Call for Support for Wesley Brown's Oral History
Wesley A. Brown entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1945, exactly 100 years after the school was founded. During that century, five African Americans had become midshipmen only to he driven out before they could graduate. Brown endured the snubs of some of his classmates and excessive hazing by upperclassmen. He roomed alone and mostly kept to himself to avoid attracting attention. But he also encountered pockets of support from fellow midshipmen and officers who looked out for him in subtle and profound ways.
Several years ago. Commander Brown sat for a series of exhaustive candid interviews with the Naval Institute covering his life and career. This is important first-person documentation of the man who broke the color barrier at Annapolis. Upon graduation and commissioning in 1949, he served 20 years in the Navy's Civil Engineer Corps, involved in building, among other things, a nuclear-power plant in Antarctica and the Cubi Point naval air station in the Philippines.
Before Wesley Brown's oral history can proceed, the Naval Institute needs donations to underwrite the costs of transcribing, footnoting, proofreading, indexing, and binding the transcript. Tax-deductible contributions of all sizes are appreciated. Those who donate $1,000 or more to the Brown project will be acknowledged in the bound volume. If you can help, please contact Sue Sweeney at (410) 295-1054 or at [email protected].
Now It's Easier to Make a Bequest
What the Naval Institute stands for and what it accomplishes are important and need to continue into the future. To be good stewards of the Institute, we need to pass it along to the next generation in sound financial shape. One way we will do this is by stepping up our planned-giving efforts.
The Naval Institute Foundation has upgraded the assistance available at our website, www.usni.org (click on "Donate." then on "Planned Giving"). There is now an interactive "Build Your Gift" tool, information for professional advisors, a gift calculator, and an interactive question-and-answer section. Articles on estate planning are offered every month, plus access to a library of more than 125 features on various facets of making a bequest.
Please let us know if you find this information helpful and easy to use. We hope you will take advantage of this new service-and then extend your association with the Naval Institute into the future by including USNI in your will. For more information, contact Matt Schatzle at (410) 295-1057 or at [email protected].
Join the Leaders!
Our thanks to the following individuals whose generosity this calendar year distinguishes them as members of The 1873 Society (for gifts of more than $5,000) and The Leadership Club (for gilts of $1,000-$4,999).
The 1873 Society
Rear Admiral Joseph F. Callo, USNR (Ret.) and Captain Sally McElwreath, USNR (Ret.)
Mr. John H. Fullmer
The John J. Schiff Family
Mrs. Betty Taussig
Mr. Everett P. Weaver
Anonymous Donor
Leadership Club 2006
Rear Admiral Fred L. Ames, USCG (Ret.)
Rear Admiral Charles J. Beers Jr., USN (Ret.)
Captain Frank L. Boushce, USN (Ret.)
Captain David S. Boyd. USN (Ret.)
Ms. Elizabeth Kauffman Bush
Captain Ben C. Byrnside, USN (Ret.)
Captain Martin E. Conroy, USMM
Lieutenant Commander Robert L. Cox. USN (Ret.)
Captain John C. Doherty, USN (Ret.)
Mr. Thomas Egan
Captain Wayne R. Fritz, USN (Ret.)
Mr. Norman P. Goldblum
Colonel William V. Grubbs, USA (Ret.)
Mr. Kent Halvorsen
The Honorable Paul R. Ignatius
Ann R. and Captain Jack B. Joyce, USN (Ret.)
Mr. Howard J. Kestenberg
Captain Lionel Krisel, USN (Ret.)
Captain Paul G. Linaweaver Jr., USN (Ret.)
Mr. Donald C. McGraw
Mr. I. A. Morris
Mr. Edson W. Spencer
Mr. Andrew C. Taylor
Admiral Stansfield Turner, USN (Ret.)
Mr. Cornelius C. Vanderstar
Mr. Howard R. Weiss
Major General Thomas L. Wilkerson, USMC (Ret.)
Vice Admiral Joe R. Williams Jr., USN (Ret.)
Captain James E. Wise Jr., USN (Ret.)
Mr. Herman Wouk
1 Anonymous Donor
The U.S. Naval Academy's new field house will he named for Wesley Brown, a rare honor for a living person. At the groundbreaking in March 2006, CNO Admiral Mike Mullen, left, and Academy Superintendent Vice Admiral Rodney Rempt flank Commander Brown.
Among leadership donors thus far in 2006 are the Honorable Paul K. Ignatius, former Secretary of the Navy, left, and Andrew C. Taylor, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Rent-A-Car.