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

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-mil- Highland Light, a boat having the distinction of being rated in the highest racing classi- fication for wooden ships by Lloyds of London was acquired a short time thereafter. Mr. Stirling Morton further enlarged the new squadron with his presentation of the powerful schooner Freedom. Next to join the proud little fleet was the fast schooner Spindrift, a gift of Mr. W. W. Lanahan of Baltimore. Designed for Bay sailing, the Spindrift is a fine racing sloop and enjoys immense popularity with the midshipmen. The Seamanship Department realized the value of this extra-curricular activity from a pro- fessional standpoint early in the game and authorized the drawing up of plans for twelve yawls. The first three, the y lert, Intrepid, and Resolute were added in 1939; the Restless, Active, and Frolic joined the squadron in 1942 and the remaining six were acquired in the fall of 1943. These yawls are superb for training purposes and rarely lack a full crew. The Naval Academy Yacht Squadron has earned a fine reputation along the Bay and participates in virtually all races held in the area. AFTER EACH GRADUATION it has long been the custom for the First Class and the Third Class to embark on a summer practice cruise on men-of-war. This practice began in 1851 with the cruise of the Hancock on Chesapeake Bay. Between 1860 and 1872 the historic ships Constitution and Santee were utilized for European and Atlantic coast cruises. After her cruising days were over the Santee became station ship until she sank in 1912. It was from her that Santee Basin derived its name. It was absolutely necessary to have a station ship, however, and the ex-Spanish cruiser, the Reina Mercedes, cap- tured in the war with Spain, became the new station ship. The last full-rigger to be built for the Navy was laid down for the express purpose of serving as a midshipmen ' s cruise ship. This ship, the Chesapeake, cruised in such famous company as Farragut ' s flag ship, the Hartford, and Dewey ' s famed Olympia. In 1904 the Atlantic Coast Squad- ron was assigned the duty of providing warships for the summer cruises. Eight years later there were no more wooden ships available for cruise purposes and the now antique battleships New York, Texas, Arkansas, and Wyoming were used exclusively for the summer cruises. These summer voyages were very educational from many standf)oints, and embarkation was always a scene of fond farewells following the June Week gaieties. The midshipmen piled their sea bags in launches and jumped in on top of them to be taken out to the anchored ships in the Roads. Aboard the battleships they had ample opportu- nities to see practical applications of the theory they had learned back at the Academy. In addition they learned the basic fundamentals of the life of a sailor from stowing a ham- mock to swabbing the decks, not to mention the exact technique for charming some interesting senoritas and mademoiselles. Due to the lack of ships following the attack on Pearl Harbor one of the recent classes cruised about Chesapeake Bay in YP boats, earning the nick name of salty sailors of the Chesapeake from the popular Superintendent of that time. Rear Admiral Russell JVillson. The Class of 1945 split up into small groups for their Youngster Year cruise, some cruising on YP boats, others on various available ships of the Fleet. During the summer of 1943 the old battleship Arkansas served once again as a cruise ship. This cruise lacked the glamor of the pre-war days, but was prob- ably far more beneficial from a professional viewpoint. • -- - ' ••L .rt-, .. 4 P y

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' j;: ' •S -XXVI- Thompson Stadium. The steel bleachers were made ot metal taken from the battleships scrapped by the Five-power Armament treaty of 1922. -51 THE DUTIES of the Superintendent were placed on the broad shoulders of Rear Admiral David Foote Sellers in 1934. He was very energetic and determined that the Academy should graduate men of action. His views on the purpose of the Academy were a topic of extensive debates among the officers and civilian instructors — and the midshipmen. The crux of the debate was whether or not engineering subjects should dominate cultural subjects at the Academy. Which should be stressed ? Admiral Sellers gave the answer in no uncertain terms in his classic statement of the mission of the Naval Academy: . . . the Naval Academy has before it one objective — the developmenty training, and education of officers to fight in the Fleet. Succeeding Rear Admiral Sellers was a young flag officer with a reputation as a strict disciplinarian, Rear Admiral Wilson Brown, Class of 1902. This Superintendent ' s tour of duty was characterized by the appearance of new buildings in the Yard. Melville Hall, named for the Chief Engineer of the ill-fated Jeanette Arctic Expedition of 1877, was con- structed to house the modern internal combustion laboratory. Ever since the Brooklyn Lyceum was established in 1834 the Navy had desired an adequate museum as an ex- hibition place and storehouse for the enormous collection of doc uments and relics gathered by the Navy in its world travels. Several rooms in Mahan Hall were used for a long time as a makeshift museum because a conservative Congress wouldn ' t ap- propriate funds for the construction of a separate building for this use. In 1938 the Naval Institute and the Naval Athletic Association donated $50,000 and $150,000 respectively for the construction of a new museum with offices for these two organiza- tions located in the building. Congress authorized the Secretary of the Navy to accept the money. Admiral Sellers laying the cornerstone in March, 1938. One of the Navy ' s most outstanding authorities on naval history, Captain Harry A. Baldridge, Class of 1902, was chosen as curator, a position he has filled with great success. Today the museum is one of the most complete repositories of naval history in the world. Con- tained among its thousands of objects is the Henry Huddleston Rodgers collection of ship models valued at over $1,000,000, the Malcolm Storer collection of 1,240 naval and military medals awarded from the Revolutionary War up to and including the present world conflict, and the Henry B. Culver library on naval architecture. Prominent among the exhibits seen is the only existing complete collection of Naval Academy class rings. IN 1936 the Naval Academy received a gift from Mr. S. V. Makaroff that was eventually to result in the formation of the handsome Academy Yacht Squadron. Mr. Afa aro presented the beautiful mahogany-hulled Vamarie to the assembled regi- ment of midshipmen on Worden Field as the handsome yacht gently rode the light waves of College Creek beside the parade field. The Vamarie, a staysail ketch, was built in Bremen, Germany and for four years as an ocean racer she had won cup after cup under the skillful hand and eye of Mr. Makaroffi. In 1938 a crew of midshipmen manned her in a race to Bermuda under the command of Captain John F. Shafroth, the first open seaway race participated in by Midshipmen representing the Naval Academy. The

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PEARL HARBOR AND AFTER -mm- THE JAPANESE ATTACK on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, marked the commencement of the most brilHant period in our Navy ' s history. Today we find our ships carrying the fight to the enemy wherever he appears, conducting the most vast and most complicated sea oiTensives on record. The story of the transition from the crippled navy left on the bottom oi Pearl Harbor that December day to the most power- ful fleet ever to take the sea in the history of the world is the story of the men that lead this Navy. These men have proven the importance of the Naval Academy as a safeguard of our democracy, for long before the present conflict began the Naval Academy was preparing them for the problems they face today. The most important phase of this preparation was not academic, but rather that unconscious process of instilling in the men at the Academy the traditions of our Navy. Years have added wisdom to the minds of the oflicers who today fight the Fleet, but the determining factors in their eventual success are still learned at Annapolis. The spirit of every great hero of the American Navy from Jones on down to Farragut and Dewey is ground into the soul of the mid- shipman at the Academy. This spirit, handed down from class to class, is ever present in the Fleet today. It instinctively guides and steadies every officer as he makes his decisions. The tendency is to emulate the men of other wars in every way. The weapons and ships are diflFerent but the determination and courage are the same. When Com- mander H. W. Gilmore, mortally wounded on the conning tower of his submarine by Japanese bullets, turned to his junior officer and ordered him to Take her down ! he paralleled the self-sacrifice of Commander Herndon in 1857. When Captain Mike Moran, Commander of the U. S. S. Boise, engaged a Japanese fleet in a night action off the Solomon Islands he displayed the same aggressive determination to win that character- ized the exploits of John Paul Jones. These men, along with the hundreds of other officers that have left the Naval Academy to lead their men and ships to victory over our enemies in the many battles of this war have added new chapters to the story of the Navy. It is a story that goes on and on, never ending, always keeping the same theme of perseverance unto victory, the theme that first runs through the mind of the officer when he enters the Academy and thereafter never leaves him. This tradition, handed down by the naval great of each generation from the incipience of our Navy to the present day, is the trust of the Naval Academy — the trust that makes this institution the true Mother of Navy men and guardian of a free and liberty blessed America.