavy seas and gale-force winds during the voyage, struck a shoal, and sank near 40 Mile Point Lighthouse in Lake Huron just north of Rogers City.  The crew was rescued. The rye sank with the schooner.

Now 146 years later, Mammoth Distilling and Michigan State University (MSU) have teamed up to bring back what has become known as Bentley rye.

On Sept. 17, two divers went 160 feet to the bottom of Lake Huron and extracted seeds from the wreck where they have rested in near-freezing water for 146 years. The seeds were put on ice and rushed to MSU where Eric Olson, an expert in wheat breeding and genetics, tried to get them to germinate.

Continue reading →

Expecting a Shipwreck, Researchers Discover World’s Largest Coral

Posted on by November 14, 2024

On the chart, it was marked as a shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean near the Solomon Islands, but when scientists and filmmakers from the National Geographic Society’s Pristine Seas took a closer look, they were shocked to find the world’s largest-ever recorded coral. The mega coral is a collection of many tiny connected creatures that together form one organism rather than a coral reef.

As reported by the BBC, the coral measures 34m wide, 32m long and 5.5m high – which is bigger than a blue whale. The coral is estimated to be at 300-years-old.

The coral was found in deeper waters than some coral reefs which scientists think might be why it is in good health.

Continue reading →

New Destroyer USS John Basilone Commissioned on Hudson River in New York City

Posted on by November 13, 2024

Last Saturday morning at Pier 88 on the Hudson River, the US Navy commissioned its newest destroyer, USS John Basilone. With the New York City skyline as a backdrop, the ceremony took place between the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid and the Manhattan Cruise Terminal .

USS John Basilone (DDG-122) is a Flight IIA Arleigh Burke–class guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. The 72nd ship in the class, the destroyer is named for United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone, who received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award for valor, for actions during the Guadalcanal Campaign in the Pacific War. He was killed in action during the February 1945 invasion of Iwo Jima and posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. Basilone was the only enlisted Marine to receive both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross during World War II.

USS John Basilone is commissioned in New York

Thanks to David Rye for contributing to this post.

Repost: On Armistice Day, Remembering the German High Seas Fleet Mutinies of 1918

Posted on by November 11, 2024

Soldiers’ council of the Prinzregent Luitpold

In the US, today is Veteran’s Day, when we honor those who have served in the military. It coincides with Armistice Day, the anniversary of the signing of the armistice which ended World War I, on the 11th hour of the 11th day, of the 11th month of 1918, when the guns finally fell silent after four years of bloody conflict.

Today is a good time to recall the mutiny of the German High Seas Fleet, which played a significant role in finally ending the war. Here is an updated repost of an article from a few years ago about the naval mutinies.

The mutinies at Wilhelmshaven on October 29th and at Kiel on November 3, triggered the German revolution and swept aside the monarchy within a few days. The naval mutinies led directly to the end of the German Empire and to the establishment of the Weimar Republic.

Continue reading →