Category Archives: sadness

Never Forget

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19 October 1984: The Twin Towers dot the Gotham skyline as crackerjack-wearing gunners mates stand at attention on USS Iowa’s (BB 61) No. 1 16″/50 gun turret as the battleship approaches the southern end of Manhattan during a scheduled port visit to New York City shortly after the dreadnought was recommissioned for the third (and final) time. Note the full-color recognition flag on the roof of the gun house.

U.S. Navy photo DNST8505245 by PH1 Jeff Hilton, NARA 330-CFD-DN-ST-85-05245

Two other views from the same photographer that day, including a cameo by the Staten Island Ferry.

Big Iron secures from the Persian Gulf Watch

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An MH-53E Sea Dragon, attached to the “Blackhawks” of Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron (HM) 15, idles on the flight deck of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), December 12, 2024. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Maxwell Orlosky)

The “Blackhawks” of Helicopter Mine Countermeasures (HM) Squadron Fifteen are steadily prepping to end their 38-year run as an RH-53A/D and MH-53E Sea Dragon squadron.

Its sister squadrons, “The World Famous Vanguard” of HM-14 and the reserve airborne mine countermeasures (AMCM) squadron, the “Golden Bears” of HM-19, were decommissioned in 2022 and 1994, respectively.

With the Sea Dragon slated to retire in FY27, ending the Navy’s AMCM program, which began in 1971 when 15 well-worn CH-53As were acquired from the Marines and rebuilt as RH-53As, the ‘Hawks have shut down “Big Iron,” Det II (DET2), the longstanding four-aircraft AMCM deployment to Bahrain. HM-14 established the first permanent forward-deployed AMCM detachment in Manama in 1999.

The last flight of Det II occurred on 31 August 2025.

It should also be pointed out that the first of four Bahrain-deployed Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships, USS Dextrous (MCM-13), was decommissioned this week as well. The other three will soon follow.

231023-N-EG592-1261 ARABIAN GULF (Oct. 23, 2023) The Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship USS Dextrous (MCM 13) sails in the Arabian Gulf during small boat operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jacob Vernier)

As for USN mine assets in the Gulf after that happens, where Iran has a huge arsenal of 5,000-6,000 sea mines (potentially including advanced EM-52 rocket-propelled, rising mines from China), well, there may be an LCS with a MCM Mission Package (“we promise they work”) or maybe an MH-60 with an Archerfish kit.

Maybe.

Mines Below, indeed.

Cleaning Little Potato Slough

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USCG contractors have been busy cleaning out the derelicts from the waters of the Little Potato Slough near Stockton, California.

This included the World War II-era Woban-class Navy tug ex-USS Mazapeta (YTM-181) and the 140-foot Bay class minesweeper ex-HMCS Chaleur (MCB 164).

Chaleur was fairly modern, having been built in 1956-57 and only decommissioned in 1998.

HMCS Chaleur (MCB 164) in better days

She was used in a variety of commercial and private tasks until she ended up at the Stockton Maritime Museum and sank at her moorings back in 2021.

Chaleur was tied up alongside the old and very well-traveled MV Aurora (ex-Wappen Von Hamburg, ex-Delos, ex-Pacific Star, ex-Polar Star, ex-Xanadu, ex-Expex, and ex-Faithful) for years before she sank.

As Aurora was scrapped last December, all that is left now is the sheen.

Nelson weeps

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The Royal Navy has been on a steady decline since 1945, and while they do have a (limited) carrier deployment to the Far East currently-– including the first visit by a British flattop to Australia in over 25 years– everything else seems to be slipping to pay for it.

These tidbits:

HMS Lancaster (F229), a Type 23 (Duke-class) frigate, is reportedly leaving HMS Juffair in Bahrain without replacement, leaving RN forces in the region with only the aging minesweepers HMS Middleton (M34) and HMS Bangor. Lancaster has been forward deployed to the Persian Gulf since August 2022 through crew rotations and has accomplished a myriad of boarding and counter-smuggling operations in the region. There are only eight Type 23s in RN service, all of them with over 20 years of hard use on their hulls.

Five sisters have been retired.

While the days of the old Armilla patrol during the Cold War have long passed, the RN has kept a frigate in the region as part of Operation Kipion since at least 2018. Once the Type 26 Global Combat Ship and the Type 31 frigate start coming into service in 2028 (hold your breath), there may not be another British surface combatant deployed to HMS Juffair for a few years.

The only other escorts in the RN are the fleet’s six precious Type 45 (Daring) class DDGs, which are chained to their carriers.

The last of seven Trafalgar-class nuclear-powered submarines, HMS Triumph (S93), decommissioned at HMNB Devonport on 18 July 2025, wrapping up a 33-year career. She was a certified TLAM slinger in Afghanistan in 2001 and also chipped in on combat operations off Libya in 2011, coming back flying her second Jolly Roger.

Royal Navy Trafalgar Class submarine HMS Triumph is silhouetted against the Middle Eastern sun, 2012. Photo: LA(Phot) Abbie Gadd/MOD

In further HM Submarine Force blues, all six of the Admiralty’s Astute-class SSNs are offline with the recent return of HMS Anson (S123) to the Clyde last week.

  • HMS Astute is just about to begin a mid-life refit in Devonport.
  • HMS Audacious in dry dock in Devonport.
  • HMS Ambush has been in Faslane and not put to sea for 3 years.
  • HMS Artful is also in Faslane, having not put to sea in more than 2 years, although it seems likely she will begin to regenerate and return to operations soon.
  • Boat 6, HMS Agamemnon, is afloat in the test and commissioning dock at Barrow and is expected to commission later this year in the shipyard, but is unlikely to be fully operational for at least 18 months after that.

The Admiralty has gone on record as wanting a full dozen AUKUS SSNs, but that is more of a 2030s goal.

Finally, with the RN having virtually no serious amphibious warfare assets any longer, having sold it all to Brazil, the 28,000-ton “Littoral strike ship” RFA Argus (A135), currently under a stalled refit, has been deemed “unsafe to sail” by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Lloyds Register.

RFA Argus (A135), seen in better days

Navy Lookout said Argus had its safety certification “withdrawn” due to a series of “unresolved issues”. These reportedly include problems with fire doors, a persistent leak from the ballast tank, and a worn seal on the main aircraft lift.

“It is planned that Argus will start a major Life Extension refit next year after the MoD decided that she will remain in service beyond 2030 (by which time she will be 50 years old).”

So long, Dex!

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The 5th Fleet has kept four 224-foot Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships forward deployed on the line in Manama, Bahrain, since the late 1990s. Now, their 25+ year watch is ending.

USS Dextrous (MCM-13), which has been in the Persian Gulf since August 1997, has just received word that she will decommission on 3 September, wrapping up her career just four months past her 31st birthday, which is relatively old for any warship, especially one of fiberglass/wood composite construction.

“Dex” recently sailed in formation with the other three Bahrain-based Avengers– USS Sentry (MCM-3), Devastator (MCM-6), and Gladiator (MCM-11), and they look great.

The motto of the Dextrous is ” No One Goes Before Us.”

Once the last of the Avengers leaves the fleet in 2027– just two short years from now– the Navy will not have a single dedicated minesweeper for the first time since USS Lapwing (AM-1) was commissioned in 1918.

Probably a mistake.

Likewise, the fleet’s final dedicated HM (Helicopter Mine Countermeasures) Squadron, the “Blackhawks” of HM-15, will say goodbye to their beloved MH-53E Sea Dragons in 2027, and the final “Dragon Drivers” were minted last November.

The service’s 20~ operational MH-53E Sea Dragons, four of which are forward deployed to Bahrain, will leave the fleet in FY27.

The service’s counter-mine solution moving forward will be surface and subsurface drones operating from a few rotating LCS hulls and some Archerfish-equipped MH-60Ss.

At least there goes the theory.

The Navy earlier this year said it has four Mine Countermeasures (MCM) Mission Package (MP) sets “supporting LCS deployments in the 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility (AOR) and follow-on MCM MPs will support 7th Fleet operations by the end of FY 2027.”

Iron Bottom Sound, Redux

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The Corps of Exploration aboard the E/V Nautilus has been continuing Bob Ballard’s work by revisiting Guadalcanal, where Ballard and company discovered numerous wrecks from the 1942-43 naval clashes there—this time with much better cameras and gear than in 1992.

Nautilus has been using the USV DriX, a 25-foot vessel carrying an EM712 multibeam sonar to map the seafloor,

While the dives have been conducted by the ROV Hercules, which features a new model Kraft Predator manipulator with seven-function control, over 79 inches of reach, and a lift capacity of 500 pounds. They usually have smaller “buddy” ROVs too, Argus and Atalanta.

In recent days, they have posted amazing videos of the bow that was shot off the heavy cruiser USS New Orleans (CA-32), the wreck of the USS Northampton (CA-26) which was lost in November 1942 during the Battle of Tassafaronga off Savo Island, the shattered hull of the USS Vincennes (CA-44) and USS Astoria (CA-34) lost at Savo island in August 1942, and one of the “long lancers” themselves, the Japanese Akizuki class destroyer Teruzuki (“Shining Moon”), sent to the bottom on 12 December 1942 in a clash with PT boats.

USS New Orleans (CA 32) comes into the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, for a new bow after battling with Japanese warships in the Southwest Pacific. In this view, she is almost ready for joining to join a new bow. The photograph was released on 11 January 1944. 80-G-44448

Vincennes

Vincennes

Astoria

Astoria

Turrets no. 1 and 2 of IJN Teruzuki

They will continue their Maritime Archaeology of Guadalcanal (NA173) expedition through July 23, so stay tuned for more discoveries.

U.S. Navy, Marines Honors 80th Anniversary of Battle of Okinawa, on Okinawa

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U.S. Navy Sailors and family members joined local Okinawan volunteers at Peace Memorial Park on June 22 to prepare nearly 7,000 candles for a vigil on the eve of Okinawa Memorial Day. The event honored the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa — an 82-day conflict in 1945 that claimed more than 200,000 lives and stands as the deadliest battle of the Pacific theater during WWII.

The annual candle lighting was organized by Bankoku-Shinryo-no-Kai, a local non-profit advocating peace to the world.

Candles lit by local volunteers and U.S. Navy Sailors stationed on Okinawa illuminate memorial walls following a volunteer candle lighting event at Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, Okinawa, Japan, June 22, 2025. Held on the eve of Okinawa Memorial Day, the event marked the 80th anniversary of the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, honoring more than 200,000 lives lost and strengthening ties between the U.S. Navy and the local community. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class MacAdam Kane Weissman)

Candles lit by local volunteers and U.S. Navy Sailors stationed on Okinawa spell out the Japanese symbols for “peace” during a volunteer candle lighting event at Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, Okinawa, Japan, June 22, 2025. Held on the eve of Okinawa Memorial Day, the event marked the 80th anniversary of the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, honoring more than 200,000 lives lost and strengthening ties between the U.S. Navy and the local community. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class MacAdam Kane Weissman)

More here.

Buried Eagles

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Early last month, Maciej Podgórski from Zamość, a Polish collector and relic hunter, found something precious that had been lost for over 85 years.

It was in late September 1939 that the battered remnants of the combined Polish Kraków Army and Lublin Army under General Tadeusz Piskor, having fought for three weeks straight and unable to break out of its incirclement, laid down their arms near Tomaszów Lubelski to surrender to either the Germans or the incoming Soviet Red Army, which had come as “friends” to help repel the German invasion.

Two officers of the elite 4th Podhale Rifle Regiment, 21st Mountain Infantry Division (4 Pułku Strzelców Podhalańskich, 21 Dywizji Piechoty Górskiej), paymaster Capt. Władysław Kronhold and quartermaster Capt. Szczepan Orłowski, decided their flag would not fall into enemy hands.

A precious banner handcrafted by the Felician nuns in the convent of Czchowice-Dziedzice, it was hand-sewn with gold and silver thread, presented to the unit in 1924.

The return of the Inspector General of the Polish Armed Forces, General Edward Rydz-Śmigły, after an official visit to France. Rydz-Śmigły receives a report from an officer of the 4th Podhale Rifle Regiment on the platform of the Zebrzydowice station. General Janusz Głuchowski is visible next to him, the regiment’s standard in the foreground; September 1936. Koncern Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny – Illustration Archive. Reference number: 1-D-576-4

Quickly removed from its staff, the regimental flag and a championship marksmanship pennant of the 21st Mountain Infantry Division were folded, tightly packed inside of waterproofed canvas rucksack, and further wrapped in oilskin tarpaulin. Then the package was buried near a forester’s lodge, on the Krasnobród-Tomaszów Lubelski road in the Roztocze forest. A waypoint to find the flag under better conditions was a bayonet stuck into the ground to its hilt near the road

The two captains were soon taken prisoner by the Germans and thrown into what became Oflag XI B Braunschweig with over 1,200 other Polish officers. They were later moved in 1940 to Oflag II C Woldenberg, which ultimately held over 6,000.

They were the lucky ones. Podhale riflemen had a tough war after the Polish campaign, with over 40 of their officers who fell into Russian hands liquidated in the Katyn Massacre. Another 73 of its members were burned alive in a barn by the Germans post-surrender.

Fast forward to the 1950s, and both Kronhold and Orłowski, surviving the war and returning to Poland, searched for their unit’s flag but could not find it, ultimately giving up and assuming the Germans had uncovered it. The officers left written directions on how to find the banners for future generations.

That’s where Podgorski, knowing of the legendary buried battle flags, grew excited when he found a bayonet stuck into the ground to its hilt near the old forest road. By careful process of elimination and probe work, he found bits of an old tarpaulin and got to digging.

Boom:

The banners are currently under the care of the Janusz Peter Regional Museum and will eventually be stabilized and placed on public display.

Remember to remember today

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80 years ago. Memorial Day 1945 – “After four months of fierce fighting on Luzon, these 11th Airborne Division ‘Angels’ attend a Memorial Day Service for their fallen brothers held in Batangas. Their faces say it all.”

Photo via the 11th Airborne Division Association – “Angels”

Activated on 25 February 1943, the 11th entered combat in the PTO on 25 May 1944 and suffered 2,431 casualties in 204 days of combat.

Not Quite Cryptids

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It happened 70 years ago this week, 16 May 1955.

Official caption, “Japanese Army Pfc. Kaichiro Eguchi is pictured in Canlubang Army Headquarters (in Calamba, Laguna), after his long overdue surrender to a U.S. Army detachment in the Philippines. He came out of a jungle hideout nine years after the end of the war. He wore a suit he had woven from hemp, coconut shell, and other materials, and carried a still usable Japanese army rifle.”

The good private would not be the last of the holdouts (zanryū nipponhei). 

Seaman Noboru Kinoshita captured (and promptly self-terminated) the following November in Luzon.

Four Japanese airmen surrendered to the Dutch on Hollandia in late 1955.

Nine soldiers threw in the towel on Morotai and another four on Mindoro in 1956.

Pvt. Bunzō Minagawa and Sgt. Masashi Itō walked out of the bush in Guam in 1960.

Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi also gave up in Guam in 1972.

PFC Kinshichi Kozuka was killed in a shootout with Filipino police in 1972.

LT Hiroo Onoda surrendered in Lubang in March 1974.

Pvt. Teruo Nakamura— the last confirmed holdout– turned himself in to an Indonesian Air Force patrol on Morotai just before Christmas 1974, 29 years after WWII ended.

Of course, sightings and unconfirmed reports endured from Kolombangara to Luzon as late as 2005, making unreconstructed Japanese soldiers something of the cryptids of the Southwestern Pacific jungle for a half-century.

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