The Navy then – and now

It was a magnificent weekend in San Francisco, perfect for the annual Fleet Week. The U.S. Navy showed its best, and the Blue Angels put on aerial demonstrations of flying skills that always give me chills of excitement and pride.

Those young aviators do things with military jets that shouldn't be possible – flying in formation with wing tips inches apart at speeds reaching 1,000 miles per hour!

I love them and what they represent: the military and organizational superiority of the United States. It's something I'm proud of and something that too often is denigrated by people who don't realize that having a strong military is comparable to having a good police force.

Both organizations represent the thin blue line between civilians and those who wish to harm and/or destroy us. To paraphrase Jefferson, safety is assured with eternal vigilance.

"Our goal: to create and perfect a cohesive, smooth functioning team, which, by virtue of its harmony of action, unity of purpose and its invincible determination, will be able to out-point the enemy on every count." February, 1943, Lt. Col. Evans F. Carlson, commander, 2d Raider Battalion, USMC Espiritu Santos.

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Two Canadian Navy ships participated in Fleet Week as well as the World War II U.S. Liberty Ship Jeremiah O'Brien and the Vietnam-era Liberty PT-26 from Sacramento.

A Coast Guard cutter was there, and the San Francisco fireboat led the parade of ships.

The Navy had five vessels from the U.S. Third Fleet as well as the newest amphibious assault ship, the USS Makin Island (LHD 8), which was commissioned Oct. 24, 2009.

She's the last LHD of the WASP-class, but it's unique. It's "eco-friendly" – the first Navy ship equipped with gas turbines and an electric drive system – similar to a hybrid car. It's also the first to have an advanced electrical system powering all the ships auxiliaries including producing up to 200,000 gallons of fresh water every day.

This is the second ship to carry the name Makin Island. The first, USS Makin Island (CVE-93), was a Casablanca-class escort aircraft carrier serving in World War II from 1944-1946. Her aircraft provided air cover and air strikes supporting amphibious landings at Luzon, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The ship was never damaged by the enemy and earned five battle stars and the Navy Unit Commendation.

I toured the new ship and met many of the crew – Navy, Marines and Army, male and female. They're well-trained, disciplined and enthusiastic. They're young, dedicated and happy with their career choice.

Two crew members were on my KSFO radio program: Lt. Junior Grade Lauryn Dempsey, surface warfare officer and public affairs officer; and Ensign Stephen Logan, surface warfare officer and deputy public affairs officer.

They have taken different paths to get where they are today. Dempsey is a graduate of the Naval Academy and Logan, who had become restless with college and wanted more of life, joined the service and moved into Officer Candidate School. They're both in their early 20s. They love the Navy and have pride in their ship, its mission and heritage.

Four months after Pearl Harbor, Evans Carlson created the USMC 2nd Raider Battalion, implementing his strategies of guerilla warfare and small-unit operations. He stressed the importance of ethical indoctrination for combat cohesion and adopted the Chinese phrase "Gung ho" as the motto – meaning "work together."

The Makin Island has a crew of more than 1,000, which can support military, humanitarian and disaster relief missions – exemplified by state-of-the-art medical facilities, including multiple operating rooms.

The ship can transport up to 2,000 Marines, has nearly unlimited cargo capacity and is equipped to provide full support for a Marine landing. It can use helicopters, Harrier Jump Jets and both air cushion and conventional landing craft.

In August of 1942, the Navy sent two submarines, the USS Nautilus and the USS Argonaut, to deliver Marine Lt. Colonel Evans Carlson's "raiders" to Makin Island in the Gilbert Islands. The aim was to divert Japanese attention from the First Marine invasion of Guadalcanal.

The subs secretly left Pearl Harbor on Aug. 8 with 222 Marines of Company A and B Raider Battalions, as well as their own crews.

The landings from the subs were by rubber boats on Aug. 17 and 18. Carlson and his executive officer, Maj. James Roosevelt, the son of the president, led them. Because of rough seas and undertow, it didn't go exactly as planned but the Marines reached shore and engaged the enemy.

On Aug. 17, the beaches were secured despite intense fighting, but full withdrawal that night was prevented by adverse tides.

Ninety raiders reached the sub that night and 40 others after dawn on Aug. 18. Approximately 62 Marines remained ashore.

While the young crew of Makin Island knows its equipped for good-will missions, it also knows it's likely to be sent into harm's way during deployments.

On Aug. 18, Carlson ordered patrol of entire island to ensure all the Japanese were dead and to collect whatever intelligence they could find.

Enemy strafing and bombing of the island continued all day, as did the mission. Their search turned up a treasure of documents showing the location, number and classes of all Japanese aircraft in the Pacific – a major intelligence discovery.

The remaining Raiders, all known wounded and able-bodied, were withdrawn from the island that night, while the subs provided cover.

I asked Dempsey if the women were as ready as the men to confront and fire on the enemy if needed. Both she and Logan assured me – everyone is ready.

Of Carlson's raiders, during the Makin Island raid, 30 gave their lives securing the island: 18 killed in action, three listed as missing in action and presumed drowned and nine were swept to a small, nearby island by strong tides. They were weaponless and shoeless.

They were captured by the enemy and taken to Kwajalein, where the Japanese beheaded them.

Sound familiar? Some things don't change.