United States Naval Academy - Lucky Bag Yearbook (Annapolis, MD)

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FIRST WORLD WAR FINDS ACADEMY PREPARED -XXIV- DURING THE first World War the policy of the Navy Department concerning the Naval Academy was to accelerate the course of study. The class of 1917 graduated three months early and the Class of 1918 graduated in June of 1917, one year early. The three year course remained in effect until the end of the war, when it reverted to the four year plan. The expanding navy of wartime required more officers than the Naval Academy could provide so a three month course was devised to train special- ized reserve ensigns. Rear Admiral Eberle, then Superintendent, supervised this pro- gram which graduated four classes of reserve officers, popularly known to regular officers as ninety-day-wonders. Since the first war the Naval Academy has been particularly fortunate in its assignment of Superintendents. All have been outstanding men with distinguished records of service and professional accomplishment. On July 5, 1921, Rear Admiral Henry B. Wilson became Superintendent and was immediately con- fronted with a Congressional invQStxgation of hazing. Prior to this time the hazing situa- tion at the Academy was nothing to be spoken of lightly. The civilian professors often wondered just what went on the night before in Bancroft Hall that made the Plebes come to class with swollen lips, black eyes, bruise marks, and cuts. The result of this investiga- tion was another Act of Congress forbidding the practice of hazing. Once this troublesome situation was settled Admiral fFilson determined to make some sweeping changes in the existing scheme of things and accomplished most of his objectives. He did a great deal to liberalize the rates and privileges of the midshipmen, conscientiously believing that the life of the midshipman was too strict. His fair and speedy justice met with the approval of the midshipmen who came to be great admirers of the methods of his administration. An excellent example of his celerity in assigning punishments for dis- ciplinary offenses is that case in which the midshipman was dismissed and left the Academy within six hours after being reported. The aggressive Superintendent also revived the lethargic sports program to the highest degree of activity it had ever at- tained. There were as many as forty organized and coached tennis teams in competition in one after noon after classes — a great accomplishment in comparison to the numerous radiator squads of earlier years. The uniform of the midshipmen was changed at this time from that resembling the dress of the fVest Point cadet to the present neat and far more practical open lapel type blue service suit. The privilege of smoking in the rooms of Bancroft Hall was granted to all midshipmen along with the first Christ- mas leave in the history of the Academy. PRIOR TO 1924 it has been a custom for Second Classmen to purchase their cherished class rings and keep them in their rooms until after the final navigation ex- amination of that year. On that fateful day First Classmen would unceremoniously accost Second Classmen leaving the examination building, drag them to Dewey Basin and cast them into the Severn. In 1924 an unfortunate accident, causing the death of a midshipman focused attention on the unorthodox method by which the Second Class- men received their rings. This rough and noisy ceremony was to be replaced by one more dignified and memorable — the Ring Dance. This is the only dance midshipmen attend; all other similar entertainments are called hops. The Ring Dance is, next to gradua-

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THE CONSPICUOUS little Mexican War monument midway between Bancroft Hall and the academic group, honors the midshipmen who fell in the war with Mexico. A short distance away stands the obelisk erected to the memory of Commander JVilliam L. Herndon. The story back of this stone is a poignant one. As the captain of a ship which was foundering off Hatteras on September 12, 1857, Commander Herndon, seeing that nothing more could be done to save his ship and his men, went below, donned his full dress uniform and returned to the bridge. A few minutes later the ship began to sink rapidly. As the vessel plunged beneath the waves he came to a rigid attention and proudly raised his hat, — a gesture that for true majesty is unparalleled in naval history. : The oldest and most ornate monument found on the grounds of the Academy is the Tripolitan monument commemorating the intrepidity of the six gallant young officers of our infant Navy in its war with the Barbary pirates. The names of Somers, Caldwell, Israel, Dorsey, Wadsworth, and Decatur are indelibly im- pressed on the minds of all new Plebes in their first days at the Academy as are their exploits. Each and every monument found at the Academy has its story of devotion to duty, self-sacrifice, courage, and determination to add in some way to the rich heritage of tradition that forms the solid foundation of our Navy. THE MAGNIFICENT CHAPEL BUILDING was completed in 1908. This im- posing edifice, in the form of a Greek cross, with a huge dome over two hundred feet high, was built at a cost of over $400,000. The splendid bronze doors were given to the Academy by Colonel Robert Means Thompson in memory of the Class of 1868. Once inside the Chapel one is awed by the richness and beauty of the architecture and espe- cially the stained glass windows. The main windows are memorials to the Navy ' s first three admirals — Porter, Dewey, and Farragut; the two flanking windows portray the mission of the Chapel. One, dedicated to Lieutenant Commander Theodorus B. Mason, shows Sir Galahad with his sheathed sword before him. The other portrays a newly com- missioned ensign being shown by Christ the beacon he must follow as an officer. In 1939 it was decided to enlarge the Chapel in order to accommodate the increasing size of the regiment. Accordingly an extension was added which changed the plan from a Greek cross to the more familiar Christian cross. On March 16, 1941, the Construction Corps of the Navy presented a church ship model to the Naval Academy on behalf of the alumni of the Academy who were members of the Construction Corps when it was amal- gamated with the Navy the previous year. This votive ship model, measuring more than ten and one half feet overall, hangs from a heavy steel chain in the arch of the nave near the entrance of the new extension. The history of the votive ship model goes back to the earliest days when man associated the sea and the ship with an unseen deity who would look out for They that go down to the sea in ships. As far as is known, this is the only real votive ship model in the Western Hemisphere. Below the new Chapel extension is St. Andrew ' s Chapel, named for the Patron Saint of Sailors, used for weddings, baptisms, Sunday School classes, choir practices, and other rites. The Chapel visitor will always find that the most impressive moments there are those during Sunday services when the regiment reverently sings the Naval Academy hymn.

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-m- tion, perhaps the most important event in the life of a midshipman. It is here that he receives the cherished symbol of his days at the Naval Academy — the ring that desig- nates him a member of the great fraternity of seafaring men that have graduated from the United States Naval Academy. The Ring Dance is one of the most impressive and beautiful dances to be found anywhere. Memorial Hall with its tablets of hallowed memory was usually the scene of the dance until recent years when the size of the class necessitated the use of larger MacDonough Hall. The day is customarily that on which the senior class graduates. A huge golden ring modeled after the class ring with the Academy and class crests on opposite sides is set atop a dais. Clever interior lighting causes the setting of the ring to glow with a soft brilliance. Elaborate decorations and the best obtainable music create an atmosphere charged with romance and tradition. The Second Classman chooses his partner carefully and if his sweetheart cannot attend he will usually escort his other best girl, his mother. His One and Only accompanies him and dips his ring, suspended from a lace ribbon, into a compass binnacle filled with water from the Atlantic the Pacific, and the Caribbean, symbolic of his future home. The couple then passes through the huge ring where the lady places the ring on her gentleman ' s finger, class crest inboard until after his graduation one year hence, when, by custom, the Academy crest is worn inboard. At this time the young lady may receive a miniature ring to be regarded as an engagement ring. The couple then kiss and seal the ceremony. Ik CLASSES WERE SMALL during the twenties because of the world wide move- ment to limit armaments which began with the Washington Disarmament Conference of 1921. The size of the regiment has never determined its worth, however, and the small regiment of 1926 was no exception. That was the year that Navy journeyed westward to play Army in Soldiers Field Stadium, Chicago, before the largest crowd ever to see a football game, 110,000. The game ended in a 21-21 tie, but has been ranked by most of the followers of the game as one of the greatest football contests. It was at this time that the inter-service school rivalry first reached a fever pitch. Commander Tom Hamilton, present director of the Navy ' s pre-flight physical indoctrination pro- gram for V-5 cadets, was the hero of the Navy when on that day he coolly booted the tying point before one of the most tense crowds in football history. THROUGHOUT THE TWENTIES and thirties the academic standards of the Academy were continually being raised and new courses added. The Department of Foreign Languages typifies the progress that was made in all departments during these years. The foreign languages offered for study in 1850 were French and Spanish, whereas today the midshipman has his choice of any one of seven languages: French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, or Japanese. This choice, incidentally, is the only elective allowed the midshipman in his career at the Academy. In 1930 the Associa- tion of American Universities accredited the Naval Academy as a member, permitting graduates to be awarded a Bachelor of Science degree. Colonel Robert Means Thompson of the Class of 1868, the man whose unfailing interest in the early Naval Academy en- deared him to all midshipman, was honored on May 30, 1931, by the dedication of POST WAR YEARS OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT