Naval History and Heritage Command
Director's Corner
NHHC Director Samuel Cox, left, and Pearl Harbor survivors Wetzel Sanders and Geb Galle attend the remembrance ceremony for the crew members of the USS Nevada (BB-36) killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, 8 December 2016 (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando).
In November 2016, Director Cox initiated a series of "H-grams." Inspired by the late Admiral Zumwalt’s series of Z-grams used to communicate with Sailors throughout the Navy, H-grams are an avenue by which NHHC provides significant historical context to aid today’s decision-makers. H-grams and associated attachments reflect Director Cox’s personal assessment, aided by NHHC historians, of significant events in U.S. Navy history. Each H-gram draws on archival material, historic imagery, and written and oral history. In addition to the H-grams reproduced here, you’ll find links to Director Cox’s regular contributions to The Sextant, NHHC’s blog. The linked content explores a variety of topics, but consistently emphasizes the importance of honoring the service of Sailors throughout history and understanding the relevance of the past to today’s Navy.
In his H-Gram 044, Director Cox covers the first three weeks of the U.S. invasion of Okinawa in late March and early April 1945, through the first mass kamikaze air attack (Kikusui No. 1) on 6–7 April, as well as the doomed final sortie of the Japanese super-battleship Yamato ("Operation Heaven No. 1") on 7 April.
Click the links below to access previously issued H-grams and earlier blogs from Director Cox. For biographical information and text of speeches given by Director Cox, please see his biography page.
