period one detachment of destroyers steamed over 1,000,000 of miles in
the war zone, attacked 81 submarines, escorted 717 single vessels,
participated in 86 convoys, and spent one hundred and fifty days at sea.

There have been mistakes, of course; there have been delays which have
tried the patience not only of the country, but of the Navy Department.
But they were inevitable under the high pressure of affairs as they
suddenly set in when we went to war. But in looking back over the year
and a half of conflict, considering the hundreds of thousands of
soldiers that our navy has conducted in safety across the infested
Atlantic, and the feats which our fighters have performed in action, in
stormy seas, in rescue work and in the long, weary grind of daily
routine, no American has cause for aught but pride in the work our navy
has done.

There has been more than a sixfold increase in naval man power and about
a fourfold increase in the number of ships in service. When present
plans have been carried out--and all projects are proceeding
swiftly--the United States will probably rank second to Britain among
naval Powers of the world. Training facilities have increased on a
stupendous scale; we have now various specialized schools for seamen and
officers; our industrial yards have grown beyond dreams and the
production of ordnance and munitions proceeds on a vast scale, while in
other directions things have been accomplished by the Navy Department
which will not be known until the war is over and the records are open
for all to read.

But in the meantime history has been making and facts have been marked
which give every American pride. Praise from the source of all things
maritime is praise indeed, and what greater commendation--better than