Originally printed in Clear Lake Courier — 29 July 1998 Lieutenant Yoshio Shiga of the Japanese Imperial Navy commanded one of the Zero fighter squadrons that attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He is now 84 years old and the owner of a Tokyo company that makes security systems for military and law enforcement […]
Originally printed in the Clear Lake Courier — October 2, 1996 The first day lasted 25 hours. We drove to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, early Tuesday morning. When I arrived in Japan and checked into my BOQ room at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Wednesday morning’s Today show was on television. The Boeing 747 left Seattle […]
 Originally printed in the Clear Lake Courier — August 7, 1996 He was the only person to go from the very bottom of the Navy to the very top, from seaman recruit to Chief of Naval Operations. He was also the first CNO who did not attend the Naval Academy. In 1956 Jeremy “Mike” […]
Originally published in the Clear Lake Courier — November 1, 1995 Did you serve in the United States Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or wartime Merchant Marine, either in the reserves or on active duty? If so, you’re eligible to have your photograph displayed in the Navy Memorial Log at the U.S. Navy Memorial and […]
Originally published in the Clear Lake Courier — April 17, 1996 Sergeant Major Charles Black, assigned to the Army’s 7th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was on temporary duty in El Salvador just before Christmas 1989. While coordinating in-country training for Special Forces teams, he stayed at the Sheraton Hotel in the […]
Originally published in the Clear Lake Courier — March 27, 1996 Several years ago a 12-man U.S. Army team was sent to a remote village in northern Thailand. As soon as the team arrived, they set up a medical clinic and started giving checkups and shots to the children. A local drug warlord, who didn’t […]
[Written to tell children about the POW/MIA issue] Imagine being a pilot shot down behind enemy lines during a war. You would be missing in action (MIA) if our government did not know where you were. If you were a soldier captured by the enemy, you would be a prisoner of war (POW). In either […]
One perk of being in naval aviation maintenance is the occasional opportunity to fly in the backseat of a jet. While in the training command in 1979, I went through ejection seat training and water survival to do just that. Following a lecture about the ejection seat, we took turns strapping into a seat mounted […]
Speech at commissioning ceremony for CWO2 Vincent “Red” Phipps, USN, at Naval Air Station Norfolk, 1 March 1988 By LCDR Diane Diekman, USN Several months ago I read a letter in Naval Proceedings that I thought would be perfect to talk about today as Chief Phipps prepares to take the commissioning oath. It was written by […]
Women’s History Month speech at Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Japan — 21 March 1997 I’m awed to be standing in front of you today. I never thought I’d be senior enough or important enough to be a luncheon speaker. When my boss and I were discussing whether we should do something for Women’s History […]