• 05/01/1857 - William Walker, conqueror of Nicaragua, surrenders to US Navy

• 05/01/1944 - The Navy acquired the CYCLONE on 27 December 1943, renamed her the MOUNT MCKINLEY (AGC-7), brought her to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard where she was outfitted and commissioned on 1 May 1944; Captain W. M. Graham in command.

• 05/01/1948 - USS Mt McKinley AGC-7 - In April and May of 1948, she was the navy command ship for the atomic bomb test at Eniwetok. Upon completion of these tests she returned to San Diego to resume coastal operations.

• 05/04/1861 - At Gretna LA, one of 1st guns of Rebel navy is cast

• 05/04/1910 - Canadian parliament accept creation of Royal Canadian Navy

• 05/08/1919 - 1st transatlantic flight take-off by a navy seaplane

• 05/08/1942 - 1st twilight game in 24 years, the Dodgers top Giants 7-6 raising $60,000 for Navy Relief Fund

• 05/10/1797 - 1st Navy ship, the "United States," is launched

• 05/15/1965 - USS Mt McKinley AGC-7 - While proceeding to Bangkok, Mount McKinley came to assistance of Herkimer, whose master was severely ill. Herkimer's captain was taken on board for further treatment in Singapore while the MSTS ship sailed on to Saigon. In early March and again in mid-April, the navy flagship coordinated the landing of Marine reinforcements at Da Nang and Hue, South Vietnam. Relieved by Estes at Subic Bay in April, she arrived San Diego 15 May 1965.

• 05/17/1938 - Congress approves Vinson Naval Act, which funds a two-ocean navy

• 05/19/1979 - "In The Navy" by Village People hits #3

• 05/20/1942 - US Navy 1st permitted black recruits to serve

• 05/20/1950 - USS Mt McKinley AGC-7 - On 20 May 1950, Mount McKinley was underway for WesPac to conduct navy training operations with the 8th Army. On 26 June, when North Korea launched their aggression against the South, the ship proceeded from Japan to direct the landing of American reinforcements at Po Han. In early September 1950, General McArthur was on board, directing the brilliant amphibious assault at Inchon which forced the Communist to scurry north in headlong retreat. The next assault was against the heavily mined port of Wonsan.

• 05/22/1945 - USS Mt McKinley AGC-7 - On 21 March 1945, with ComPhibGru 7 aboard, Mount McKinley proceeded to Kerama Retto off the southern coast of Okinawa. Six days prior to the last major assault of the war, AGC-7 directed the landing of the 77th Infantry Division. For the next 58 days the navy ship underwent continuous air combat conditions, her crew going to General Quarters 147 times, but, despite this constant strain and lack of sleep, the ship functioned at full efficiency. On 22 May, she sailed for Saipan, thence to Pearl Harbor and San Francisco, arriving in CONUS 23 June. In overhaul for 2 months, she deployed 20 August arriving Sasebo, Japan on 23 September, she participated in landing occupation troops there and at Kure. Returning to the United States 12 February 1946, she sailed in the early summer for Bikini Atoll where she was flagship for Operation "Cross Roads." Following the atomic bomb test in July, the ship operated out of San Diego for the next 18 months.

• 05/27/1919 - 1st transatlantic flight ends; US Navy flying boat takes 11 days

• 05/27/1942 - Dorie Miller, awarded navy cross for deeds at Pearl Harbor

Famous Birthdays May ..

• 05/01/1800 - Ret Thomas Aloysius Dornin, Comm (Union Navy), died in 1874
• 05/13/1795 - Joshua Ratoon Sands, Commander (Union Navy), died in 1883
• 05/16/1819 - Daniel Ammen, Capt (Union Navy), died in 1898
• 05/22/1804 - John William (Turk) Livingston, Commander (Union Navy), died in 1885
• 05/26/1806 - Henry Knox Thatcher, Comm (Union Navy), died in 1880

Famous Deaths for May ..

• 05/03/1841 - Cornelis T Elout, Dutch minister of Finance/Navy/Colonies, dies at 74
• 05/26/1939 - Cornelis J Cutters, supreme commander of Navy (1910-18), dies