Naval History Blog

In this audio sample from his oral history, Admiral Loughlin looks back on his service in the 1930s on board the battleship USS New Mexico (BB-40), where he worked for a certain assistant chief engineer named Lieutenant Hyman G. Rickover. The future Admiral Rickover was, says Loughlin, “one of the big influences on my life . . . one of the most loyal naval officers I’ve ever worked for . . . . He made a tremendous difference.” Loughlin, who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1933, went to submarine school and served in various boats before taking command… Read the rest of this entry »

  This oral history is particularly noteworthy, because it provides personal recollections from the first African American graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. Brown entered the Academy in 1945, a century after the institution was founded, and graduated in 1949. A handful of black midshipmen had previously been appointed to the school in Annapolis, but all were either pushed out or left of their own volition prior to graduation. Brown spent his youth in Washington, D.C., where he attended segregated Dunbar High and had part-time jobs working for the Navy and Howard University. He was able to succeed at the… Read the rest of this entry »

The U.S. Naval Institute Oral History Archive features the reminiscences of the legendary Captain Slade D. Cutter.  Cutter turned down a music scholarship at an Illinois college to attend the U.S. Naval Academy, where he became an All-American football star and standout on the boxing team. Following graduation in 1935, Cutter embarked on a career heavily intertwined with sports. His first duty was as football coach for the team of the battleship USS Idaho (BB-42). After submarine school he coached football at the Naval Academy with collateral duty in the USS S-30 (SS-135). World War II found him in the crew of the… Read the rest of this entry »

Today, 27 May 2016, the Class of 2016 will be graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. The Naval Institute shares the words of a commanding officer to his son on the occasion of his son’s graduation from the Naval Academy in June, 1955. As today’s graduates enter commissioned service, these words of sixty years ago ring true. To the Class of 2016, the Naval Institute extends heartfelt congratulations.

An Interview with Joe Bellino Joe Bellino won the 1960 Heisman Trophy, becoming the first of only two U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen (Roger Staubach being the second, in 1963) to win the award. As the 2015 Army-Navy game approaches, many thought Navy’s record-breaking quarterback Keenan Reynolds should have at least been invited to the Heisman award ceremony. But, as Head Coach Ken Niumatalolo said early this week, “I’m really disappointed for Keenan, but life goes on.” Joe Bellino talked with Naval History in 2004 about his extraordinary career, including the real reason he chose pro football over baseball. Naval History:… Read the rest of this entry »

On 29 April 1898, Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete of the Spanish Navy steamed out of the Cape Verde Islands with a fleet of four armored cruisers and three destroyers. His destination: the West Indies, to defend Spain’s empire there against the United States. Hampered by a number of deficiencies, the fleet struggled into the harbor at Santiago de Cuba. Already there was the the Reina Mercedes, an unarmored cruiser capable of propulsion under sail and steam. Built in Cartagena, in 1887, she had become the station ship at Santiago in 1892. By 1898, she was in such a poor… Read the rest of this entry »

The Naval Academy was established at Annapolis, Maryland on August 15, 1845, on the former site of Fort Severn. The following article was published in the October, 1935 issue of Proceedings, which was dedicated to celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Naval Academy. It describes the obstacles that had to be overcome to establish the first organized naval school, and the standards that the first midshipmen were held to. After 167 years, the campus has grown, but the basic values instilled in the men and women of the Naval Academy are still the same. THE FOUNDING OF THE NAVAL ACADEMY… Read the rest of this entry »

May 28th, 1980 First women graduate from USNA In October, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed a bill which included a mandate stating that the United States’ military academies were to begin admitting women in the fall of 1976. This full integration of the sevice academies required much forethought and preparation to ensure that female students would have the same experiences and opportunities as their male counterparts, but it was a landmark acheivement for women in the services. In April 1976, Proceedings incleded a special news release from the U. S. Naval Academy which detailed the many changes and considerations which had been… Read the rest of this entry »