Looking for assistance with basic information about Naval Academy Life for Fiction Book Project

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kleaverjr

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Hello Everyone,

I am hoping I am posting in the correct forum (Note to Moderator, if I have posted this in the wrong forum, please feel free to move it to the appropriate one, thank you). I am looking for information to help me keep the parts of the novel that are associated with actual institutions, such as the Navy and Naval Academy to be as accurate as possible. Though the fiction novel has the main character eventually leave the Navy in pursuit of what they think is a better way to serve his country, the first chapter has the main character attend the Naval Academy in Annapolis from 1964-1968.

I realize that the specific courses Midshipmen take today would be different today than back then, I would presume however, most of the rules concerning what could be done/could happen back then is pretty much the same as today (though if any of you who are reading this are graduates from the Academy during around that time and wish to also reply to this thread, that would be fantastic!). What I am looking for is not personal stories, but just an idea, perhaps a basic itinerary of the daily life both while in session, and during the summer "break". As this part of the story is mainly to establish the persona and integrity of the main character, so only three or four main "events" will be written, I need an idea what could have happened and what could NOT have happened so that I do not dishonor an Institution that I once desired to attend (when I inquired about attending, my chronic health issues disqualified me from attending unfortunately, but I still hold the upmost respect for the Navy and the Naval Academy!). I wish to have the stories, though totally fiction, credible to those who know what it is like to have attended the Naval Academy.

Thank you for any assistance provided with this project.

Respectfully,

Ken Leaver ,Jr.
 
Quite a bit of the atmosphere at Service Academies has changed since the late 1960s. The inclusion of women and explosion of social media have done a lot of make them less insulated from the outside world, IMO.

As far as USNA goes, James Webb's A Sense of Honor is supposed to be quite accurate in describing the atmosphere there in 1967-1968.
 
You may also want to contact the class officers for those years to get first-hand insights. You could reach them via the Alumni Assn or possibly class FB pages or other class websites.

There may still have been Saturday classes, Saturday parades, no Thanksgiving holiday, no majors other than “naval science,” no cars for midshipmen, mandatory tea dances...things I have heard about from that era.

The Nimitz Library at USNA will have copies of the Lucky Bag yearbook from those years, worth browsing to get a feel for activities and the demographics of those classes.
 
Capt MJ said:
There may still have been Saturday classes, Saturday parades, no Thanksgiving holiday, no majors other than “naval science,” no cars for midshipmen, mandatory tea dances...things I have heard about from that era.
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Not "may have been" as most of these things were still intact in the mid-70's. Majors program started in the 60's. As of the mid-70's cars were only for firsties after thanksgiving and actually, during the fall of my plebe year, prior to firsties being allowed to have cars, the Brigade Sub-commander was caught driving and received major demerits (black N) plus loss of his five stripes. There were Saturday morning classes during all my time at USNA although I managed to avoid having them. Thanksgiving was a day off with classes resumed on Friday, but industry and public schools also were scheduled that way. We had mandatory Tea Dances for plebes as well and attendance was taken to make sure that everyone attended.
In the 60's there was a much more draconian plebe system with a lot of hazing - see Webb's "A Sense of Honor" as was already said.
Of course, nobody had a computer in their room, most upperclass had stereos. Plebes could get radios late in the year, I think it was Easter. The only TVs available were in Company Wardrooms and they were off limits to plebes. Youngsters had some wardroom privledges but could not use it all the time.
 
kleaverjr said:
(Note to Moderator, if I have posted this in the wrong forum, please feel free to move it to the appropriate one, thank you).
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This is not the wrong forum. However you may get more responses in the USNA forum, so I will proceed and move it there.
 
I would think that if you want to do it right, you need to talk to a living, breathing USNA graduate from that time period.
Even then, his experience would be that of a MIDN in that particular Company within the Brigade.
Since all Companies get to the same goal in vastly different ways sometimes (maybe even more so back then), his experience would not be "generic" in any way.
Something to think about, maybe?

And make sure you get it right when describing The Yard at the time. There weren't any female officers, or instructors until 1972.
It wasn't until 1975 that President Gerald Ford signed the order to allow women into the SAs in the Fall of our Bicentennial year.
The first female Midshipman graduated from USNA in 1980.

So during the time frame you state - except for the support staff - it was decidedly male.
 
Thanks everyone!

One of my hopes was maybe some of the parents of current Midshipmen would have a dad (as back in 1964-1968 no women were allowed yet into the USNA) that attended the Academy back then. I know it's a long shot. Though some things never change. The high level of proficiency and honor of the men and women who are the lifeblood of the USNA and Navy itself never changes, so I would like to also get an idea what really are the people like who are willing to sacrifice so much of themselves. I have friends who served as enlisted persons in the Navy, but not as officers, so attending the USNA is a totally different experience.

Actually I am hoping my novel might become a movie someday, and if it does, I PROMISE YOU, I will INSIST I am one of the Executive Producers with VETO POWER over anything that has to do with the Navy and USNA and I will insist on technical advisers that really know what they are talking about and not allow a travesty like "Annapolis" ever be done. The more I read about how awful that movie was (I knew hollywood does it's own thing but I never realized how BAD it did and how I feel it dishonored the men and women who attended and work at the USNA and serve in the Navy/Marines. )Which is one reason why I want this part of the novel done correctly! The Fantasy stuff that happens later on, i'm not as concerned about Hollywood tweaking that part of the story because it is clear the main character is no longer serving n the Navy so hopefully his actions will not be seen as a negative reflection of the Navy. In fact, he's transfered first to a different branch to serve at the Pentagon very much later in his career before he resigns his commission . But when he is associated by the Navy, I want it 99% Accurate (the 1% is me replacing the actual person who was there and was at higher rank. I have all the respect in the world for the Actual Midshipmen officers at the USNA, but for my novel to work, I need him to be either a Company Cmdr or or the Brigade Cmder. Depending on each of their duties back in 1964-68 will determine what ranks he holds during his 4 years there. )

Thanks again for the info so far. I look forward with answers to other questions I might have! Thanks!
 
There are USNA Alumni Association Chapters all over the country. Contact one near you - guaranteed you’ll find grads of your years of interest, and likely very happy to talk about their USNA experience.

https://www.usna.com/FindAChapter
 
I need to know where to look to answer this question.

Has any actual officer from the USNA (i.e. instructor/staff, not the Midshipmen) could or would transfer from the USNA to the Fleet? I am considering having the main character be helped out by a previous instructor from the USNA that then returns to the Fleet as an XO. Could such a scenario actually happen? I don't know which is why I am asking the question. My apologies if I have offended anyone for asking a ridiculous question, if it is ridiculous.

Thanks in advance, and thanks again for the help so far!

Ken L.
 
Oh my. Ken, you have much info to gather.

Military folks rotate into USNA as a regular tour of duty, shore duty, for 2-3 years, the same as they might rotate through other duty, and rotate back out to an operational tour. After my tour at USNA, I encountered many USNA alumni who were in the Brigade during my tour there. You get to know many surprisingly well, depending on what your job at USNA was. If you were on the Commandant’s staff as a company officer as a Lieutenant, you got to know the mids in your company to various levels. Officers who were instructors, ditto for them.

Today there is the Permanent Military Professor program, where a certain number of officers come as instructors and enter a special career path to become permanent faculty the rest of their careers. The current program started in the 90’s. I don’t think it was around in the 60’s.

You really need to find some grads from that era local to you, a mix of those who did a full career and those who did not, and take them to a long lunch.

The Naval Academy Museum has a full professional staff and a research email resource. See:
https://www.usna.edu/Museum/Contact Us.php
 
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Thanks again to all who have kindly answered my inquiries. I do understand as Yoda would say "Much to learn, (I) still have"!!! And I desire to do this right as I have a great amount of respect and loyalty to the Navy and anything connected to it such as the USNA! My Grandfather was a Sea-Bee during WWII and as I believe i said before my Godmother worked for the Navy Dept (though as a Civilian) who was transferred to the Air Force, so her ability to help me with research is limited, especially since she is overseas now so she is no longer in contact with personnel who might be able to help me. And though I have respect for the Air Force, it just doesn't feel right for this character not to be in the Navy. Besides, though I was not allowed to serve in the Navy, I wanted to, as a JAG officer, but my chronic health issues (Type 1 Diabetes, diagnosed at age 9) disqualified me. I had hoped to be allowed to still join because I thought most duty was done at home, but come to find out, JAG officers can and are assigned on missions on the Battlefield, which means, even if I was in perfect condition, the need of a steady insulin supply and the possibility of becoming hypoglycemic are the two main reasons I was told Type 1 Diabetics are automatically disqualified, so though disappointed, I still have always supported the Navy!)

So thanks again, and I might post questions here (along with other places) as I would like to receive as much information and ideas on where I can find information. (and to think this is only for ONE CHAPTER of my novel!! :-> )

Respectuflly,

Ken L.
 
Capt MJ said:
Military folks rotate into USNA as a regular tour of duty, shore duty, for 2-3 years, the same as they might rotate through other duty, and rotate back out to an operational tour. After my tour at USNA, I encountered many USNA alumni who were in the Brigade during my tour there. You get to know many surprisingly well, depending on what your job at USNA was. If you were on the Commandant’s staff as a company officer as a Lieutenant, you got to know the mids in your company to various levels. Officers who were instructors, ditto for them.
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To give some further insight into Capt MJ's excellent comment, my Company Officer during my First Class Year was a LCDR Surface Warfare Officer. After I graduated and went to the fleet, I bumped into him occasionally over the years as we moved through our careers. While I did not work for him, our ships operated together at sea and got together both in the US and in foreign ports when we could. He finished his career as a Vice Admiral and I continued to see him and his wife a couple of times per year at events. He has remained very close to my company classmates and we are hoping that he will join us at our upcoming reunion in Annapolis.
Our sister company, had a company officer who also went to flag rank. While I was not in his company, he knew me from our battalion at USNA and when he was a one star, I worked directly for him at sea and continued to bump into him as he rose to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and on into retirement. I don't think that he has as close a relationship with my classmates from his company but I do know some that served with him as well.
 
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