Military

Located on the waterfront in historic Fall River, Massachusetts, Battleship Cove, a nonprofit maritime museum and war memorial, is home to the largest and most diverse collection of preserved US Navy ships in the world.

It is the commonwealth's official memorial for the events of September 11, 2001, and the official veterans' memorial for World War II and the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf Wars. Beginning with the opening of the battleship USS Massachusetts in 1965, the ""Fall River Navy"" has continued to grow. The vessels include the submarine Lionfish, destroyer Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., and PT boats 617 and 796. Having hosted nearly six million visitors from all over the world, Battleship Cove is one of the most popular attractions in southeastern Massachusetts. It now stands at the threshold of a new era in its ambitions to modernize for the 21st century.

Discover within these pages little-known facts about the USS Albany, the U.S. Navy's oldest commissioned warship, USS Constitution, and the WWII destroyer, USS Cassin Young.

The photographs in this exciting new volume illustrate the history of the Charlestown Navy Yard from the late nineteenth century through the twentieth century. Founded in 1800, the yard was oneof the first military shipyards in the United States.Charlestown Navy Yard celebrates the life of the yardthrough one hundred years of photographs, showing thedramatic changes that took place during the transition from wood to steel ships. Charlestown Navy Yard's history is preserved in these images, which include rare views of buildings past and present and snapshots of shipyard workers in the Ropewalk, on the ships, and in the Forge Shop where die-lock chain was developed.

The U.S. Army Natick Laboratories, dedicated in 1953 under the aegis of the Quartermaster Corps, was an important part of the revolution in military science brought to a head by the fevered pace of developments in military technology during World War II. The laboratory, now known as the Soldier Systems Center and including facilities run by the U.S. Army, Navy, and Coast Guard, focuses entirely on research associated with helping soldiers to be healthier and more effective. U.S. Army Natick Laboratories: The Science behind the Soldier features nearly two hundred historic images depicting the projects and accomplishments of the laboratories, including the development of food irradiation, the freeze-drying technique, meals-ready-to-eat (MREs), body armor, new parachute technology, and clothing for every environment imaginable.

The eyes of the United States Navy first focused on Quincy's Squantum peninsula in 1909, when daring young pilots from around the world gathered for the Harvard Air Meet. By the 1930s, the Victory Plant--a destroyer plant that set production records--had come and gone and the navy had set up the nation's first naval reserve aviation training center on the site. When air traffic over Boston Harbor thickened in the 1930s, the navy moved its aerial operations inland to the South Weymouth Naval Air Station. That base and its ubiquitous hangar became South Shore landmarks for more than a half-century. Squantum and South Weymouth Naval Air Stations brings back to life the early age of naval aviation on the South Shore, from biplanes to blimps to bombers and beyond.

The geographical location of Fort Devens has a military history that dates back to the 1600s, when the area was first garrisoned by British troops. In 1915, the region was again chosen for a cantonment, one of only sixteen in the country. In order to build the camp, the War Department assembled the largest labor force in history. New buildings sprang up at the rate of about ten per day and supported more than one hundred thousand troops that were processed at Camp Devens, as it was originally named, during World War I.

Fort Devens is the first book to trace the military activity in this area. Throughout the twentieth century, troops were trained and deployed from Fort Devens for every major conflict the United States was involved in. During World War II, Fort Devens inducted more than six hundred thousand men into the army from the New England area. The list of individuals who have served here included Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Bill Mauldin, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, and Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Even NASA can trace its birth to Fort Devens by way of Dr. Robert Goddard's liquid-fueled rocket experiments.

Pres. George Washington authorized Springfield Armory to begin manufacturing small arms for the US military in 1794.

Over nearly two centuries until its closure in 1968, the government armory at Springfield, Massachusetts, became legendary, not only for the arms provided to soldiers during conflicts such as the War of 1812, the Civil War, and World War II, but also for the way in which those arms were crafted. The drive to produce firearms of high quality and quantity for the nation's military created a need to improve manufacturing methods and machinery. Armory advancements, such as the interchangeability of parts, helped lay the groundwork of the American Industrial Revolution. Because of these efforts, Springfield Armory is recognized not only as a first-rate government arms manufacturer, but also as a hub of industry, attracting thousands of skilled men and women from around the world.

In 1988, the U.S. Base Realignment and Closure Commission announced the closure of the Army Materials Technology Laboratory in Watertown, the last remnant of the famous Watertown Arsenal, which served the country from shortly after the War of 1812, through two world wars and much of the Cold War. Known for its contribution to the development of some of the most powerful artillery ever made, including the famed "atomic cannon," the Watertown Arsenal also earned a reputation in other ways. In the early 1900s, it hosted famous efficiency experts, such as Frederick Winslow Taylor. Later it pioneered important advances in materials science and stood as a vital regional institution that employed generations of people from the Boston area. Along the way it hosted many famous visitors, including Franklin D. Roosevelt and Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

Any red-blooded American knows that the first action of the Revolutionary War took place at Concord, Massachusetts, with the "shot heard 'round the world." But a good deal of what is widely known about those early days of the Revolution is wrong.

In this new book, historian D. Michael Ryan illuminates acts of uprising of Patriots and Loyalists during the first action of the Revolutionary War in and around Concord. Through a series of compelling essays, Ryan debunks historical myths and salutes those who fought for the recognition of our nation and became the first heroes of the fledgling United States. What was romanticized and changed in the generations since the Revolution is presented here directly through the voices of the people who faced the shocking facts of war and rebellion.

From Dr. Samuel Prescott, who joined Paul Revere on his famous ride and left fiancée Lydia Mulliken behind, to the mystery of the Bedford Flag unfurled on April 19, these stories reveal the truths of our founding fathers and mothers. As their lives were interrupted by the birth of a country, the citizens of Concord saw their friends and neighbors engaged in acts of bravery and of depravity. Ryan's account of the "shot heard 'round the world," provides a glimpse at the realities of the American Revolution.

Author Jake Klim chronicles the attack from the first shell fired to the aftermath and celebrates the resilience of Orleans at war.

On the morning of July 21, 1918--in the final year of the First World War--a new prototype of German submarine surfaced three miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The vessel attacked an unarmed tugboat and its four barges. A handful of the shells fired by the U-boat's deck guns struck Nauset Beach, giving the modest town of Orleans the distinction of being the only spot in the United States to receive enemy fire during the entire war. On land, lifesavers from the U.S. Coast Guard launched a surfboat under heavy enemy fire to save the sailors trapped aboard the tug and barges. In the air, seaplanes from the Chatham Naval Air Station dive-bombed the enemy raider with payloads of TNT.

Over 500,000 Massachusetts residents answered the call to military duty in the Second World War, while the rest of the state's citizens fought the war on the home front. Everyone in the family, including pets, found creative and essential ways to contribute.

Thousands worked in factories, volunteered for Civil Defense, watched for enemy aircraft, and took part in salvage collections and bond drives, all while dealing with rationing, blackouts, rumors and a host of other wartime inconveniences. And while thousands of service members left to fight overseas, the Bay State also welcomed thousands more to serve on its military bases that were such an important part of our nation's defense.

Author James Parr reveals the stories of these brave and dedicated citizens--from the famous to the ordinary--as they faced wartime challenges.

Eben "Bunny" Bradbury, son of two historic Newburyport families, joined the United States Marine Corps just days after the declaration of war in April 1917. Everyone in the city knew him, and his his sudden death a year later in at the Battle of Belleau Wood in France was commemorated with a public monument. Ninety-seven years later, a chance encounter brought a local historian and distant cousin to ask about his monument, leading to the discovery of intimate letters, personal diaries, photographs and military records, held by people across the world who had not forgotten Eben. Author Bethany Groff Dorau reveals a story that goes beyond a tragic battlefield death and uncovers a rich and complex American family, rooted deeply in a truly American city.

The Coast Guard's deepest roots run through Massachusetts, the ancestral home to three of the five predecessor agencies that make up the service today. The Coast Guard formed in 1915 and since that time has served the citizens of the Bay State at lifeboat stations, air stations, lighthouses, LORAN stations, and radio stations, as well as on lightships and cutters of all sizes. They have protected the Massachusetts coastline during numerous wars, performing some of the most dramatic rescues in American history--from the Pendleton to the Argo Merchant to the Etrusco and more. The story of the Coast Guard in Massachusetts is one of heroism, honor, respect, and devotion to duty.

The small, tightknit island community of Martha's Vineyard was irrevocably transformed by World War II. From rationing and blackouts to a military presence in Chilmark, the war was brought home to the residents of the island. In the air, pilots flew training missions from the Martha's Vineyard Naval Auxiliary Air Facility. At sea, ferryboats served as hospital ships in the D-Day invasion, while enemy submarines lurked offshore. Mock invasions were undertaken by military forces from across Vineyard Sound, and remote sites were used for training missions and bombing practice. Residents participated in the war effort by buying war bonds, supporting USO activities and conducting air raid drills. Remnants and reminiscences of this illustrious past can still be found today. Join authors Thomas Dresser, Herb Foster and Jay Schofield as they revive the story of this resilient island during World War II.

Far from the glistening waters and gray-shingled villages of Cape Cod were the bloody front lines of the American Civil War. During this era, Cape Cod recruiting officers often urged soldiers to "raise the right arm of the old Bay State." Learn about the Cape's first casualty of war, Philander Crowell Jr. of Yarmouth, who was a member of the First Massachusetts Regiment; discover how local fishermen made money both by catching fish and by enlisting in the army; and read about the four bloody battles that caused considerable loss for Cape Codders. Join author and historian Stauffer Miller as he chronicles the untold and riveting history of Cape Cod and the Civil War.

Captain Cassin Young served with distinction in the US Navy until his death in the battle of Guadalcanal in January 1942. His fine example of courage and sacrifice was immortalized in December 1943 when the Fletcher Class destroyer USS Cassin Young was commissioned into service. Using a host of first-hand sources and previously unpublished interviews, this book illustrates vividly what it was like for the young crew and officers to serve aboard the Cassin Young, a 'tin can' destroyer, in some of the most intense naval battles of the Second World War. As well as heart-stopping action, it describes the boredom, the pranks, the discipline, the diet, the dangers, fears and deaths - and, above all, the unsettling dread of kamikaze attack. These were young men, some of them teenagers, eager to fight for their country; their combined experiences are amusing, harrowing, and poignant, but what endures most is their noble sense of brotherhood. The USS Cassin Young went on to serve in the Korean War and finally entered preservation at the Charlestown Naval Yard in Boston. It stands as a monument to the memory of many brave young men who were willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their country. This book humbly joins in honoring them.

Boston's black and white abolitionists forged a second American revolution dedicated to ending slavery and honoring the promise of liberty made in the Declaration of Independence. Before the war, Bostonians were bitterly divided between those who supported the Union and those opposed to its endorsement of slavery. The Fugitive Slave Act brought the horrors of slavery close to home and led many to join the abolitionists. March to war with Boston's brave soldiers, including the grandson of Patriot Paul Revere and the Fighting Irish. The all-black Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment battled against both slavery and discrimination, while Boston's women fought tirelessly against slavery and for their own right to be full citizens of the Union. Join local historian and author Barbara F. Berenson on a thrilling and memorable journey through Civil War Boston.