Deploying Hope – The Role of Hospital Ships in the United States Navy

by Jennifer Steinhardt, NMAS Archivist

“Wise and humane management of the patient is the best safeguard against infection.”  Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, certainly knew the difference having a designated hospital made in aiding in the recovery of patients.  Historically, hospital ships helped to fill the need for a hospital to care for the sick and injured in locations where it was difficult or impossible to build a one on land.  While records indicate that hospital ships were possibly utilized by the ancient Greeks and Romans, the United States Navy officially used its first hospital ship during the American Civil War.  

Holiday Greetings from Aviation Radio Technician 1st Class Gilbert Hotchkiss

By Dan Smaczny, National Museum of the American Sailor Contract Curator

Aviation Radio Technician 1st Class Gilbert Hotchkiss began his letter to his parents, dated December 16, 1943, with “Dear Mom & Dad, Merry Christmas – in words only, so far.” Sailors like Hotchkiss often weren’t able to travel home for the holidays, but they were able to wish their family and friends “happy holidays,” whether in a telegram during World War II or via email today.

Great Lakes Bulletin: The Voice of NSGL for 101 Years

By Dan Smaczny, National Museum of the American Sailor Contract Curator

For over a century, Navy sailors, civilians, and local residents at or near Naval Station Great Lakes received base and Navy news from the Great Lakes Bulletin. With the rise in popularity of the internet and digital media, “the United States Navy’s Oldest, Continuously Published Base Newspaper” will become a digital-only publication beginning on March 30, 2019.  As part of a look back on the paper’s history, the National Museum of the American Sailor has selected from its archives a few historic headlines from the publication.

Scurvy Me Timbers

By Kelly Duffy, National Museum of the American Sailor Deputy Director

It’s that time of year again where we enter into the heart of winter. While many of us now wrap ourselves in warm blankets, eat soup with healthy vegetables, and grab any fruit imaginable off the grocery store shelf, sailors in the past were not always so lucky.

Keep Them Fit To Fight: The Salvage of Pearl Harbor

By Tricia Runzel, National Museum of the American Sailor Curator

The attack on Pearl Harbor lasted just two hours, but the loss of life, supplies, and ships was staggering. When the smoke cleared, thirteen ships were in various stages of damage and seven ships, as well as a floating dry dock, were sinking or already sunk. Worse still, the attack had killed over 2,000 military personnel, including Navy, Army, and Marines. The human loss could never be repaired, but for a nation entering war, repair and reuse of the ships and materials was paramount. The question was, how?

Dress Blues: George G. Koplos, Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class (CB)

By Samantha Belles, National Museum of the American Sailor Collections Manager

The National Museum of the American Sailor’s collections are comprised of numerous artifacts, each telling a unique story of an enlisted Sailor’s career. When taken together, these stories help illuminate just what it was like to be a Sailor in the United States Navy. In particular, uniforms play a key role in helping the museum tell the Navy’s history.

Fire Control on Iowa-class Battleships

By Michael Frutig, National Museum of the American Sailor Intern

An Iowa-class battleship was the single most powerful ship ever built for the United States Navy, comprised of 45,000 tons of steel and equipped with the largest guns ever fitted to an American ship. Nine 16-inch guns sat in three-gun turrets; each barrel was capable of firing on its own. These guns could fire a shell that weighed either 1,900 (HE) or 2,700 (AP) pounds a distance of twenty-four miles.

Sailor Jerry

By Kelly Duffy, National Museum of the American Sailor Curator

Norman Collins, known better as Sailor Jerry, was perhaps the most influential tattoo artist of the twentieth century. His style of tattooing is still copied and is a classic example of the Golden Age of Tattoos, especially Naval tattoos.

E-3 Cindy

By Kelly Duffy, National Museum of the American Sailor Contract Curator

Mascots, especially animals, were and continue to be an important tradition in the United States Navy. Individual ships often had mascots of their own, from roosters to dogs. Dogs were so well-loved that many of them had their own ratings and even their own ID cards. This blog tells the story of how a stray dog became a ship’s mascot and a E-3 Sailor.

Dennis Nelson and his book, The Integration of the Negro into the U.S. Navy

By Justin Hall, National Museum of the American Sailor Contract Curator

As a member of the Golden Thirteen, the first African American sailors to undergo officer training at Great Lakes Naval Training Station (now Naval Station Great Lakes), Dennis Nelson broke down color barriers throughout his Naval career. While other members of the Golden Thirteen made accomplishments for equality in their post-Navy professional lives, Nelson was the only member of his officer class to serve a full career on active duty in the Navy. During his service, he challenged segregation and fought for equality in the Navy.