Jan. 20, 2022

In Memoriam: Rear Admiral George Rhodes Worthington, USN (Ret.)

It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral (lower half) George Rhodes Worthington, U.S. Navy (Retired), on 18 December 2021 at age 84. George Worthington enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1955, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1961, and served as a surface line officer, underwater demolition team (UDT)

Jan. 3, 2022

The Legalman Rating Turns 50

“In the early 1970s, I was a yeoman, working in Pensacola, Fla., in the legal office at the U.S. Naval Communication Training Center. I told my boss: ‘They ought to come out with a rating that’s strictly focused on legal work,’” said Bill VanDeren, a retired Navy legalman. “Lo and behold, a message was released, and I converted to the legalman

Sept. 3, 2021

Seaman First Class Freddie Falgout: First Military Casualty of World War II

On the evening of August 20, 1937, on the eve of his 21st birthday, Seaman First Class Freddie Falgout was searching for a seat for movie night on the well deck of USS Augusta (CL-31). Augusta had arrived off Shanghai a week earlier, on August 14, 1937, and was moored on the Huangpu River. A humanitarian crisis was underway as hostilities between Chinese and Japanese military forces had resulted in the death of hundreds of civilians, including four Americans, and the ship and her crew were evacuating American citizens and refugees from Shanghai. 

Aug. 20, 2021

Heroism at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001

Twenty years ago, on Sept. 11, 2001, news networks shared live reporting as terrorists launched a series of deadly attacks against targets in America. While the world struggled to come to terms and understand what was happening, there were men and women on the ground struggling to save lives. Among the many stories of heroism from that day is Lt. Cmdr. David Tarantino and Navy Capt. David Thomas who worked together to help multiple people escape the wreckage of the Pentagon.

July 21, 2021

Captain Donnie Cochran: From Farm Boy to Blue Angels Flight Leader

Captain Donnie Cochran was inspired to become a Navy pilot by the military planes flying over his family's farm. His dreams of flight led him to make history as the first African American Blue Angels pilot and flight leader.

June 10, 2021

Birth of the Blues

"It's always about the money" goes the old saying and that was certainly true 75 years ago when Chief of Naval Operations Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz ordered the establishment of an exhibition flight team, the birth of today's famed Blue Angels. Having led the Navy to victory in the Pacific during World War II, Nimitz ascended to the sea

June 10, 2021

Blue Angels Scrapbook

Most people define the Blue Angels by graceful formations soaring in the sky overhead, but life in the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron is much more than the time spent in the cockpit or on the flight line.  Enjoy the scrapbook of images taken through the years that provides a portrait of the Blue Angels experience.The 1953 team pictured in front

May 6, 2021

Owens v. Brown -- Women Can Now Serve at Sea

On Nov. 10, 1976, Petty Officer Yona Owens and six other women sued the Navy. The women were determined to overturn a 30-year-old federal statute that limited Navy women to shore-duty billets, even though they were trained to work aboard ships. Judge John J. Sirica heard the case April 11, 1978, and July 27, 1978, Judge Sirica ruled that women should be allowed to serve at sea.

April 23, 2021

Susan Ahn Cuddy

In November 2020, CNO and Mrs. Gilday installed a new exhibit in the Tingey House highlighting the accomplishments of female Navy pioneers. The pioneers proudly served their country and this year the Naval History and Heritage Command will be sharing their stories. In 1942, Lieutenant Susan Ahn Cuddy became the first female Asian-American to serve in the Navy and also its first female gunnery officer.

April 2, 2021

Katherine Horton, World War II Veteran and African American Trailblazer

​In November 2020, CNO and Mrs. Gilday installed a new exhibit in the Tingey House highlighting the accomplishments of female Navy trailblazers. The trailblazers proudly served their country and this year the Naval History and Heritage Command will be sharing their stories. Katherine Horton joined the Navy in 1944 and in March 1945, she became one of the first three African American WAVES to enter the Hospital Corps School at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.