Posts by Christopher Kelly

Winston Churchill BustQueen Mary 2 Let us begin with some sage advice from Winston Churchill, “Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once…

Commander K “Invades” Grenada! Thanks to Cunard and the Queen Mary 2, I had a chance to launch an entirely peaceful albeit brief “invasion” of Grenada this March (www.cunard.com).  I disembarked at St. George’s and had a chance to do some hiking on this verdant Caribbean island.  We hiked through an area that was fought…

Only the World was Enough The old rule of debating holds that the first side to use the word “Hitler” automatically loses! Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, however, makes it more important than ever for us to gain a better understanding of Hitler, dictators and the use of propaganda in human conflict. Brendan Simms’ Hitler (published…

Virginia Cowles was an astonishing woman who wrote an amazing memoir about her experiences as a war correspondent in Europe from 1936 until 1941.  She called her memoir Looking For Trouble/The classic memoir of a trailblazing war correspondent…https://www.amazon.com/Looking-Trouble-Virginia-Cowles-ebook/dp/B006GACKY2/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1644513830&sr=1-1. Reading her memoir in the uncertain times in which we live is a refreshing and ultimately hopeful experience.…

Titan Missile MuseumSahuarita, Arizona Today we live in an age of vast and growing uncertainty.  When will the brutal Covid-19 pandemic end?  Will Putin send his tanks into the Ukraine?  Will Chinese paratroopers start falling from the skies over Taiwan?  Will North Korea or Iran do something crazy?  No one can really provide satisfactory answers…

Commander K at Haskell’s BeachGoleta, CaliforniaNear Ritz Carlton Baccara California, my home state, prides itself upon its peaceful laid back attitudes.  But California has not always been peaceful.  The state was, for example, fought over during the Mexican-American War.  The Battle of San Pascqual, fought near San Diego, featured the legendary frontiersman Kit Carson who…

Admiral Graf SpeeMaritime Museum of Montevideo The Admiral Graf Spee was a German “pocket battleship” of ten thousand tons that was launched with considerable Nazi fanfare in 1936.  She was armed with six 11″ guns in two triple gun turrets.  She was a fast ship capable of cruising at 28 knots.  Prior to the German…

Commander K “Invading” Madeira 2021 Madeira is a small but beautiful island off the coast of West Africa.  It is a hilly mountain rising up from the sea.  A fertile garden archipelago surrounded by blue. Henry the Navigator1394 – 1460Funchal, Madeira The Greek philosopher Plutarch described two islands off the coast of Africa as being…