Few institutions in this country can boast the tradition of excellence advanced by the U.S. Naval Academy. Naval History joins the venerable “Yard” in celebrating its October sesquicentennial.
Our centerpiece is a collection of remembrances solicited expressly for this issue from astronauts, athletes, authors, government officials, and naval officers. From a list of 30 notable graduates, we received 20 responses. Only when we began telling people what we were up to did we realize how many distinguished alumni our list did not include. But we had to impose a limit. In addition to these 14, the Naval Institute Proceedings will feature the other six in its October issue.
Also in this edition, former Proceedings Editor Clay Barrow takes a light-hearted look at the career of colorful midshipman Kemp Tolley; two respected naval historians survey the ebbs and flows of teaching naval history at the Academy; we have a glimpse of what life was like in Annapolis 150 years ago; and we review the various movies made on the Yard.