Category Archives: Sea Stories

Serving with the Greatest Generation

Posted on June 7, 2024 by Jim

I couldn’t help watching the TV coverage of the 80th anniversary of D-Day. It’s a moving and pivotal episode in our history and a reminder of values that often are forgotten today.  I got acquainted with the Greatest Generation when I … Continue reading →

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Operation Homecoming

Posted on June 20, 2023 by Jim

I was waiting on the tarmac at Glenview Naval Air Station when they arrived on a cold night in March 50 years ago. The American former prisoners of war had been released from North Vietnam. Now they were on their … Continue reading →

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Flashback

Posted on September 10, 2021 by Jim

One of my dark-humor quips in recent years has been: I hope our government learned the lessons of Vietnam. And built an embassy in Afghanistan with enough room for multiple helicopters. That stopped being funny when I saw the TV … Continue reading →

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Gunnery practice

Posted on June 21, 2021 by Jim

Another story from my Navy days that’s still mostly true. A big, empty box went over the side. “That’s a Viet Cong box,” the captain announced. “We’re going to attack it. Come to general quarters.” Our wooden-hulled coastal minesweeper could … Continue reading →

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When Greenpeace helped the Navy

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Jim

For many years the Navy’s annual Great Lakes cruise deployed a ship on a goodwill tour of Midwest cities to build awareness and boost recruiting. As a Navy reserve public affairs officer in Chicago in the 1980s, I was involved … Continue reading →

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Japanese honeymoon

Posted on September 6, 2019 by Jim

We had a picturesque apartment on the lower floor of a house on a steep hillside, half cave and half treehouse. A step down from the entrance hall to the living room, two steps down to a kitchen with windows … Continue reading →

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Putting words in the boss’ mouth

Posted on November 28, 2018 by Jim

Writing has been central to my career, and writing executive speeches is part of my portfolio. I got my start as a speechwriter when the Bureau of Naval Personnel, in an uncharacteristic display of logic, matched my degree in journalism … Continue reading →

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The Navy’s Chicago mafia

Posted on July 24, 2018 by Jim

The idea of the Navy reserve is to prepare sailors for mobilization by immersing them in the Navy experience one weekend a month. For reservists who live nowhere near a ship or air station, this means reporting in uniform to … Continue reading →

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Visit to a bird farm

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Jim

I enjoyed watching the commissioning ceremony for the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) on TV over the weekend. The news media consensus is… it’s big. Really BIG. President Trump’s commissioning speech showed uncharacteristic restraint by not calling the ship yuge. One … Continue reading →

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Keeping up the brightwork at Great Lakes

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Jim

Another story from my Navy days that is still mostly true. Every so often the military personnel system puts a round peg in a round hole almost by accident. The Navy urgently needed a speechwriter at the Great Lakes Naval … Continue reading →

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