"Commodore Matthew Perry and the Legacy of the first US Treaty with Japan"

Thursday, 25 March 2021 (1630 hrs Eastern Standard Time)

HMCM (FMF) Mark T. Hacala, USN (Ret)

Ceremonies specialist, training officer, and historian for the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard in Washington, DC.

During this Continental Commandery NOUS Virtual History Lecture, HMCM(FMF) Mark T. Hacala, USN (Ret) will brief us on two topics. The first presentation will be about Commodore Matthew Perry. MCPO Hacala will review Commodore Perry’s naval leading to his two visits to Japan, his 1853 visits – including the Treaty of Kanagawa – and the legacy of the first U.S. treaty with Japan. His second presentation will be about the sinking of the battleship Maine in Havana Harbor, on 15 February 1898. After briefing listeners on the Maine’s commissioning and early service, MCPO Hacala will describe the explosion and its impact. He’ll wrap up this presentation by showing participants various artifacts from the Maine.

"Known But to God: America's 20th Century Wars and the Search for the Missing"

Thursday, 22 April 2021 (1630 hrs Eastern Standard Time)

Kenneth Breaux, CDR (Ret), USN

Founder & President

MIA Recovery Network, 501.c(3)

The basis for the lecture will be the outline of a book currently being edited for publication entitled “Known But to God; America’s 20^th Century Wars and the Search for the Missing”.

It will trace the history of accounting for and honoring the dead from World War I through WWII, Korea, the Cold War and Vietnam. Topics will include the role of the Quartermaster Corps in all Wars, and the foundation of the American Battle Monuments Commission. A central theme will be the continuing efforts to recover and identify the more than 75,000 still missing from World War II, and the development of the current actions of the Defense Missing Personnel Accounting Agency and the role of Ken Breaux’s organization, the MIA Recovery Network, a non-profit organization which acts as an advocacy group for families of the missing and researchers pursuing cases of missing in action soldiers.