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From the Battle of Guadalcanal to the patrols in the South China Sea, sailors have played an essential role in American security throughout the United States' history. SEALs, Seabees, Sailors, pilots, boatswains, and many more serve in the Navy, serving whereever they're called.
2019-10-11
To celebrate the US Navy, we've pulled out some of the coolest photos from the archives.
In the decades after the Civil War, America began a new era of foreign intervention with the Navy leading the way. This 1899 photo shows sailors eating on the USS Olympia, which was the US's flagship during the Spanish-American War of the previous year.
Library of Congress
The USS Holland, seen in this photo from 1900, was the Navy's first commissioned submarine.
Since 1935, American ports have hosted "Fleet Week," a celebration of the sea services including sailors, Marines, and coast guardsmen. Here, sailors arrive in Manhattan in 1941.
US Navy photo
Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 spurred America's entry into World War II. This photo shows a memorial service for sailors killed in the attack.
Library of Congress
Sailors at Pearl Harbor worked to salvage their ships and restore the base. This picture shows the recovery of a Japanese midget submarine abandoned during the Pearl Harbor attack.
Library of Congress
Meanwhile, on the mainland, recruits signed up for the Navy and other armed services by the millions.
Women also served the Navy through the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) program.
Library of Congress
The US Navy led the war against the Japanese in the Pacific. This 1942 photo shows the torpedoed Japanese destroyer Yamakaze photographed through the periscope of USS Nautilus.
One of the most famous incidents in Navy history occurred at 2:30 am on August 2, 1943, when 25-year-old John F. Kennedy's patrol torpedo boat was hit by a Japanese destroyer. Two of Kennedy's men were killed in the crash.
John F Kennedy Presidential Library
The Navy also fought the Nazis, as seen in this 1944 photo showing the capture of a German U-Boat.
On August 14, 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. The highly anticipated "Victory over Japan Day," gave way to some uninhibited celebrations — like this classic sailor's kiss in Times Square.
Library of Congress
Only five years after WWII, America was fighting another war, this time in Korea. This 1950 photo shows the USS Missouri bombarding Korea's communist-held Northern coastline in order to cut enemy communications.
The Navy has planes too, about 3,700. This 1950 photo shows Boeing B-29 Superfortresses dropping 500 pound bombs on a chemical plant during the Korean War.
Library of Congress
The US Navy's Douglas Skyraider was known for being able to take hits and keep flying. Here's a Skyraider deploying bombs in 1952 over Korea.
Beginning in 1964 and lasting for most of the next decade, the Vietnam War was the next major US conflict. This Navy jet fighter shoots Zuni rockets while flying over South Vietnam.
A crewman sits behind a machine gun while on patrol on the Go Cong River. Fighting in dense jungle against well-supplied Viet Cong left American troops frustrated with combat conditions. It was after this war that "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" was officially identified.
Library of Congress
The Navy played a major role during the Cuban Missile Crisis, enforcing a blockade to prevent Soviet weapons deliveries to Cuba. This 1962 photo shows a Navy seaplane and destroyer ship shadowing a Soviet submarine.
Library of Congress
Two F/A-18C Hornet aircraft of Strike Fighter Squadron 74 above aircraft carrier USS Saratoga during Operation Desert Shield.
US Navy photo
Operation Desert Storm, the US-led mission to liberate Kuwait from Iraq, deployed 14 destroyers and 2 battleships. In 1991, the battleship USS Missouri fires at Iraqi targets stationed along the Kuwaiti coast.
Here is one Navy pilot's stats marked on the side of his attack aircraft while deployed in support of Operation Desert Storm. They show combat missions flown, missiles launched, and bombs dropped.
In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the US entered into a "War On Terror" to eliminate al Qaeda. The Navy's amphibious assault ship, deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, is shown dropping off a 5-ton truck.
A Navy sailor working in an expeditionary command tests his night-vision goggles before setting off on another night patrol through Iraq’s waterways in 2007.
This F/A-18C Hornet is the nation's first strike-fighter jet and has a top speed of 1,190 miles per hour — and comes in at a cost of $39 million per plane. A typical Navy air wing has about 14 of these on hand.
Navy SEALs leap from the ramp of an Air Force transport aircraft during parachute training over a Marine Corps base in Hawaii. Exercises like this show collaboration between military branches.
The US Navy submarine force consists of four vessel classes, all of which are nuclear-powered. In this 2004 photo, the crew of the USS Portsmouth enjoy the waters of the Pacific Ocean while deployed.
US Navy photo
The USS Enterprise, or "Big E," is the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and has more steel construction than the Empire State Building. Though decommissioned in 2012, the Enterprise was once the Navy's largest vessel — with a 1960 price tag of $451 million.
The US Naval Academy Class of 2015 celebrates their graduation and commissioning ceremony. Many new officers will head to one of the 11 carrier strike groups the US has posted around the globe.
US Navy Photo
The amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay launches a rolling airframe missile for a live-fire exercise during Valiant Shield 2016.
This August 29, 2017 photo shows a medium-range ballistic-missile target fired from Hawaii's Pacific Missile Range Facility. The missile was intercepted by SM-6 missiles launched from the USS John Paul Jones.
US Navy
In this July 2017 photo, an F/A-18F Super Hornet flies above the USS Gerald R. Ford, an aircraft carrier commissioned that year.
U.S. Navy photo by Erik Hildebrandt
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross sails across the Mediterranean at night in this Sept. 29,2018 photo.
U.S. Navy
A Gunner's Mate 2nd Class aboard a Mark VI patrol boat fires an M2 machine gun in the Philippine Sea on April 12, 2018.
U.S. Navy
The littoral combat ship Gabrielle Giffords launched a Naval Strike Missile at the decommissioned USS Ford, in this October 1, 2019 photo. It was the first time the NSM was fired in the Indo-Pacific region.
Screenshot via US Navy
Sailors with Naval Special Warfare Group (NSWG) 2 conduct an operation off the East Coast in this September 18, 2019 photo.
Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Jayme Pastoric / US Navy
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Amanda was formerly a correspondent for Business Insider's military and defense team. Before Business Insider, she worked as a field producer for Reuters in Brussels covering NATO and EU political institutions.Amanda grew up in the US Army and graduated from the University of Missouri-School of Journalism. She lives in Washington, DC, with her spoiled cat, Harlem.Disclosure: Amanda has family who work at Lockheed Martin, a company she regularly covers.
Ellen Ioanes is the Military & Defense Editorial Fellow at INSIDER. She is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School and Davidson College. Her work appears in the Guardian, the Center for Public Integrity, the Daily Dot, HuffPost India, and more. You can follow her on Twitter @girlstothefront.
