THE ANNAPOLIS STORY

[Music] this is the Annapolis story a story of the United States Naval Academy and the men who make up the brigade men from every state leave men who have come to Annapolis to become professional officers in the world's largest name this is the story of marching men a books slide rule and of acres of white caps and gold button it is the story of a way of life that develops tomorrow's leaders today this is the United States Naval Academy located here on the historic seaport of Annapolis Maryland the Naval Academy is neither a university or a training school it is distinctly a Naval College established and maintained for the sole purpose of providing career officers for the Naval Service on graduation in addition to commissions in the United States Navy or Marine Corps these men will receive Bachelor of Science degrees each summer approximately 1,200 men between the ages of 17 and 22 receive appointments to Annapolis [Music] [Music] young men from every walk of life from every kind of school from everywhere in America some are rich some are poor but at the Naval Academy they all start even the majority of these men receive their appointments directly from members of Congress others had granted appointments from the president and the vice president of the United States some win their appointment through open competitive examinations held throughout the country while others receive appointment through competitive examinations within the fleet and label reserve but no matter how these candidates receive their appointments they all must pass the same rigid physical and academic requirements for admission [Music] during the summer while the three upper classes are on cruises to foreign ports the newly appointed midshipman is quickly introduced into life in the Navy [Music] even before the stenciling is dry his first wife's the plebes indoctrination begins when you tie a bowline right over left remember right Overland and there is marching and marching and there will be more and more then there is physical education obstacle courses and hours of testing muscles to their breaking point and just when it finally seems as if they will break it is time for seamanship and salmon behind these walls the please along with the rest of the brigade will be housed for the next four years this is Bancroft Hall the largest dormitory in the world but to a Midshipmen Bancroft Hall is more than a dormitory for four very important years of his life Bancroft Hall and its miles of corridors acres of deck space and hundreds of rows will be his home and the center of a new world virtually everything is provided for here at Bancroft Hall there are barber shops tailor shops and a post office to handle the thousands of letters that are written and received daily a tremendous gely and a mess hall capable of seating an entire brigade of four thousand men will also be found at Bancroft Hall during three hours he will find Midshipmen in the store episode of fountain and in recreational rooms and if he is sick he will be treated at the medical and dental quarters housed in the same Bancroft Hall just about the time the new Midshipmen actually learns his way around bankrupt all liebe summer is over the upper classes return and he finds himself a part of the brigade and he quickly acquires a new appreciation of what it is to be a please some wrinkles mr. Hill what time is it mr. Hill sir I am greatly embarrassed deeply humiliated that due to circumstances beyond my control the inner workings of my chronometer aren't such in a quarter too great to do a woman with time is coming they reckon like cannot with any duty of accuracy state the correct time without fear of being too far along however I located it is 45 minutes 30 seconds 26:50 hours throwback bracelet design Mattel yes sir please spends a great deal of time learning the right answers to questions he also gets a lot of practice bracing squaring callers and traveling on the double doing many things not required of the upperclassmen McLean who wears no stripes on his uniform looks forward to the day when he will wear the one diagonal stripe of a third classmen the two diagonal stripes of a second classmen and finally the horizontal stripe of a first-class if he rises to officer rank in the brigade he will wear additional stripes to indicate his rank [Music] Brigade a midshipman is administered by Midshipmen officers of the first or a senior class selected for their outstanding leadership by a system of rotation of vipers these Midshipmen officers who called opportunity for exercising leadership is offered to most members of the first class the life of a midshipman is a rigorous one the routine and strict discipline which distinguishes life at the academy from life and civilian universities breeds the close comradeship and mutual understanding that leads to enduring friendships and helps create the high spirit of the brigade and the Navy amidship ons day begins of revelry at 6:15 a.m. he rises and prepares himself for breakfast formation thirty minutes later he begins a day of study lectures recitation drills and laboratory work that keeps him busy until four o'clock at that time the midshipmen is free to participate in sports and extracurricular activities until 7:00 p.m. after evening meal he returns to his academic studies in his room the study hours and the 10-15 minutes later finds him turned in for the night ending another day in the Annapolis story unless of course he has the watch the training and experience gained here on the watch squad in carrying out the day's routine will be invaluable to the Midshipmen when he's called upon the stand watches aboard ship and perform administrative duties ashore Saturday at noon the week's work comes to a close at last and that afternoon normally finds the brigade of Midshipmen cheering their teams in a score of intercollegiate sports quite frequently the weekends feature Hopsin concert when they do the rhythm and cadence of marching feet are quickly replaced by the rustle of skirts and the romantic melodies of a dance Orchestra through these reception lines past some of the prettiest girls in America some the girl back home others the drag for the weekend still others the one and only of a life [Music] on Sunday the chapel with its great dome of golden spire calls the future naval officers to worship those not worshiping here attended church of their own choosing in the city of Annapolis [Music] within the sanctuary of the chapel voices are lifted in praise and prayer [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] here the Midshipmen renews that quiet confidence born of trusting God and knows that he is not alone in the daily battle of life [Music] the course of study prescribed at Annapolis places primary emphasis on basic education in order that a firm foundation may be laid for the continuing development of its graduates all Midshipmen at the Naval Academy take the same course of study so that all graduates may be equipped equally to perform the duties of naval officers the only electives in the four-year course is in the field of foreign languages here they may choose any one of six languages the men you see are studying Spanish [Music] yo hablaba todo whenever possible classes are kept small to individualized instruction in classrooms like this every opportunity is given the Midshipmen the study and absorb as much as he possibly can modern weapons and devices are made available to aid the Midshipmen in the more professional subjects visual aids cutaways and models assist them in visualizing many of the technical courses some are authentic models built to scale like this engine room others are life-sized like this boiler of a destroy [Music] in addition the Academy encourages the Midshipmen to recognize and analyze critically the foreign and domestic problems of our time problems which are illuminated by the yearly visits abroad literature and history are also stressed because of very importance in the development of character breadth of vision and a high sense of balance [Music] but the future and naval officers cannot learn all they need to know from books practical instruction is included to ensure effective application of theoretical background and at the same time to provide the fleet with officers who are of immediate useful by far the largest amount of the professional training was accomplished when the Midshipmen are at sea during the summer months during these periods the Midshipmen feel regular village scene crews of operating ships Symphony they learn at firsthand the duties of seamen and petty officers executing many of the same orders they themselves will give someday as naval officers these cruises are made each summer by the upper classes in battleships carriers and other ships of the fleet [Music] and during part of one summer the Midshipmen even go on a full dress and piteous operation [Music] through their performance of duties on these cruises in engineering gunnery navigation and communications Aviation and tactics the Midshipmen are able to supplement by experience what they have learned in the classroom it is this integration of practice with theory that forms the core of the educational program at Annapolis a program which has one aid the develop would think clearly and who act decisively years will add wisdom to the minds of these future officers but the heritage and traditions imparted here at Annapolis will also be important factors in their eventual success the crypt of John Paul Jones father of the United States Navy reposes in the chapel his definition of an officer still serves as the ideal for all in the Naval Service it is by no means enough that an Officer of the Navy should be a capable manager he should be that of course also a great deal and he should be as well that gentleman of liberal education I imagine from telling his courtesy and the nicest sense of personal honor from the day midshipman enter the Academy the heritage and tradition of our gallant Navy becomes a part of them I have not yet begun to fight the spirits and courage of each naval hero from John Paul Jones on down from Farragut do I serve as an inspiration for every midship this spirit is handed down from class to class we have met the enemy and they are ours it is this spirit that guides and studies every officer as he makes his decision [Music] the weapons and ships may be different but the determination and courage are the same [Music] but life that the Naval Academy is not all history study and Grill [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] to ensure that these future officers are physically fit to withstand the rigors of life exceed an extensive athletic program is conducted here an athletic program which demands the participation of every Midshipmen either an intercollegiate or intramural sports the athletic program at the Naval Academy is designed to develop such qualities as proof Lowell T team spirit Fairplay and the ability to think quickly under pressure [Music] 400 een formulae more than 3000 contests in 24 different sports each year the victory is counting his points in the intercompany competition to determine the honor company of the Academy in addition of this extensive intramural program varsity and junior varsity teams are of course filled it in every intercollegiate sport sports ranging from track and wrestling to such events as rifle and go each year from these ranks of the navy blue and gold come some of the nation's 14 grades to receive recognition their letters and their trophies for the highest honors and athletics an opportunity for self-expression is also given the Midshipmen in a variety of extracurricular activities those interested in writing there are the weekly magazines the log and the Splinter as well as the Academy yearbook the lucky back then there are after-dinner speaking sessions two radio stations and a number of dramatic clubs [Music] for those inclined there is a dance band a drum and bugle corps the glee club and choir as well as other activities from sailing to chess as many things are crowded into four full years in that time a midshipman does a lot here's a lot and sees a lot more as graduation draws near memories of four full years crowd the minds of the future officers memories of left-handed salute and a shower of penne esta - come sir god of 2.5 the passing grade of the Academy memories of anchorman ceremony and no more please a day no plebe forgets because when the smallest member of his class touches the top of this monument the plebs become upperclassmen then there are memories of the class ring dance and liberty in foreign ports what Midshipmen could ever forget Liberty for to a Midshipmen every precious minute hour and day spent on Liberty has meant too much to be forgotten easily memories many many more of the Jolly Roger and across in the equator for the first time memories of Polliwogs and shellbacks and an audience with his majesty Neptune s rights and then it's the biggest June week of all this parties parades and the traditional presenting of colors to the honor company by the color girl finally the crowning event of all the culmination of four years of effort graduation during your four years at the Naval Academy we have constantly worked at the task of molding you into junior officers for you the process has probably been long and hard in the four years that have passed you have absorbed much of the knowledge and instruction often you you have grown in stature you have accepted responsibility and you've been found reliable there are potentially great military leaders in your ranks only time can tell how many of you will take your place in history gentlemen you're off to a fine start [Music] the flashbulbs pop the hats fly into the rafters in the traditional manner and another class is graduated another class has received Bachelor of Science degrees and has been commissioned as Anson's in the United States Navy or a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps but this is not the end of the story for this story has no end as four years pass in the memory for one class they just begin for a mother the cast of characters constantly changes but the story is always the same quiet dedication to a life of service to God and country because men will always find it necessary to go down to the sea and ships to defend their land their homes and their freedom the Annapolis story will never [Music] [Music]