The 2022 PLAN OF THE YEAR! By Rear Adm. Edward S. “Sonny” Masso, USN (Ret.)
Upcoming Second Saturdays
T
he centennial month of the Washington Naval Arms Conference is followed by the centennial of the commissioning of the Navy’s first aircraft carrier, USS Langley. Having just spent a year as the Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum to draft a manuscript on the history of this ship, our staff historian Dr. Dave Winkler recently shared his findings during our March 12 webinar title “Centennial of USS Langley.” On April 9, author of the recently published Admirals Under Fire and retired Senior Historian of the Navy Dr. Ed Marolda will discuss the 50th anniversary of the North Vietnamese Easter Offensive with a specific focus on the leadership of Admirals Zumwalt and Holloway. Eventually, the United States would react by conducting a very effective mining campaign against Haiphong and other ports. Our May 14 Second Saturday presentation will occur in the wake of the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea. With the loss of Lexington and damage to Yorktown, compared to Japan’s loss of “Scratch One Flattop” Shoho, Japan could claim a tactical victory. However, with the planned landings at Port Moresby deterred and the carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku, rendered non-available for the forthcoming Midway operation due to damage and loss of aircrews, the United States could claim strategic victory— especially after the crippled Yorktown was repaired in time for the Battle of Midway, thanks to the herculean efforts of the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. That repair effort and ship maintenance will be the focus of this program. Our June Second Saturday presentation will coincide with our annual meeting and the Cdr. David T. Leighton Lecture, featuring Patrick K. O’Donnell, who will discuss his book The Indispensables: The Diverse Soldier-Mariners Who Shaped the Country, Formed the Navy, and Rowed Washington Across the Delaware, highlighting the critical role mariners played as America struggled for its independence. The June 11 presentation will include prominent naval historians of the American Revolution to offer critique and commentary. As the Navy celebrates the centennial of naval carrier aviation, for our July 16 program, we will look at Operation Desert Fox, the four-day air campaign against Iraq in
December 1998 that was initiated by air strikes launched from USS Enterprise (CVN 65) and complemented by Tomahawk missiles fired by other surface and subsurface combatants in the region. Director of the Naval History and Heritage Command Rear Adm. Sam Cox will brief the mission, and veterans of the campaign will recall their roles. On August 13, we will virtually travel to the Navy Recruit Training Station at Great Lakes to discuss the Battle Stations training regimen and the enlisted heroes who provide our future bluejackets inspiration. Former Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Mike Stevens will be our guide. In the wake of a study conducted by Rear Adm. Phillip Balisle that harshly criticized fleet upkeep, we intend to take a historical overview of this ongoing challenge to keep not only ships combatready but also their crews. Recently, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Robert Work pointed at the Navy’s insistence of forward presence being a mission area in itself as part of the problem. Consequently, our September 10 Second Saturday should engender constructive debate. On October 8, Dr. Ryan Wadle of the Naval War College, author of Selling Sea Power: Public Relations and the U.S. Navy, 1917–1941, will mark the centennial of Navy Day with a discussion of how the Office of Naval Intelligence engineered the advent of this annual holiday to generate public support for the Navy and how the October 27 event that coincided with Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday gained in popularity until the 1950s. The Second Saturday in November falls on the 12th, the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Naval Battle for Guadalcanal. We will welcome Trent Hone and Paul Stillwell, both of whom authored outstanding narrations of these surface actions, with Stillwell’s most recent being Battleship Commander: The Life of Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee, Jr. On December 10, we close out the year on the gridiron to discuss the significance of the Army–Navy game over the decades. To liven up the discussion, don’t be surprised if we bring in some alums from that school up on the Hudson! All our Second Saturdays will be pre-announced on our Thursday Tidings e-letters, and you can preregister and forward questions beforehand, or you can just join us on the day of the program at www.navyhistory.org.
2022
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Pull Together • Winter 2022
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