A Salute to the U.S. Navy
About 30 angry colonists set out in a whaling sloop called Success May 13-14, 1775, to retrieve a pair of merchant vessels captured by HMS Falcon in Buzzards Bay off the coast of Fairhaven Massachusetts. The sloop was aptly named. Outnumbered almost 4 to 1, the colonists, under no military command, retrieved the ships, killed one enemy seaman and took 13 prisoners.
The Continental Navy was created on October 13, 1775. It had a slim chance against the Crown, which sent 250 warships and seasoned crews to fight the colonists. Only 11 of the 65 Navy vessels managed to survive the war.
In time, the Navy grew into the largest, most effective on earth, overtaking Great Britain in size during World War II, fighting by sea, air and land, developing myriad innovations – nuclear propulsion to GPS systems – that revolutionized the military and civilization as a whole.
Over 250 years, more than 41 million people have served in the Navy, 749 of whom received the Medal of Honor. Fleet and force strength have ebbed and flowed since some 3,500 served in the Continental Navy, hitting a peak during World War II when about 4.1 million U.S. sailors were in the fight.
What the Navy Gave America
Radar systems, developed for wartime use, began when the first operational radar was installed on USS New York in 1938.
Sonar developed to detect enemy submarines became a vital tool for naval reconnaissance and ocean-floor mapping.
Global Positioning System (GPS) was developed by the Navy in the 1960s to track submarines. GPS has become an indispensable technology for cars, smartphones and emergency services.
Duct tape A mother of two Navy sailors is credited for suggesting a type of fabric-backed tape she had been using which would help with quick opening and closing of ammo boxes in World War II. The War Production Board soon contracted Johnson & Johnson to develop the multi-purpose fastener also knows as “duck tape” for its ability to work when wet.
Microwave ovens was from a Navy veteran who applied math and science knowledge he attained while serving as a radio operator during World War I to invent the microwave oven as an employee of Raytheon, which patented it in 1945. The Navy later awarded this inventor the Distinguished Service Medal.
Courtesy of the American Legion Magazine October 2025