NATIONAL CAPITAL COMMANDERY
Naval Order of the United States
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NATIONAL CAPITAL COMMANDERY PROJECTS
Projects of Interest 2020
February
Past Commander Captain John Rodgaard, and fellow Naval Order member, Dr. Judy Pearson represented the Naval Order at large at the annual Midshipman Richard Sunderland Dale Commemoration in St. George’s, Bermuda at the historic St. Peter’s Church. Dale, who died on Bermuda, was one of the last casualties of the War of 1812. Participants included the island’s governor, the mayor of St. George, clergy of St. Peter’s, the TS Admiral Somers Sea Cadets, Friends of St. Peter’s, and the US Consul to Bermuda.
Above, Mr. David Firth, St. George’s Town Crier, in period uniform, open the commemorative ceremony for Midshipman Dale.
Museum Visits
In January the commandery organized a tour to the US Marine Corps Museum at Quantico, Virginia. In March, companions toured the Mariner’s Museum at Newport News, Virginia.
USMC Corsair on display in the US Marine Corps Museum at Quantico, Virginia
September Business Meeting
Commandery members gathered on Zoom in September 2020 for our annual business meeting to nominate officers, recognize members of the Quarter-Century Club (companions who have been in the Naval Order for 25 years or more) and the hold the Kent Siegel History Seminar. This year our speaker was Past Commander Captain John Rodgaard who spoke on “The Second Quasi-War: The Undeclared Naval War between the US and Nazi Germany, September 1939 – December 1941.
Naval Order Historic Markers in the Historic Marker Database
Since 2012, on behalf of the Naval Order at large, the National Capital Commandery has sponsored and installed six historic markers to the sea services in the US, Spain, Ireland, and Malta. Each project team has coordinated with local officials and organized an outstanding public unveiling ceremony. In 2020 Dr. Judy Person, our secretary-recorder and acting public affairs officer entered these markers into the online, crowd-sourced Historic Marker Data Base at www.HMDB.org.
Book Club
The National Capital Commandery hosts a nation-wide Naval Order Book Club via monthly Zoom meetings. Each month, attendees discuss a non-fiction book on maritime history, sometimes with the author present to answer questions. Some of the books featured in 2020 were: In Harm’s Way, The Good Shepherd, Jersey Brothers, Big Mother 40, Act of War, Top Gun, The Oath, and Attack on the Liberty. The Book Club is managed under GoodReads.com.
Projects of Interest: 2019
February - Once again, past commander CAPT Rodgaard and ExCom member Dr. Judy Pearson represented the Naval Order and the annual wreath laying ceremony to commemorate the death of Midshipman Sunderland Dale, USN on the island of Bermuda. This event takes place at St. Peter’s Church Yard, St Georges, Bermuda. Dale was the last US Navy officer to die during the War of 1812.
The T.S. Admiral Somers Sea Cadets of Bermuda lead the procession from the town square to St. Peter's Church in St. George's Parish, Bermuda, where the wreath-laying ceremony takes place. They carry the flag of Bermuda and the flag of the U.S. with 13 stars.
The grave of Midshipman Richard Sutherland Dale in the churchyard of St. Peter's Church, St. George's, Bermuda.
April - The Commodore Dewey Commemoration: The National Capital Commandery joined the New York and Philadelphia commanderies on the US Display Ship, Olympia in Philadelphia. Commodore Dewey, Admiral of the US Navy founded the Naval Order of the US in 1890.
Naval Order Companions with wreath aboard the USS Olympia.
May - A tour of the NS Savannah in Baltimore Harbor.
The historic NS Savannah is now a display/museum ship in Baltimore Harber
June - Annual Battle of Midway Commemorative Dinner: The Commandery was represented on a committee comprised of other maritime/naval non-profit organizations to organize an annual dinner to commemorate the Battle of Midway at the Army Navy Country Club, Arlington, VA. Numerous commandery companions attended, as shown in the photo below.
National Capital Commandery companions at the Annual Battle of Midway Commemorative Dinner.
August - US Coast Guard Birthday: The Commandery commemorates the Coast Guard Birthday with an annual cake-cutting. We invite a guest speaker to talk about a significant aspect of the history of the US Coast Guard.
Above: , U.S. Coast Guard Captain Michael Davanzo,Chief of Major Cutter Forces at USCG Headquarters, Washington, D.C. cuts the USCG Birthday Cake with Chief Purser Julius Jackson.
November - In November 2019, under the leadership of LCDR Michael Zampella, representatives of the National Capital Commandery (NCC) dedicated a historic marker on Valetta Harbor, Malta, to commemorate the presence of the US Navy and the USS Constitution there in the early 1800s. Diplomatic and US Navy representatives attended, as well as officials of the Maltese government. The project is significant in that Malta is an emerging US security partner in the crossroads of the Mediterranean.
December - Each year, on the morning of 7 December, our commandery lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate those who perished in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. In the evening, we hold our annual Pearl Harbor Commemoration Dinner to honor those who died and those who fought and served as the US entered World War II.
PAST PROJECTS OF INTEREST
June 2018 - The National Capital Commandery installed a historic marker in Wexford, Ireland to recognize the US Naval Air Station established there a century previously during World War I. The official party included the Mayor of Wexford, the US Army Attache from the U.S. Embassy in Ireland, the Irish Minister of Defense, the president of the Wexford Historical Society, and Admiral Sam Cox of the Navy History and Heritage Command. The event coincided with Wexford’s annual wreath-laying at the statue of Commodore John Barry, son of Wexford, who founded the U.S. Navy.
The official party at the unveiling of the historic marker to the US Naval Air Station, Wexford, Ireland.
June 2017 - LCDR Jay Gaul led a project to donate to the Army Navy Club in Washington, DC, an oil portrait of Admiral Lucius Johnson, who introduced the Daiquiri to the club early in the 20th Century. LCDR Gaul’s father, J. Hunter Gaul, painted the portrait that now hangs in the Daiquiri Bar on the clubs’ second floor.
LCDR Jay Gaul, with his father, J. Hunter Gaul III, the artist who painted the portrait of Admiral Lucius Johnson who introduced the Daiquiri to the Army Navy Club in Washington, D.C. in 1910.
May 2017 - Historic Marker at Cobh, Republic of Ireland to commemorate the presence of the United States Navy during the Great War of 1914-1917. The Commandery worked with the Naval War College to design the marker. The Cobh City Council, The Ancient Order of Hibernians, and the American Legion in Europe participated. USNavEur sent a representative to the dedication ceremony. Read the story at this link: https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/cobh-commemorates-centenary-of-american-naval-forces-arrival-during-wwi-449348.html
Captain John Rodgaard (USN, Ret), representing the Naval Order of the U.S., Rear Admiral (Sel) David Dwyer representing Admiral Michelle Howard and USNAVEUR, and Lt. Commander Ralph Day (USN, Ret) representing the Ancient Order of Hibernians at the ceremony to unveil the historic marker that now marks the centennial of the arrival of the U.S. Fleet under Admiral Taussig in Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland.
October 2016 - The Commandery, working with the Washington DC Council, the Society for Navy Medicine, and the Navy Bureau of Medicine, designed and dedicated a historic marker at the former US Navy Hospital in Washington DC. The building was the first naval hospital in Washington DC.
The historic marker that was placed in front of the Hill Community Center, Washington, D.C., indicating that, 150 years previously, the building was once the Old Navy Hospital.
May 2016 -The Commandery, working with the Friends of the Royal Navy Hospital Isla del Rei, Port Mahon, Menorca, Spain, designed and dedicated a historic marker at the former Royal Navy Hospital to commemorate the presence of the US Navy at Menorca between 1815 and 1845.
Captain John Rodgaard (USN Ret.) in front of the historic marker on the interior wall of the Royal Navy Hospital Museum, on the Isla del Rey in Port Mahon, the island of Menorca, Spain.