Oral Histories

As a flier in World War II, Admiral Bender had some significant experiences in Air-Sea Rescue work with Squadron #1 based at San Diego and with the Far East Air Force in the Philippines. He later prepared an Air-Sea Rescue Manual to incorporate lessons learned. Other significant assignments included duty ...

In the first volume of Admiral Benson's oral history, he recalls his early years with his Swedish family in New Hampshire, and his days at the Naval Academy, where athletics were not of as much interest as music. Following graduation in 1929, he served first in the battleship New York ...

This memoir focuses on only one tour of duty in Admiral Bernsen's career, his command of the U.S. Middle East Force in the Persian Gulf from 1986 to 1988. It traces the rapid evolution of that billet during his tenure. At first it was almost completely a diplomatic assignment, but ...

A 1938 graduate of the Naval Academy, Admiral Beshany served in the new light cruiser USS Philadelphia (CL-41) before going into submarines. After duty in the USS S-14 (SS-119), he was executive officer of the fleet boat USS Scamp (SS-277) from 1942 to 1944, participating in seven war patrols. He ...

Bieri graduated from the Naval Academy as a passed midshipman in 1911. In the ensuing years to 1919, he served in the USS Delaware (BB-28), Nashville (PG-7), Montana (ACR-13), Virginia (BB-13), and Texas (BB-35). Among his further assignments were duty as aide to Rear Admiral Augustus Fechteler; command of the ...

In 1917 Bogan watch and gunnery officer in the USS Birmingham (CS-2), which was doing escort duty during World War I. In 1919 served in the USS Stribling (DD-96), then the USS Hopewell (DD-181) and USS Broome (DD-210). In 1922 was CO of U.S. Naval Radio Station, Russian Island, Vladivostok ...

In this engaging memoir, based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in October 1987, former Quartermaster 3rd Class Bond serves as a representative for hundreds of thousands of enlisted men whose only active military service was during World War II. He enlisted in the Navy in 1942, took boot ...

Master Chief Boatswain's Mate Carl Maxie Brashear used a rare combination of grit, determination, and persistence to overcome formidable hurdles to become the first black master diver in the U.S. Navy.

This oral history is particularly noteworthy, because it provides personal recollections from the first African American graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. Brown entered the Academy in 1945, a century after the institution was founded, and graduated in 1949. A handful of black midshipmen had previously been appointed to the ...

A legendary figure within Navy circles, Captain Bucklew devoted his entire Navy career to scouting, raiding, and intelligence. One of the Navy's first "frogmen" and a charter member of its Scouts and Raiders of World War II, he scouted the beaches at Normandy, Salerno, and Sicily weeks before Allied invasions ...

In these interviews conducted the month before Commander Buell died, he was extremely candid in describing his experiences and the people with whom he served. The two major themes in the memoir deal with his service as a destroyerman and his work as a historian. He wrote widely admired biographies ...

This memoir is a rarity in the Naval Institute collection in that it details the career of a Navy civil servant rather than a uniformed officer. "Dick" Buescher, as he was known, graduated from Mississippi State College in 1941 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. After a brief stint ...