#mid-watch

Later this year (2026) WildBlue Press will publish a book titled The Watch Stands as Written: Voices from the Midwatch. My coauthors, Gary Guinn, Ken Keith, and I tap into the experiences of sailors serving their country during perilous times by analyzing the content of a very old US Navy tradition. On New Year’s Eve, it is acceptable for Officers of the Deck (OOD) to write the first log of the…

The Midwatch in Verse Project authors published two magazine articles about this 100+ year old tradition. The first appeared in the December 2024 issue of Submarine Review and is titled Midwatch Deck Log Poetry Aboard U.S. Submarines: The Early Cold War Years (click on title to read article). The article compares and contrasts submarine deck log poetry with verse written on surface vessels. The…

The Midwatch in Verse Project is pleased to announce an upcoming article to be published in the January issue of “Leatherneck Magazine” published by the Marine Corps Association. The article titled, Leatherneck Bards: Marines Embrace Unusual Duty Aboard U.S. Navy Ships highlights US Marines’ deck log poetry from the 1950’s through 1970s. The team found 20 midwatch deck log poems written by…

An article titled Midwatch Deck Log Poetry Aboard US Submarines: The Early Cold War Years will be published in the December issue of The Submarine Review (a publication of the Naval Submarine League).  It is authored by members of The Midwatch in Verse Project team.. The article compares New Year’s Day deck log poems from surface vessels and submarines.

New Website for Book

We’ve set up a new website for our upcoming book, Midwatch in Verse: New Year’s Deck Log Poetry of the United States Navy, 1941–1946. Click here to go to the site.

Midwatch in Verse: An Update

Thanks to all of those folks who have given feedback on this series. If you have not read any of these entries here is the introduction to the concept. A Deck Log from a US Navy vessel chronicles exacting administrative detail regarding the status of the ship, it’s location, speed, etc. However, for a four hour period at the beginning of each year, the Officer of the Deck (OOD) is allowed to be…

Mid-Watch in Verse: USS Charleston (PG-51)

This is a continuation of the Mid-Watch in Verse series. A Deck Log from a US Navy vessel chronicles exacting administrative detail regarding the status of the ship, it’s location, speed, etc. However, for a four hour period at the beginning of each year, the Officer of the Deck (OOD) is allowed to be creative by writing the Mid-Watch report (0000 – 0400) in verse if they choose to do so. This…