The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 has for many years been of great personal interest to me. In particular I have done a great deal of research on the question of whether the blame laid upon the military commanders in Hawaii was misplaced, and whether President Roosevelt was attempting to evade issues of responsibility in doing so. I have assembled a sizeable bibliography of books related to Pearl Harbor, as well as collections of links and other materials.
More recently, I have also added an essay relating the recent attacks upon the World Trade Center and the Pentagon to the attack on Pearl Harbor.
My interest in matters Navy may have started with Pearl Harbor and WWII in the Pacific, but it certainly doesn't end there. Certainly anyone who cares about the sea and navies has to know at least something about Admiral Lord Nelson. When I first happened to research something on him, I quickly discovered that he has a certain way of winning hearts, even through the medium of the printed page. I may prefer the US Navy to his, but I still love the little fellow all the same.
Recent interest in the development of the measure of longitude has brought the name of Sir Clowdisley Shovell back to the attention of the public. Although considered a great hero at the time of his death in 1707, this admiral from the War of the Spanish Succession has been so totally eclipsed by Nelson's greatness that he had been nearly forgotten except by specialists in naval history. Unfortunately, the sudden revival of interest in him has been anything but positive. In fact, there has been a general perception that he was an arrogant and incompetent fool, a perception which struck me as being somewhat dismissive. Never one to stand by when someone might be unjustly accused, I set to an investigation of just what truth might lie behind the perception.
And in the wake of the shocking suicide of the US Chief of Naval Operations, Jeremy "Mike" Boorda, I've decided to make a bit of my portion of cyberspace into a memorial to yet another fascinating, diminutive admiral who died too young. When you visit my shrine to Boorda, please pause for a moment to remember him and consider what his life means to you and how you can make his life meaningful through the way you live yours.
I also found a general military history page that is an excellent place to find links to all kinds of military stuff. Visit Military History Links and you won't be disappointed.
Let me know what you think! Mail suggestions to me at leighkimmel@yahoo.com
Last updated September 14, 2001.
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Boorda picture courtesy of Parascope.
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