The United States Naval Academy is an undergraduate college in Annapolis, Maryland with the mission of educating and commissioning officers for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The Academy is often referred to as Annapolis, while sports media refer to the Academy as "Navy" and the students as "Midshipmen"; this usage is officially endorsed.[1] During the latter half of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th, the United States Naval Academy was the primary source of U.S. Navy and Marine Corps officers, with the Class of 1881 being the first to provide officers to the Marine Corps. Graduates of the Academy are also given the option of entering the United States Army or United States Air Force. Most Midshipmen are admitted through the congressional appointment system.[2] The curriculum emphasizes various fields of engineering.[3]
This list is drawn from alumni of the Naval Academy who are recipients of the Medal of Honor (MOH), the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. The Academy was founded in 1845 and graduated its first class in 1846. The first alumnus to graduate and go on to receive the Medal of Honor was Harry L. Hawthorne (class of 1882). The most recent alumnus to receive the Medal of Honor was James Stockdale (class of 1947). Two alumni, Orion P. Howe (class of 1870) and Henry Lakin Simpson (class of 1882), received the Medal of Honor before being appointed to the Academy.
At the Naval Academy, in Bancroft Hall, twenty-one rooms are dedicated to each Academy graduate Medal of Honor recipient since the start of World War II.
In addition to the 73 Medal of Honor recipients who are alumni of the Academy, over 990 noted scholars from a variety of academic fields are Academy graduates, including 56 Rhodes Scholars and 34 Marshall Scholars. Additional notable graduates include 1 President of the United States and 2 Nobel Prize recipients.[b]
"Class year" refers to the alumni's class year, which usually is the same year they graduated. However, in times of war, classes often graduate early. For example, the Class of 1943 actually graduated in 1942.
Rear Admiral; recipient of the Medal of Honor for attempting to block a channel during the Spanish–American War, where he was taken prisoner; Representative from Alabama (1907–1915)
Rear Admiral; recipient of the Medal of Honor for commanding landing operations during the United States occupation of Veracruz in April 1914; the Fletcher-class destroyer was named after him; uncle of Frank Jack Fletcher
Admiral; recipient of the Medal of Honor for leadership as commanding officer of USS New Hampshire, and while leading ground units during the United States occupation of Veracruz in April 1914
Rear Admiral; recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions as gun captain on board USS Prairie during the United States occupation of Veracruz in April 1914
Brigadier General, USMC; recipient of the Medal of Honor for bravery in ground combat operations during the United States occupation of Veracruz in April 1914
Major General, USMC; recipient of the Medal of Honor for leadership during ground combat during the landings at United States occupation of Veracruz in April 1914; Commandant of the Marine Corps (1929–1930)
Commander; pioneer of submarine service as commanding officer of USS Plunger and USS Porpoise; recipient of the Medal of Honor for leadership during the landings at Veracruz in April 1914
Commander; recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions in ground combat during the United States occupation of Veracruz in April 1914; sailed with the Great White Fleet (1907–1909)
Captain; recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions in occupying the city during the United States occupation of Veracruz in April 1914; son of Admiral Frederick V. McNair, Sr. (class of 1857); grandfather of tennis champion Frederick V. McNair, IV
Admiral; recipient of the Medal of Honor for saving hundreds of refugees during the United States occupation of Veracruz in April 1914; operational commander at the pivotal Battles of Coral Sea and of Midway in World War II; nephew of Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher
Admiral; recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions in handling an artillery and machine gun battalion during the United States occupation of Veracruz in April 1914; Navy Cross recipient for actions during World War I; commander, United States Atlantic Fleet during World War II; football player and head football coach at the Academy
Vice-Admiral; recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions during the United States occupation of Veracruz in April 1914; veteran of World War I and World War II; director of Office of Naval Intelligence when Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941
Admiral; recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions during the United States occupation of Veracruz in April 1914; veteran of World War I and World War II; commanding officer of USS North Carolina
Rear Admiral; recipient of the Medal of Honor for ground actions during the United States occupation of Veracruz in April 1914; veteran of World War II
Captain; Governor of Guam (1929–1931); Representative from California (1947–1949); Medal of Honor recipient for actions during an ammunition explosion on board USS Pittsburgh in 1917
Captain; recipient of the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor while commanding, and saving from destruction, USS West Virginia
Rear Admiral; posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor for bravery and leadership in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942; classmate Norman Scott was his second-in-command and he also perished that night and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor
Rear Admiral; posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor for bravery and leadership in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on November 13, 1942; was second-in-command to classmate Daniel Callaghan who also perished that night and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor
Captain; posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor for bravery and leadership in the south Pacific during a series of actions as a commanding officer of USS Houston in February 1942 against Japanese air and sea forces
Captain; recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions as a commanding officer of USS Vestal during the attack on Pearl Harbor; posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for actions during the Battle of Cape Esperance and Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
Rear Admiral; recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions during the attack on USS Arizona where he directed damage control and rescue of personnel, as senior surviving officer he directed abandoning of the ship and left with the last boatload
Captain; posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions while commander of a submarine group and on board USS Sculpin near Truk island he went down with the submarine when the crew had to abandon it
Commander; posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions during January–February 1943 while commanding officer of USS Growler; while surfaced and on deck he ordered his submarine to dive while he remained on deck
Lieutenant Commander; posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions in the Solomon Islands he flew a 700-mile unescorted bombing/reconnaissance mission
Commander; posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor for heroism while commanding officer of USS Johnston during the Battle off Samar; Navy Cross recipient
Rear Admiral; recipient of the Medal of Honor for his heroism on board USS San Francisco during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal; father of Bruce McCandless II, astronaut, class of 1958
Commander; posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor for combat while commanding officer of USS Walke during the landings at Lingayen Gulf, Philippines
Rear Admiral; recipient of the Medal of Honor for submarine combat during World War II on board USS Tang, also served on board USS Wahoo, participated in more successful attacks on Japanese shipping than any other fighting submarine officer during World War II
Lieutenant; posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions while in charge of a damage control party on board USS Yorktown during the Battle of the Coral Sea
Lieutenant Commander; recipient of the Medal of Honor for aerial combat during World War II; US Navy's first ace of the war; O'Hare International Airport in Chicago named after him
Captain; fighter pilot; crash-landed his plane at Chosin Reservoir attempting to save downed squadron mate Jesse L. Brown, who was the first African-American United States Naval aviator
Recipient of the Medal of Honor, posthumously, for his attempts in 1920 to rescue the pilot of a burning plane in which he had been a passenger; Corry Station Naval Technical Training Center and three destroyers have been named in his honor
Rear Admiral; Arctic and Antarctic explorer; Medal of Honor recipient for aerial and Arctic explorations; assistant to Officer In Charge, Navy Recruiting Bureau
Rear Admiral; recipient of the Medal of Honor for his bravery during a boiler explosion on board USS California in 1915; veteran of World War I and World War II; Navy Cross recipient; recipient of five Legions of Merit
Lieutenant; posthumous Medal of Honor recipient for actions following a mid-air collision with another Consolidated PBY Catalina seaplane where his piloting allowed the rest of his crew to parachute to safety
^"Willis W. Bradley". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. United States Congress. Archived from the original on 2008-06-24. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
^"Izac, Edouard Victor Michel". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. United States Congress. Archived from the original on 2006-07-20. Retrieved 2009-03-04.