Yeoman First Class Cecil Garland Colvin (known as Bobbie) was the son of Madeline Fletcher and a step-son of Ray Fletcher. Most of his childhood years were spent on the Pringle Ranch (Dundy County Nebraska). He attended school in Parks and Benkelman. Bobbie joined the Navy in 1936. In March...

“Letter (download) from Mrs. Ada Gillins (Robert’s Mother) to Cora Reed. After three years imprisonment in the Makassar Prison of War camp on the Celebes Islands, Robert Eugene Gillins succumbed to beriberi and edema on February 28, 1945, four months before V-J (Victory Over...

The Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast, was a Northampton-class heavy cruiser of the US Navy, and was the second ship to bear the name “Houston.” On January 10, 1931, the cruiser departed for the Pacific after a stop at the Panama Canal and the Hawaiian Islands. The Houston arrived...

USS Perch SS176, the lead ship of Perch-class submarines of the United States Navy, is the first Navy ship to be named for the perch. THE WAR YEARS At the outbreak of hostilities, Perch – commanded by David A. Hurt – was in Cavite Navy Yard. She took part in the rush to clear the...