The summer before I went to college, I was not so worried about leaving home for the first time, I was concerned I did not have what it took to be a good Naval Officer. My doubts came when I received a letter about O-week. This was an orientation, I learned, about life as a […]
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References for the Collector
U.S. Maritime Service Commissioned and Warrant Officer hat Winter hat; navy blue wool with wicker frame, ½-in. wide. gold bullion chinstrap and two 22½-ligne gilt cap screws. (note: if strap is ¼-in., hat would be that of a warrant officer). Circa Second World War. It is one thing to collect, and another to actually know […]
Insignia Houses
Where have all the insignia manufacturers of the American Merchant Marine managing operators gone? Long passed are the days of enamel flags on high-pressure caps, and so too is true for their makers. Through complex mergers and acquisitions, tools that once struck these diminutive flags found their way to the scrap heap or in the […]
U.S. Naval Reserve Insignia reprise
U.S. Naval Reserve Insignia reprise Sometimes the U.S. Navy doesn’t quite get it right. Back in the 1970s CNO Admiral Zumwalt embarked on a noble experiment: for men beards and sideburns were allowed and crackerjacks were removed from an enlisted sailor’s sea chest. A bluejacket could sport sideburns reaching the end of his earlobes, and […]
S/T Ocean Eagle
In case you’re curious about the header image, that is the Liberian Tanker Ocean Eagle sinking in the harbor off of San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 March 1968. NOAA Report Office of Naval Research Oceanic Biology Program Report The accident was devastating to local ecosystems as it was the most severe oil spill experienced […]
British Petroleum Shipping Co.
British Petroleum Shipping Co. Officer hat badgeMetal, gold wire and colored thread on wool backing.Circa 1960s. With contemporary events unfolding regarding the catastrophe in the Gulf, it is worth pausing for a moment to think about transport of petroleum products. One of the safest, economical and most expedient methods to transport liquid petroleum and its […]