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. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
By Dan Smaczny, National Museum of the American Sailor Contract Curator
For historians, oral histories and personal recollections are important pieces of evidence. Often, ties to our past are even closer than we think. In our museum, we find valuable ties to our past through our volunteer corps. One of our volunteers, Steve Winston, not only generously gives us his time but shared some of his memories of Vietnam as well. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
For most recruits, their time is Naval Station Great Lakes is their first time away from home. They take on new experiences and carry the memories of the loved ones they’ve left. For some, it’s a wonderful time of adventure. For others, it’s a difficult transition. This has been the case since recruits began arriving in 1911. Before the days of texting and social media, Sailors shared their thoughts and experiences on postcards and in letters.
Each year, approximately 40,000 recruits pass through Recruit Training Command (Boot Camp) at Naval Station Great Lakes. These young men and women volunteer to serve in the United States Navy.
But there is another group of dedicated individuals, albeit somewhat smaller, who also donate a portion of their time and energies to the U.S. Navy. They require no PFT, no uniform issue, and will not have to go through the rigors of Battle Stations 21. They are the volunteers at the National Museum of the American Sailor. Their contributions to the preservation and interpretation of the history and heritage of the U.S. Navy can not be understated.
For many young men and women, joining the Navy means leaving family, friends, and home for the first time. New friends and new routines replace the old, but some things just aren’t the same. This is especially true around the holidays when decorations in the barracks and a galley holiday menu can’t replace putting up the Christmas tree with family ornaments as tempting aromas waft from the kitchen while a Bowl game plays on the television.
For some lucky ones, leave is approved. For most, the holidays will be spent at the barracks and in the galley. But not for all…
A recent donation to NMAS revealed the curious case of Walter Joseph Hrbaczewski. Hrbaczewski joined the U.S. Naval Reserve in February, 1946 at age 17, getting his parents to sign him up as a minor. He completed boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois and then attended service school in California. After six months on active duty, he became an inactive member of the Naval Reserve.
All was normal for Hrbaczewski for a few years. But then things got weird.
Charles and Geoffrey Bender wearing their dress blue uniform.
There might be nothing more traditional in the Navy than the dress blue uniform. There have been subtle changes to the uniform over the years, but the essential style has remained the same.
This tradition gets personal for Charles and Geoffrey Bender, father and son who both served in the U.S. Navy. While 30 years separate their service, they both wore the same uniform – yes, literally the same uniform. When Geoffrey donated the uniform to the museum in 2013, he included details about how the uniform was worn and modified by his father, Charles, before Geoffrey himself wore it 30 years later.
Sailor's Attic 