THE BACKBONE OF THE FLEET – The United States Navy in 1940
Navy Day is a holiday that is no longer really celebrated in the United States. While President Truman surely helped to bring about its demise, the American public was probably ready for a break from too much emphasis on the military by the late 1950’s. But before World War 2, the day was an opportunity to reignite a public passion about all things Navy.
The interwar years were spent planning on peace. The various naval treaties had destroyed ships and limited the growth of others in the vain hope that giving up our weapons of war would give up our desire to have war. The folly of that movement came to the front in 1940 as the world was disintegrating into many regional conflicts. Former enemies had long since rearmed themselves and even a few former friends like…
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