We Will Be Remembered: Taylor Swift’s Grandfathers and Their Unsung Military Service

Today's post was written by Katherine Terry, archives technician at the National Archives at St. Louis Keep your helmet, keep your life, son Just a flesh wound, here’s your rifle Crawling up the beaches now “Sir, I think he’s bleeding out” And some things you just can’t speak about - “epiphany” In the vast landscape … Continue reading We Will Be Remembered: Taylor Swift’s Grandfathers and Their Unsung Military Service

b/w photo of submarine partially emerged from water

A Modern Submarine on Eternal Patrol – A Tribute to the USS Thresher (SSN 593)

This April 10th marks the 60th Anniversary of the loss of the USS Thresher (SSN 593). The Thresher was the first of two nuclear submarines lost during the Cold War,  the other being the USS Scorpion (SSN 589) in 1968. Bow View of the Nuclear-Powered Attack Submarine USS Thresher (SSN-593), July 24, 1961 (Local ID: … Continue reading A Modern Submarine on Eternal Patrol – A Tribute to the USS Thresher (SSN 593)

Black and white photograph of a ship

Over 500 Logbooks of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Ships Now Available in the National Archives Catalog

Today’s post was written by Gina Kim Perry, Archivist in Digitization Archival Services at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland. USC&GSS Hassler (1893), named after Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler, who was appointed by President Thomas Jefferson as the first head of the Survey of Coast in 1807 (NOAA Photo Library) Introduction Newly available in the National Archives … Continue reading Over 500 Logbooks of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Ships Now Available in the National Archives Catalog

Mainbocher: Designer of the “Best Dressed Women in the World”

Mainbocher, alongside Cmdr. Aileen Griffin, arriving in Dallas, TX for the 1960 WAVES Reunion (NAID 6328623) It was July 1960 and the city of Dallas, Texas was playing host to thousands of Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service, who were in town to celebrate the 18th National Reunion of their historic unit. Established in 1942, … Continue reading Mainbocher: Designer of the “Best Dressed Women in the World”

New Web Page for Digitized U.S. Navy Logs Through 1940

Images of the USS Bear, USS Jeannette, and the USS Monitor from NOAA and US Naval History and Heritage Command Imagine the ability to time travel virtually from the comfort of your home as you read on your computer or cell phone about: an Arctic rescue mission as it unfolded on the deck of the U.S.S. … Continue reading New Web Page for Digitized U.S. Navy Logs Through 1940

Enlist in the Navy poster

SNACing with the PEPs: Discovering Henry Reuterdahl and his Compelling Artistic Relationship with the U. S. Navy

Today’s post is by Sarah Rigdon, an Archives Technician in the Research Room in the National Archives at St. Louis, MO. Like so many National Archives staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, I began searching for telework projects and creative ways to connect others with the records available to me in our Catalog, particularly in the … Continue reading SNACing with the PEPs: Discovering Henry Reuterdahl and his Compelling Artistic Relationship with the U. S. Navy

Operation JACK STAY: US Marines in the Forest of Assassins

Section I: Enemy at the Outskirts On February 27, 1966, the Panamanian cargo ship, SS Lorinda, was sailing up the Long Tau River heading towards Saigon. The Long Tau is the deep channel passage to Saigon, but is one of several rivers that flow down from Saigon into the South China Sea. Before entering the … Continue reading Operation JACK STAY: US Marines in the Forest of Assassins

Tales of the Revenue Cutter Service and True Crime from The Collector of Customs at Boston

Today’s post is by George Fuller, Archival Reference Technician at the National Archives at St. Louis. A year ago, as National Archives staff were sent home at the beginning of the pandemic we were all in need of remote work and when transcription possibilities arose for alternative work my first thought was, “busy work.” At … Continue reading Tales of the Revenue Cutter Service and True Crime from The Collector of Customs at Boston

Prepare for Collision! The Ramming of the USS Growler and a Japanese Gunboat

January 1943, while on her fourth war patrol, the USS Growler (SS 215) from Brisbane, Australia, had been patrolling the sea lanes to Rabaul on the western end of New Ireland, she encountered a fatal missed opportunity. The area had been active and alerted to the presence of an American submarine prowling around. The Growler … Continue reading Prepare for Collision! The Ramming of the USS Growler and a Japanese Gunboat

Assignment: Neah Bay, Washington, 1909; The United States Revenue-Cutter Service and the USRC Snohomish

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Senior Archivist at the National Archives at College Park, MD. Background The discovery of the mineral wealth of Alaska led immediately to a large development of the coastwise trade along the northwestern seaboard of the United States, and particularly in Puget Sound. Navigators were then, as now, … Continue reading Assignment: Neah Bay, Washington, 1909; The United States Revenue-Cutter Service and the USRC Snohomish