A Sailor's History of the U.S. Navy (42 page)

And, ever since, the Navy has heeded that CNO's words. In the spring of every year, no matter where they are stationed, American Sailors come together to remember a moment in our Navy's history when the extraordinary was accomplished by the ordinary, to reflect on what that represents to each man and woman who wears or has worn a Navy uniform, to hope that they too will be ready should the day come when they will have to meet similar challenges and find the strength to carry on the finest ideals of the United States of America, just as those at Midway once did.

It is appropriate to close the final chapter of this book with a discussion of two words, strange to the rest of the world but very meaningful to the men and women who serve in today's Navy. Every Sailor knows (and aspires to) the two words “Bravo Zulu.” It is the Navy's unique way of praising someone, of saying, “Well done.” While everyone in the Navy knows what it means, not everyone knows how it came to be. “Why not Whiskey Delta?” one might ask.

The origins of the term can be found in the practice of using codes to convey information or orders at sea. Before radio was invented, ships needed some means of communicating with each other. A set of signal flags representing letters and numbers was produced so that messages could be created and hoisted by one ship and read by other ships within visual range. But trying to spell out a message of very many words would require a lot of halyard space, so signal books were devised with simple
codes that assigned longer meanings to short combinations of letters. For example, if all ships in a squadron had the same signal book that assigned the code letters “DCV” to mean, “Engage the nearest enemy from wind-ward,” the squadron commodore could order that for all his ships at once, simply by hoisting those three flags. This system had an added advantage: if the enemy did not have the same signal book, he would not know what the commodore was intending.

When radio was invented, the same codes could still be used to convey longer messages in shorter terms (over longer distances), simply by broadcasting the code letters by voice or Morse code. The problem with voice radio is that letters such as
t, d, e,
and
p
sound too much alike. A commodore intending to tell his ships to “engage the enemy” (DCV) might accidentally tell them to “return to port” (TCE) if they misheard the letters. To counter that problem, a “phonetic alphabet” was devised, where each letter has a word assigned to it so that there will be no confusion. In the first such alphabet, created in 1913, “DCV” became “Dog Cast Vice” and “TCE” became “Tare Cast Easy.”

Over the years, for various reasons, the phonetic alphabet was changed (once in 1927, again in 1938, and yet again in World War II). The final change, resulting in the phonetic alphabet in use today, occurred in 1957, altering the phonetic words to make them more easily pronounceable by America's NATO allies. The only words to remain the same since 1913 are “Mike” and “X-ray.”

The signal books, assigning specific meanings to different combinations of letters and numbers, have also changed to reflect advances in technology and to keep enemy forces from becoming familiar with the codes. The codes have also grown, incorporating administrative as well as tactical information. One of the signals included along the way was that which allowed a commander to send his approval for a successful evolution, to say, “Well done.” During World War II “Tare Victor George” was listed in the codebook with that meaning.

A new codebook, called the
Allied Naval Signal Book
(ACP 175), was adopted after NATO was created in 1949. Until then, each navy had used its own signal code and operational manuals. World War II experience had shown that it was difficult, or even impossible, for ships of different navies to operate together unless they could readily communicate, and ACP 175 was designed to remedy this problem.

ACP 175 was organized in the general manner of other signal books, that is, starting with one-flag signals, then two-flag signals, and so on. The two-flag signals were organized by general subject, starting with AA, AB, AC . . . AZ, BA, BB, BC . . . BZ, and so on. The B signals were the “administrative”
signals, and the last signal on the administrative page was “BZ,” standing for “well done” (thus replacing the old “TVG”). This was spoken as “Baker Zebra” until 1957, when the phonetic alphabet was changed to the “Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta” one still in use today. With that change, “BZ” became “Bravo Zulu,” the code familiar to, and coveted by, Sailors today.

Theodore Roscoe's informal history,
This Is Your Navy,
written specifically for Sailors, was the inspiration for this book in a number of ways. The cover for that earlier book was simple in design, yet so very appropriate. Featuring simply the title, the author's name, and three Navy signal flags, it was Roscoe's way of summing up the content of his book, which unashamedly sang the praises of the U.S. Navy. The three flags were Tango, Victor, and Charlie, forerunner to Bravo Zulu: “Well done.”

 

 

Since 1971, the U.S. Navy has observed the practice during ceremonial occasions of adding a cluster of multicolored streamers adorned with silver and bronze stars to the top of its flag. These streamers and stars symbolize the dedicated and heroic service that Sailors have demonstrated for more than two hundred years.

All streamers are three feet long and two and three-quarters inches wide, but each one is unique in its combination of colors and represents an individual war, campaign, or theater of operations. The embroidered stars further represent individual battles or specific operations that rate special recognition. One battle or operation is represented by one bronze star. To save space, five battles or operations are represented by one silver star. The three battles of the Quasi-War with France, for example, are recognized by a streamer with three bronze stars, while the fourteen separate battles of the War of 1812 are represented by two silver stars and four bronze stars.

Some battle streamers represent wars (such as the Revolutionary War and the Spanish-American War), while others represent a period or campaign (such as operations against West Indian pirates and the China relief expedition). World War II was such a vast war that it is represented by a series of streamers, each one standing for a different theater of operations (Asiatic-Pacific Theater, European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign, and so on).

Taken together, these battle streamers provide a summary operational history of the U.S. Navy. Each battle streamer is listed below, followed by a brief description of the war, campaign, or theater of operations it represents. Also listed are the individual battles or special operations recognized by the stars on each streamer.

Note
: The stars on three banners pictured in this appendix—Revolutionary War, Armed Forces Expeditionary Service, and Vietnam Service—do not correspond to the paragraphs that describe them. At the time we went to press, copies of the updated streamers were not available to reproduce here.

Beginning with actions in coastal waters in early 1775, followed by Commodore Esek Hopkins's 1776 amphibious assault to capture military stores at New Providence in the Bahamas, and reaching a climax in 1781 when French fleet action off the Virginia Capes led to victory at Yorktown, the war at sea played a vital role in the nation's struggle for independence. Small, fragmented American naval forces lacked the capabilities for major fleet engagements, but their contributions were crucial to failure or success.

The Continental Navy was aided by various state navies, privateers, and a fleet of schooners sent to sea by General George Washington. With these various seagoing forces, the Americans captured nearly two hundred enemy merchant ships to provide vitally needed supplies for the hard-pressed Army, periodically transported Washington's troops, and joined in the defense of important port cities—New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston. Despite overwhelming odds, American Sailors carried the patriotic cause to sea against the overwhelming strength of Britain's Royal Navy. Operations in European waters, especially when John Paul Jones and his men in
Bonhomme Richard
defeated HMS
Serapis
in battle, brought the war to England's shores.

Stars

Two silver stars are included on the Revolutionary War battle streamer, representing ten different battles, campaigns, and operations.

1. New Providence, Bahamas, operation (3 March 1776).
In the first Continental Navy operation of the war, a squadron of ships commanded by Esek Hopkins landed shore parties in the Bahamas and captured a British fort at New Providence, bringing back much-needed ammunition and weapons to General George Washington's Army.

2. Inland waters and amphibious operations.
An outclassed American force at Lake Champlain was able to slow the British advance from Canada and set up the vital American strategic victory at Saratoga in 1777. Eleven of the thirteen states (New Jersey and Delaware were the exceptions) created navies for the defense of their seaports, and some participated
in commerce-raiding operations. On several occasions, Washington relied upon local vessels to effect some of his most important operations: his escape from New York, in which nine thousand men were ferried across the East River in nine hours, and his assault across the Delaware River to capture Trenton are notable examples.

3. West Indies and European convoy operations.
Although not part of the rebellious colonies, the West Indies were an important component of the economy in the New World, as well as a source of great distraction for the Royal Navy as it defended both its holdings there and its convoys carrying goods to and from the region.

4. Operations in European waters.
Various American ships under the command of Lambert Wickes, Gustavus Conyngham, and John Paul Jones operated in the waters near Britain and France, seizing British ships and conducting raids ashore. This caused a great deal of alarm in England and further resulted in British merchants demanding naval escorts for their ships.