Green Faces, Blue Jeans: Blue Jeans during Vietnam

by Tricia Menke, NMAS Curator of Education

The jungles of Vietnam in the midst of the Vietnam War may not seem like the best place to make a fashion statement, but the U.S. Navy SEALs have never played by the rules. The “men with green faces” quickly discovered upon arrival in Vietnam that the climate was harsh and Navy-issued pants were not necessarily cut out for the environment. To contend with the pests and the unforgiving jungle, SEALs turned to a tried and true American classic: the blue jean.

“A Strenuous Life” Inspiration to Exercise from Navy History

by LT E.J.A. Prevoznak, National Museum of the American Sailor Volunteer

New year, new you, as they say, and one of the most popular ways to find a “new you” is by resolving to get into better physical shape. The ushering in of the new year has many hoping they can lose weight, gain muscle, and perhaps even participate in a physical fitness or sporting competition. However, numerous studies show most people who make health and fitness-oriented resolutions quit before February 1. Fitness app Strava has dubbed January 17 “Quitter’s Day.”¹ Other reports state the best time to buy fitness equipment is in February because most fitness resolutions have failed, and remaining equipment is put on steep discount.² Many people fail because they do not strive to live a “strenuous life” as Theodore Roosevelt famously declared.³ Teddy’s quote underscores an important element that many fitness resolutions lack – consistency to inspire them throughout the year. For sailors, failing to maintain their fitness resolutions can come with a steep price, which is why sailors make great inspiration for those seeking to turn around their physical fitness.

Standing Watch in Santa Hats: Holidays at Sea

by Tricia Menke, NMAS Curator of Education

The twinkling of bells and Burl Ives fill the air with holiday cheer, with a nip of snow in the wind and arms laden with bright shopping bags filled with toys. The magic of the holiday season is upon Americans from coast to coast. Meanwhile, sailors are standing watch in the cold and in the heat, always vigilant, no matter the date on the calendar. The Navy’s mission never stops, but that doesn’t mean sailors don’t find ways to celebrate December’s major holidays.

Gratitude During the Storm: Thankfulness in a Sailor’s Life

By LT Jamieson Prevoznak, Museum Volunteer

The Grateful Dead song, “Lost Sailor” sings the tale of a lonely seafarer who has “been way too long at sea.” On the ship, the compass is spinning uncontrollably and there is no one at the helm. The “ghost wind” is blowing, calling to the sailor, saying there is “no place in this world you can be.”¹ Many sailors know this feeling, but the winds of gratitude and thankfulness is what propels them back to safe harbors.

We Were Into This Very Much Before It Was Cool: Sea Shanties and the United States Navy Sailor

by Dr. Jennifer Searcy, Museum Director and Tricia Menke, Curator of Education

In 2021, the United States Navy Band released a sea shanty-styled cover of popular music singer and songwriter Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Getting Back Together.” The cover became a viral hit with hundreds of thousands of views and introduced the United States Navy Band to new audiences. When promoting a video of the cover, the Navy’s Chief of Information and Office of Information (CHINFO) highlighted the United States Navy sailor’s long relationship with the sea shanty genre, tweeting “We were into this very much before it was cool.”

Hitler, Reporting for Duty

by Tricia Menke, NMAS Curator of Education

It’s 1944 and a dark-haired young man enters a New York City U.S. Navy recruiting office. The officer on duty asks the same question he’s asked hundreds of young men, but the officer is about to get an unexpected answer. “What’s your name, son?” “Hitler.” The recruiting officer laughs at the ‘joke’ and replies, “Glad to meet you Hitler. I’m Hess.”[i]

Except it was no joke. The dark-haired young man really is named Hitler and he shares more than just a last name with the Nazi leader. He’s William Patrick Hitler, Adolf Hitler’s nephew, and he’s joining the United States Navy. It may come as a surprise that Hitler’s blood relative was joining the Allies, but William’s relationship with his uncle was already famously tumultuous.

Training is Only Bootcamp, Right? Wrong.

by Tricia Menke, Curator of Education at the National Museum of the American Sailor

Here are the National Museum of the American Sailor, our staff has the unique opportunity to work directly with the Navy’s enlisted sailors, stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes. At any given time, the museum has one to three working party sailors who help out at the museum. They do odd jobs, including cleaning, assisting with exhibit builds, and greeting the public. These sailors are on hold, usually waiting for orders between the completion of A School at Great Lakes and moving on to C School or out to the fleet.

Before he left for C School in Dahlgren, Virginia, I sat down with one of our working party sailors, Fire Controlman Third Class Andrew Wallace.

USS Sanctuary: An Experiment in Integration

by Tricia Menke, Curator of Education at the National Museum of the American Sailor

When President Harry S. Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act into effect on June 12, 1948, it did not automatically translate into ‘smooth sailing’ for women in the United States Navy. Despite the act’s signing, the Navy continued to segregate men and women, both during training and while in service. For many female sailors in the post-World War II era, the fight for equal opportunity remained. In perhaps the most obvious instance of inequality, it would be an additional two decades before women were allowed to serve at sea, side-by-side with their male shipmates.

Living Flags: The Navy and the First Viral Photo Trend

by E.J.A. Prevoznak, LT, CHC, USN NMAS Volunteer

Everyone covets the perfect picture. However, even with the ubiquity and high-tech quality of cameras today, the perfect picture remains difficult to capture; because it is not just about the color and the lighting, but about the way the picture makes us feel. We snap picture after picture attempting to grasp onto a feeling that is on the edge of our emotion but remains distant. When we finally grasp onto that perfect picture, the meaning is self-evident. We share it with friends and family or even complete strangers when we post it online. Picture reach the coveted status of viral when others not only see and share it, but also copy it. This is exactly what happened at the turn of the 20^th century with the viral trend of “living flags”.

Midway: The Beginning of the Modern American Sailor

By E.J.A. Prevoznak LT, CHC, USN, NMAS Volunteer

The Pacific theatre of World War II was the first large scale naval war of consequence for the American sailor since the Spanish-American War in 1898. Ships were mainly crewed by enlistees and draftees who had never been to sea, let alone in major naval combat. Journalist Malcom Gladwell in his book Bomber Mafia writes that the U.S. and Japan knew less of each other than any other combatants in history.¹  He further argues that as the sea war evolved into an air war the vastness of the Pacific “made it the kind of air war that no one had fought before.”² The Battle of Midway was the first step for the U.S. Navy becoming the dominant world sea power, and doing so forever changed the American sailor from the 19^th century seafarer trimming sails into a modern naval warrior forged by the fires of aerial combat.