Shipmate Magazine: 5 Minutes with VADM John B. Nowell Jr., '84, USN (Ret.)
Nov/Dec 2025 Issue
This feature spotlights the extraordinary things done by alumni in the Navy and Marine Corps and their unique, impactful achievements in the private sector and within their communities. Please send suggestions to jimmydebutts@usna.com.
The U.S. Navy Memorial is a “living and breathing” entity, according to Vice Admiral John B. Nowell Jr. ’84, USN (Ret.). The Washington, DC site far more than a memorial, Nowell said.
“It memorializes what the Navy and the Sea Services have done and the people who served,” said Nowell, who was on the memorial’s board of directors before succeeding Rear Admiral Frank Thorp ‘81, USN (Ret.), as the president and CEO in June 2024.
Comprised of a 22,000-square-foot Visitor Center, a 230 seat theater and a granite plaza featuring fountains, the largest map in the world, 26 bronze bas relief sculptures depicting Naval history, and the Lone Sailor statue, the Navy Memorial is on Pennsylvania Avenue situated halfway between Congress and the White House. It is across from the National Archives with its own Metro stop and plenty of nearby parking and restaurants.
In addition to welcoming 40,000 plus visitors a year, the Navy Memorial hosts unique programming to honor the history of the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine services. It hosts more than 300 events annually and aims to inspire future generations to consider a life of service. The memorial also offers a summer internship program for high school students.
Nowell, who capped his Naval career as the Navy’s 59th Chief of Naval Personnel, is excited about the memorial’s new interactive exhibits, its expanding outreach programs, and its role in sharing and preserving the proud history of the Sea Services.
Vice Admiral Nowell recently shared some of the extraordinary things the Navy Memorial is doing with Shipmate.
Shipmate: What is it like balancing the business side of running a nonprofit with constituent engagement responsibilities?
Nowell: Anyone in the nonprofit world would tell you it’s challenging. A lot of folks, because we’re named the U.S. Navy Memorial, think we’re government funded. We’re not. I’m lucky with the staff we have-we’re small, we’re lean and hard hitting. How we balance our bandwidth and how we spend our time from the development side so we can keep our doors open, make sure all those programs and events that we’re doing to honor, recognize, celebrate and inform remain active, is very important. While it is always challenging, when you believe deeply in your mission, it does make it easier to talk to people about what is their value proposition. It’s going to be different for an individual small donor versus a major donor versus a corporate partner. We think the Navy Memorial has so much to offer everyone.
The U.S. Navy Memorial honors the Sea Service, shares stories of those who laid the foundation of service, and inspires the next generation to join the long blue line. VADM John B. Nowell Jr. ‘84, USN (Ret.), is CEOP of the memorial and said the organization’s mission is to promote the nation’s stories Sea Service history and showcase the opportunities that exist for young American such as producing the submarines, destroyers and aircraft needed to sustain the world’s premier fighting force.
Shipmate: What are some of the things you’re excited about as the Navy Memorial continues to grow?
Nowell:Honor, recognize and celebrate sea service veterans who have served, are serving and who will serve will always be central to our charter. That’s Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines. Now there’s the inform the public piece. We’re really leaning hard into that. We’re doing that with new exhibits that are interactive and informative like our new Maritime Industrial base Exhibit – how does this foundry that we have, whether it’s public or private shipyards- how do we harness that capability to produce our submarines, destroyers and fighter aircraft. How we inform the public about that with both our on-line and in person programming and exhibits is critical…
In our theater, we’re playing Faces of the Fleet. With our interactive displays we walk visitors through the history of the Sea Services and what those careers look like. We’re going to be putting in more new exhibits with recruiting themes from the Navy’s new Strike Group recruiting road show that will show (visitors) those opportunities. Right now-as we look at China increasing capability exponentially and Russia which is certainly not going away and the Houtis in the Red Sea or bad actors like the North Koreans-making sure we have very strong sea services that are protecting those global commons is incredibly important. Having the American public understand that is critical.
How we’re able to do that, whether it’s with the 40,000-plus visitors who go through here each year or our online programs that reach many tens of thousands beyond that are where we are really trying to focus hard.
Located on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, the U.S. Navy Memorial features the Lone Sailor amid a granite sea surrounded by stone walls containing 26 bas-relief sculptures illustrating the history of the Navy and the Sea Services. The memorial also includes a 22,000-square-foot visitors center.
One of the U.S. Navy Memorial’s 26 bas-relief sculptures depicts life at the Naval Academy.
Shipmate: Why is it important for future generations to understand the value of the Sea Services?
Nowell: When the Navy and the Sea Services are successful, and things are calm around the world, there’s not a lot of attention placed on what the Navy is doing. We call that sea blindness. Part of our charter is how do we help the public understand that you get that security for the United States, the security that promotes prosperity with the global sea lines of communications. That’s what we’ve done since our inception. As we look at a population where fewer folks are eligible to serve and of those, fewer are propensed to serve, we need to show how cool and important it is to do some of the things you can do in the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines so they will consider a career in the sea services, or in the foundry that supports them.
Shipmate: What’s your favorite part of the Navy Memorial?
Nowell: When you look at some of the events we do, like the Battle of Midway commemoration ceremony where we had 500-plus folks out on the Granite Sea with the CNO presiding, the Second Sea Lord in attendance with Flag Officers, Sailors and veterans including World War II survivors, what’s most special are those interactions. The actual engagements with our veterans and their families-World War II, Korea and now more increasingly from Vietnam, especially from our Veteran Group tours-I get the most energy out of those types of interactions. That’s the most special thing to me.
Shipmate: What are some of your engagement and outreach efforts for younger audiences?
Nowell: We have four different pathways of learning. They span youth from fairly young where they’re doing our Junior Sailor Program with the National Park Service, online or here at the Navy Memorial, all the way up through our Sea Service Intern Program at the high school level. They’re not only learning about the sea services but they’re participating in activities like Stories of Service oral histories with our veterans. That is very important.
Another example is where we took the interns to the Naval Academy for a day in the Yard where we connected them with newly commissioned 2nd lieutenants and ensigns. We took them to see the wave tank and the wind tunnel as well as Bancroft Hall and John Paul Jones’ crypt. Three of the eight interns on that tour said after that they would pursue naval service and specifically the Naval Academy.
Sea Cadets attended the Blessing of the Fleet Ceremony at the U.S. Navy Memorial. Part of the memorial’s mission is to encourage young Americans to enter a life of service, and the nonprofit’s outreach includes a high school intern program as well as school age sailing programs.
Source: https://lsc-pagepro.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=856414&p=54&view=issueViewer