22 Apr Daily Shipmate

Wednesday, 22 April 2026

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photo of day

USNA alumni at Sea‑Air‑Space 2026, including Under Secretary of the Navy The Honorable Hung Cao ’96, USN; ADM James Foggo ’81, USN (Ret.), former Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa; and LCDR Bobby Dixon ’12, USN, prospective PAO aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73).

1778 - Captain John Paul Jones takes a landing party from the sloop Ranger ashore at Whitehaven, England, spiking the cannons of the harbor’s defenses and burning colliers in port. “Intrepid & bold . . . a small specimen of that Conflagration & distress, we have so often experienced from our Enemies,” a Virginian in the Continental Congress says in reference to Jones’s daring raid.

 

1914 - Reinforced by landing parties put ashore during the night by the cruisers Chester (Cruiser No. 1) and San Francisco (Cruiser No. 5) and battleships Arkansas (Battleship No. 33), New Hampshire (Battleship No. 25), New Jersey (Battleship No. 16), South Carolina (Battleship No. 26), and Vermont (Battleship No. 20), naval forces commence the final assault against Veracruz, Mexico. Overcoming strong resistance from Mexican Naval Academy cadets with the support of gunfire from Chester, Marines and bluejackets complete the occupation of Veracruz by noon. All told, the two-day action costs the United States 17 dead and 63 wounded, while Mexico suffers over 300 casualties. With the current stringent requirements for the awarding of the Medal of Honor not yet in place, a total of 55 officers and enlisted men receive the decoration, the largest number ever awarded for a single engagement. The recipients include LT Frank Jack Fletcher ’06, USN, future commander of carrier forces at the battles of Coral Sea and Midway, and CDR William A. Moffett ’90, USN who becomes the first Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics.

 

1957 - 1LT Reese McCauley, Jr. ’53, USAF was killed when the H-19 helicopter he was aboard crashed into Tenguiwa Mountain, Japan, while performing search and rescue operations for an airplane that had crashed earlier that day. A native of Tyler, Texas, he spent a year at Virginia Military Institute before coming to the Naval Academy. From the Lucky Bag: “Mac’s real claim to fame was his ability to lie peacefully on his back during the long winter months and declare purposefully that, ‘Tomorrow I begin to work out!’” He was survived by his parents and brother, who was also an Air Force officer.

 

Content in “Today in Navy, Marine Corps and USNA Memorial Hall History” is generously provided by our partners and fellow alumni at the Naval History and Heritage Command and the Run to Honor SIG, which supplies the USNA Memorial Hall content. We are grateful for their partnership in preserving and sharing this history, and the Daily Shipmate is proud to serve as a distribution platform. You can learn more or provide feedback through their respective websites hyperlinked above.

Academy & Graduate happenings

Registration is now open for the 3rd Annual USNA Entrepreneurs Summit, taking place in Annapolis 17-18 June 2026. This event brings together a curated group of Naval Academy alumni founders, operators, and investors for high-quality networking, candid conversations, and real opportunities to collaborate—all within a tight-knit, trust-driven community. If you're serious about engaging in the USNA entrepreneurial ecosystem, this is where it happens.

A 2019 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, LT Garrett Wiedle '19 has served in both the submarine and aviation communities, building a career defined by leadership, adaptability and operational excellence. After serving aboard USS Jefferson City (SSN 759) and later leading at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, he now serves as Supply Officer for the Blue Angels U.S. Naval Flight Demonstration Squadron in Pensacola, supporting more than 160 personnel and 64 flight demonstrations across 32 show sites each year.

Government & Military News

Hegseth announces end to military flu vaccine requirement.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the end of the Pentagon's long-running flu vaccine mandate for U.S. troops. "The War Department is once again restoring freedom to our Joint Force," Hegseth announced in an X post, linking to a video statement of his signing the new policy. "We are discarding the mandatory flu vaccine requirement, effective immediately." Hegseth said service members would no longer be forced to take the annual flu shot, and instead could decide for themselves whether it was in their best interest, casting the move as part of a broader rollback of what he called overly aggressive medical mandates imposed under the Biden administration.

Defense technology company Anduril Industries and global shipbuilder HD Hyundai are expanding their partnership as construction begins on the first autonomous surface vessel (ASV) in a new class of unmanned ships. Following the successful completion of a critical design review, production is now underway, with the vessel expected to be launched and tested later this year. Company officials noted that once launched, the vessel will undergo extensive testing off the U.S. coast, with Anduril assuming ownership for evaluation by the end of 2026. The effort reflects the Navy’s broader push toward unmanned and autonomous platforms as part of a future hybrid fleet.

Navy Wants to Buy Trump-class Battleship in FY 2028.

The Navy wants to buy the first Trump-class battleship in next year’s budget submission, a schedule that would allow the service to make the purchase before President Donald Trump leaves office. The first battleship, known as BBG(X), is currently programmed in the five-year budget outlook for Fiscal Year 2028, according to the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget request, reviewed by USNI News. Speaking to reporters on Friday ahead of the budget rollout, Navy deputy assistant secretary for budget Rear Adm. Ben Reynolds ‘92 dismissed observers who say the battleship is not a Navy requirement. “We’ve been pursuing a larger surface combatant for many years. I think we’ve invested over five years in DDG(X) large surface combatant,” Reynolds said.

Local, Education & other academy news

Rear Admiral Ben Reynolds ‘92 is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Budget/Director, Fiscal Management Division, N82, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. He is a native of Jones, Oklahoma and a 1992 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics. He also holds a Masters in National Security and Strategy from the National War College, a Masters in Systems Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a Masters in International Affairs from George Washington University.

 

Nine photographs documenting the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima were donated to the Naval History & Heritage Command (NHHC) for preservation and potential exhibition on 17 April 2026 in Preble Hall.

 

Dr. Joel Wagoner of Chapel Hill, NC, presented the photos to Rear Adm. Samuel J. Cox ’80, USN (Ret.), NHHC director, in a handoff facilitated by Christopher Perrien ’74, executive director of the North Carolina Submarine Foundation.

“What we love for exhibits, are things which have a provenance, a story that go with it. This captures people’s imagination,” Cox said. “We greatly thank you for one preserving them, and entrusting them to us.”

 

The photographs, taken from a tail-plane, show broad swaths of the city leveled and all life eviscerated, with only occasional structures left standing. The images were taken after the smoke had cleared, providing an early look at the destruction from the air.

 

A separate aircraft assigned to photograph the detonation failed to capture the blast when a crew member forgot to remove the camera’s lens cap—making surviving mission-related images especially significant.

 

Wagoner said the decision to donate the photos ends a long stewardship for his family.

“I feel really relieved and thrilled that they’re somewhere for posterity,” he said.

Wagoner’s father served as an ordnance officer responsible for loading bombs and witnessed the Enola Gay’s return to Tinian on 6 August 1945. He was in the dark room when the photos were being processed and asked for copies. The photos were initially stored in a footlocker, then lockboxes and safes for more than eight decades.

 

Wagoner credited Perrien for helping place the collection with NHHC, calling him a “bulldog” who ensured the photographs found “the appropriate home.”

Naval Academy Athletics News & Results

The Navy women’s lacrosse team remained in the Top 10 across all three major national polls, including No. 7 in the IWLCA Coaches Poll, No. 5 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and No. 6 in the USA Lacrosse Poll. The team returns to Annapolis this week for its regular-season finale.

The Navy League, Annapolis Council invites you to join us at the N* Room at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis on Wednesday, 13 May 2026 for dinner and to meet Naval Academy Head Football Coach Brian Newberry. Coach Newberry will speak about the future of Navy football.

Yesterday's results: None

None

Baseball vs Maryland Eastern Shore - Annapolis, Md. - 5 p.m.

 

Women's Lacrosse vs American - Annapolis, Md. - 6 p.m.

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