AFTER ACTION BLOG

President Truman awards Lt. (j.g.) Donald Gary the Medal of Honor

When Shipmates Earned the Medal of Honor Together: Rare Moments in WWII Naval History

March 25, 2026
Plaque donated by Captain Gary Schnurrpusch, USN (Ret.), on display at The Museum...
Lt. (j.g.) Donald Gary / Lt. Cmdr Joseph T. O'Callahan / Medal of Honor / USS Franklin
USS Franklin nearly obscured by smoke and flames after 19 March attack US Navy photo 80-G-49131

USS Franklin March 14-24 1945 Deck Logs

March 19, 2026
19 March 1945 deck log of USS FRANKLIN showing cruising disposition and ship's...
19 march / Air Group 5 / US Navy / USS Franklin
US Navy Carrier USS Franklin on fire 19 March 1945. Dense smoke rises from fires aft of the ship's island.

Disobedient USS Franklin Sailor Put on Bread and Water

March 9, 2026
USS Franklin Deck Log excerpt for 9 March 1945 for the hours of...
USS Franklin
Two carriers burning after separate kamikaze strikes. USS Franklin (CV-13), at right, and USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) afire after being hit by Japanese kamikaze suicide planes, while operating off the Philippines on 30 October 1944. Photographed from USS Brush (DD-745). US Navy 80-G-326798

Admiral William Halsey Displeased With USS Franklin’s Readiness

March 6, 2026
Admiral William Halsey, Third Fleet commander, finds the setting of Material Condition ABLE...
Admiral William Halsey / Captain James Shoemaker / Kamikaze attack / Leadership / Material Readiness / October 1944 / USS Franklin
USS Franklin Deck Log for the afternoon and evening of 16 February 1945. It mentions the deaths of two pilots in a training exercise.

For US Naval Aviators, Non-Combat Deaths Outnumbered Those in Combat

February 16, 2026
A Curtiss SB2C-3 "Hell-diver" bomber takes a "wave-off" while attempting to land in...
Air Group 5 / US Navy / USS Franklin

102nd “Ozark” Infantry Division Oral History of Maury Ross

February 10, 2026
Shadow box containing military ribbons, dog tag, badges, and Purple Heart belonging to...
102nd "Ozark" Division / Oral Histories
“EU Pixelated” by Creative Commons was cropped from an image generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI) by the DALL-E 2 AI platform with the text prompt “pixel art of computer code streaming across an EU flag.” CC dedicates any rights it holds to the image to the public domain.

AI—Artificial Intelligence or Actual Ignorance?

December 9, 2025
Picture of World War II Essex-class carrier generated by AI. Count the mistakes....
Artificial Intelligence / Lt. (j.g.) Donald Gary / Research / US Navy / USS Franklin
Captain Leslie Gehres in his Patrol Wing Four headquarters. Photo US Navy

Captain Leslie Gehres Assumes Command of USS Franklin

November 7, 2025
Commodore Leslie Gehres, after being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service...
Captain Leslie Gehres
Two carriers burning after separate kamikaze strikes. USS Franklin (CV-13), at right, and USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) afire after being hit by Japanese kamikaze suicide planes, while operating off the Philippines on 30 October 1944. Photographed from USS Brush (DD-745). US Navy 80-G-326798

Kamikazes “Body Crash” USS Franklin and USS Belleau Wood

October 30, 2025
Pilots of Torpedo Squadron 13 (VT-13) in their ready room aboard USS Franklin...
Action Reports / Kamikaze attack / October 1944
A group of US Navy officers including women who are WAVES attend the commissioning of the USS Franklin, 14 October 1943. The picture shows a vew of the ship's bow, wrapped in bunting taken from a lower angle so the bow looms overhead.

Websites Essential to Researching U.S. Navy Ships and Crews

October 14, 2025
The USS Franklin (CV-13) is floated out of her building dock immediately after...
US Navy / USS Franklin

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