Via www.navy.mil — 15 June 2023

From MC1 (SW/AW) Jeanette Mullinax, Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs: Gunner’s Mate is one of the five original ratings established in The Naval Armament Act of 1794 along with Boatswain’s Mate, Quartermaster, Master-at-Arms, and Yeoman.

The United States Navy Memorial will present retired U.S. Navy Master Chief William Goines, the Navy’s first African American SEAL, with the 2023 Lone Sailor Award.

The Cheyenne SubVets raised funds to install “The Lone Sailor” statute downtown at the corner of West 23rd Street and Carey Avenue. It is an extension of the Capitol Avenue Bronze Project, and veterans were joined by fellow community members to celebrate its unveiling Saturday for a dedication to sailors of past, present and future.

The United States Navy Memorial will present U.S. Senator Susan Collins of Maine, the Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, with the 2023 Naval Heritage Award.

The United States Navy Memorial will host its 32nd annual Blessing of the Ceremony in person and online on Saturday, April 15th. This year's blessing will be provided by the Chief of Chaplains of the Navy, Rear Admiral Gregory N. Todd. The keynote speaker will be the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, James M. Honea. Afterward, attendees are invited inside the Navy Memorial Visitor Center for a light reception featuring Navy Bean Soup from the White House Mess.

The United States Navy Memorial announced the 2023 Lone Sailor Awards Dinner will take place at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, on Thursday, September 21. The Lone Sailor Awards Dinner is held annually to celebrate the U.S. Navy Memorial's newest Lone Sailor and Naval Heritage Award recipients.  

Vice Admiral Doug Crowder, former Commander of the United States Seventh Fleet, has published a new book titled "More Sea Stories: Humor & Life Lessons From a 40-Year Navy Journey." All profits from this book will go toward supporting the United States Navy Memorial, a non-profit that honors the service of Navy Sailors. 

The United States Navy Memorial has announced a new $5,000 scholarship for the grandchildren of deceased Chief Petty Officers. Applications will be reviewed by a group of Master Chief Petty Officers in the Washington, D.C. area. The application window is now open and awards will begin in 2023. 

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - A World War II hero from Alabama was honored in our nation’s capital Wednesday. Ward Wharton McFarland, a Tuscaloosa native was recognized for his outstanding service to the U.S. at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy Memorial takes up an entire plaza along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. It’s masts, waterfalls, and lone sailor statue were dedicated on October 13, 1987 – the 212th birthday of the U.S. Navy.

The plaza at Washington’s Navy Memorial is granite — meaning it would be easy to hear a clunk if the young sailors of the Ceremonial Guard rehearsing for a wreath laying ceremony didn’t change the way they held their M-1 carbines on the command “Order Arms.” It’s unlikely anyone in the crowd on Memorial Day, when the wreath-laying will be just one of eight different events for the Ceremonial Guard, would even notice — but during rehearsal, the guardsmen did.

Local News via The Messenger - Cheering groups greet veterans in Washington, Fort Dodge - Army veteran Jack David could hear a loud commotion as he approached a doorway leading into a Washington, D.C., area airport Saturday morning. “I was wondering what all the noise was,” the Humboldt man said. David and the rest of the nearly 150 veterans on the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight quickly found out just what all that noise was about.

It was about them.

The United States Navy Memorial hosted its 31st Blessing of the Fleet ceremony on Saturday, April 9th in Washington, D.C. following the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade. This ceremony was free and open to the public, marking the Navy Memorial’s first major event coming out of the pandemic. Over 1,100 people witnessed the ceremony in person or at home via live stream.

The United States Navy Memorial Visitor Center will be reopened to the public on Friday, March 11th. Masks will be optional for visitors, and the Navy Memorial will continue to monitor the latest CDC guidelines and recommendations.

The United States Navy Memorial will present United States Navy and corporate business leader, Admiral Thomas “Tom” B. Fargo, with the 2022 Lone Sailor Award at the 2022 Lone Sailor Awards Dinner on September 22, 2022. The Lone Sailor Award is given to Sea Service veterans who have excelled with distinction in their respective careers during or after their service.

The Navy Memorial was informed with great sadness that Tova Borgnine has passed and is now reunited with her life partner, Ernie Borgnine. Ernie and Tova Borgnine were instrumental in the success of the United States Navy Memorial.