10 September Daily Shipmate

Thursday, 10 September 2026

This week's editions of Naval Academy Alumni Association & Foundation Morning Paper are brought to you by Otterson Wealth Advisors and Naval Academy graduate Caleb Cronic '11. Otterson Wealth Advisors of Raymond James is not just a team. It's a vast resource of financial knowledge, with each member bringing their unique expertise to your financial success. Caleb Cronic '11, financial advisor and Naval Academy graduate, is a CIMA-certified pro. His strategic prowess is your asset working towards your financial goals. Ready to begin to your journey? Otterson Wealth Advisors … your goals, our expertise.

 

1945 - Midway (CVB-41), the first of the large aircraft carriers built reflecting wartime experience, is placed in commission. In terms of displacement, it is the largest warship built by the U.S. Navy to date.

 

1960 - Charles F. Adams (DDG-2) is commissioned, becoming the first “keel up” missile destroyer built for the U.S. Navy. It is the first of a class of 16 ships.

 

1961 - The cruiser Long Beach (CG [N]-9) is commissioned. It is the world’s first nuclear-powered surface warship and the first warship armed entirely with missiles.

 

1987 - In the first battleship deployment of Pioneer remotely piloted vehicles, VC-6's Detachment 1 embarks aboard the battleship Iowa (BB-61).

 

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.

1946 - LCDR Frank Davis ’42, USN

Other alumni lost on this day are listed at Virtual Memorial Hall.

Academy & Graduate happenings

This year, we're proud to introduce a new digital experience through ShipmateMagazine.com, bringing together the stories, voices and faces of our fallen 14. Through archival articles, personal reflections and new stories shared by family members, classmates and friends, this special collection offers a deeper look at the lives behind the names. Twenty-five years later, their legacy continues to inspire generations of leaders, service members and Naval Academy graduates. By preserving their stories and sharing the memories of those who knew them best, we can ensure their courage, character and sacrifice are remembered not just on anniversaries, but for years to come.

 

This new website is part of a new shipmatemagazine.com, which we will launch in January 2027. As a perfect complement to the immortal Shipmate Magazine, shipmatemagazine.com will host more multimedia storytelling content, deliver that content in a timelier fashion and advance our storytelling abilities so we can better connect with the alumni, parent and midshipmen audiences in the future. We hope this 9/11 special remembrance helps keep the legacies alive of those who gave all and the warfighters who answered the call to serve.

This week marks 25 years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Among the thousands of victims was CAPT Charles Burlingame ’71, III, USN (Ret.) an American Airlines pilot who, as a child, built four-engine planes out of wood. Burlingame graduated from Anaheim High School in 1967 and joined the U.S. Naval Academy. He graduated in 1971 with a degree in aeronautical engineering, became a Navy fighter pilot, and graduated with honors from the Navy’s Top Gun school at Miramar. On 11 September 2001, Burlingame was piloting American Airlines Flight 77. It departed Washington Dulles International Airport at 8:20 a.m., bound for Los Angeles.

CAPT Gerald Deconto ’79, USN, was one of 14 Naval Academy graduates lost on 11 September 2001. As USS Lake Erie, where he served as pre-commissioning executive officer, approaches its decommissioning later this month, we invite you to read the poem above, written in memory of a shipmate whose legacy of service and sacrifice continues to inspire.

From the Podcast Fleet

Mike James, publisher of The Mid Report and color commentator for the Navy Football Radio Network, will be the opening segment guest on the Anchors Aweigh podcast throughout the season. We review the Navy football season opening victory over Towson. Reid Sigmon, Navy Senior Deputy Director of Athletics, joins the pod to discuss the enhancements and new amenities at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Our Weekly Report highlights Navy water polo and women's soccer.

Government & Military News

At Fort Rucker, Alabama, Air Force Capt. Hanna Born trains the next generation of rotary-wing aviators in the TH-1H training helicopter. Outside the cockpit, she is leading a personal mission to honor the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by running 2,977 miles — one mile for each person killed that day. Born, an instructor pilot assigned to the 23rd Flying Training Squadron, launched the effort on Sept. 11, 2025, with the goal of carrying their stories forward to the 25th anniversary of the attacks. Her mother, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Dana H. Born, graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1983 and served in senior leadership roles throughout her 30-year career, including dean of the faculty at the academy. Her father, retired Marine Corps LtCol Tim Born ’75, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served 21 years on active duty.

Roosevelt deployment to utilize lessons learned from Lincoln, Navy’s top brass say

The two top officers of the U.S. Navy released a video Tuesday assuring sailors aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt that their impending deployment would incorporate valuable lessons learned from USS Abraham Lincoln’s historic deployment to the Middle East. Following the Lincolns’ nearly 10-month deployment that saw 264 days without a port visit, Chief of Naval Operations ADM Daryl Caudle and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Perryman said the Roosevelt will maximize its loadout of food and hygiene products before setting sail, among other improvements. “As one carrier returns home, we listen to its sailors and families,” Perryman said in the video. “We capture what works and what didn’t and we make it better the next time.”

Local, Education & other academy news

Joe Cardona ’15 is the Rams’ long snapper for the next two years after being signed by LA this past offseason, and he’s good, very good. So good, in fact, that he’s now the third-highest-paid long snapper in the league. While a salary of $1.725 million doesn’t seem like a whole lot in a sport where almost all players are making over a million dollars a year, it’s a raise of more than $300,000, or about 20%, and it will surely impact the Cardone family. The position of long snapper is about as glamorous in football terms as is the bass player in the house band at your local bar. Nobody notices them until they make a mistake. In fact, I’d be willing to bet 98% of all football fans couldn’t name two long snappers in the league, and probably 97% couldn’t name the one playing on their own team, but they’re important.

Navy service helped shape the career path of Taylor Searcy ’08, a Naval Academy graduate who now leads clean energy strategy efforts at General Motors. As a Surface Warfare Officer aboard USS Lassen (DDG 82), Searcy learned lessons in leadership, teamwork and decision-making that continue to guide his work today. Those experiences, combined with firsthand exposure to energy challenges around the world, inspired his transition into sustainability and clean energy. Today, he helps GM balance reliability, affordability and innovation as the company advances cleaner energy solutions and explores the growing connection between transportation and the power grid.

To all Alumni/Families, especially those who have had or now have cancer, or who are Vietnam Veterans, please do the following for your spouse and your family:

 

1st - Please take a total of six to eight minutes to file a “Letter of Intent,” VA Form 21-0966, Intent to File a Claim for Compensation and/or Pension, or Survivors Pension and/or DIC, which establishes an effective date to which retroactively you will receive any benefits, any compensation due, if you make a formal claim during the following year and the VA approves it.

 

Your 6 to 8 minutes: Call 1-800-827-1000 (Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Time)

( https://www.va.gov/contact-us/ )

when the voice gives options – press 1, press 2, 3, 4… Press ZERO to speak with an agent.

and say to the agent: “I want to File a Letter of Intent.”

Be ready to provide name, address, email address, date of birth, SSN.

The agent will file the Letter of Intent. Done.

Many people have received thousands of dollars more because they filed the Letter of Intent.

There is no cost to filing a Letter of Intent and no penalty.

 

2nd – To file a formal VA claim within one year, please click the link below, select a local VA accredited representative, make a phone call, make a 20-minute appointment, and this person will reduce your time spent by 95% filing a VA claim. https://www.va.gov/get-help-from-accredited-representative/find-rep/?address=29801&lat=33.561542&long=-81.72237&distance=50&page=1&perPage=10&sort=distance_asc&type=veteran_service_officer

 

• Accredited VSO representative.

under…Use my location

Please type in “your Zip Code” … hit “SEARCH” … results may include County Veterans Service Officers … make a phone call and say purpose – “filing a VA claim.”

 

This local VA accredited representative will work with you, for free, and coordinate all VA requirements, such as answering questions, clarifying VA correspondence, producing a formal VA claim within one year, identifying medical records, or completing a required VA Compensation and Pension (C&P) exam(s).

Naval Academy Athletics News and results

You and your guest(s) are invited to join us on Saturday, 24 October, for the Navy Letterwinners Breakfast in the 1984 Team Meeting Room at the Ron Terwilliger '63 Center for Student-Athletes, Ricketts Hall. Light breakfast and drinks (coffee, tea, and juice) will be available from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. ET. All former varsity and club athletes, receiving this email, are invited! Please RSVP for the Navy Letterwinners Breakfast by 14 October 2026. If you have any questions or need additional assistance, please contact Caitlin Kane at [email protected].

Former Navy standout and Pittsburgh native Eli Heidenreich ’26 is already making an impact with the Steelers, and not just on the field. Before training camp, the rookie running back invited his fellow Steelers newcomers to his family’s home outside Pittsburgh for a team dinner designed to build camaraderie and connection. The Heidenreich family hosted the gathering, serving a home-cooked meal and giving players from across the country a taste of Pittsburgh hospitality. Heidenreich said the idea stemmed from lessons learned at the Naval Academy about the importance of strong teams, while teammates praised the event for helping the rookie class bond.

Army-Navy Star Series matchups:

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