USNA 24th Company

From USNA Virtual Memorial Hall


The company is the most important unit in the Brigade of Midshipmen. Companies eat, sleep, study, drill, and compete together. Comprised of roughly 30-35 midshipmen from each of all four classes, they are led by 1/c Midshipmen. There are currently 30 companies in the Brigade, though this number has ranged from 8 in the late 1920s to 36 from the late 1940s to the late 1990s.

Some classes are in the same company for all four years; there is also "shotgunning" (all midshipmen in a class, usually following plebe year, are moved randomly to a different company) and "rifling" (again usually following plebe year, an entire group would move from one company to another). Even though many alumni were a part of more than one company during their four years at the Naval Academy, the list below is reflective of the company from which they graduated.




1948 Brown LB.jpg
Ralph Brown, Jr.
Class of 1948

LTJG, USN

Hyattsville, Maryland

March 4, 1952 (25 years old)

Operational loss, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company


1949 Harper LB.jpg
John Harper, Jr.
Class of 1949

LTJG, USN

Waverly, New York

July 31, 1951 (25 years old)

Operational loss, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company



1951 Nix LB.jpg
Henry Nix
Class of 1951

LCDR, USN

Beverly Hills, California

September 22, 1962 (33 years old)

Operational loss, Patrol Squadron (VP) 42, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company




1952 Knipple LB.jpg
Herbert Knipple
Class of 1952

LTJG, USN

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

June 25, 1955 (25 years old)

Operational loss, Fighter Squadron (VF) 192, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company


1953 Converse LB.jpg
Douglas Converse
Class of 1953

LT, USN

Hanford, California

March 18, 1960 (29 years old)

Operational loss, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company


1953 Joyce LB.jpg
Bernard Joyce
Class of 1953

LTJG, USN

Long Island, New York

July 3, 1956 (28 years old)

Operational loss, Attack Squadron (VA) 195, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company


1953 Weaver LB.jpg
Jerold Weaver
Class of 1953

LTJG, USN

Fort Smith, Arkansas

June 27, 1956 (24 years old)

Operational loss, Attack Squadron (VA) 116, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company


1954 Loring LB.jpg
Donald Loring
Class of 1954

LTJG, USN

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

November 19, 1956 (26 years old)

Operational loss, Fighter Squadron (VF) 121, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company


1954 Wiley LB.jpg
James Wiley
Class of 1954

LT, USN

Chicago, Illinois

February 22, 1959 (26 years old)

Operational loss, Fighter Squadron (VF) 114, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company




1956 Owings LB.jpg
Dwight Owings
Class of 1956

LCDR, USN

Sylacauga, Alabama

September 27, 1966 (34 years old)

Operational loss, Attack Squadron (VA) 42, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company


1958 Klinedinst LB.jpg
Paul Klinedinst, Jr.
Class of 1958

CAPT, USN

Garden City, New York

January 13, 1980 (43 years old)

Operational loss, USS Howard W. Gilmore (AS 16), Ship, USNA 24th Company



1962 Koch LB.jpg
James Koch
Class of 1962

LTJG, USN

Norfolk, Virginia

October 16, 1965 (25 years old)

Operational loss, Fighter Squadron (VF) 33, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company


1963 Toth LB.jpg
Stephen Toth
Class of 1963

LT, USN

Virginia Beach, Virginia

June 8, 1967 (27 years old)

Silver Star, KIA, USS Liberty (AGTR 5), Ship, USNA 24th Company



1964 Hogan LB.jpg
Jerry Hogan
Class of 1964

LCDR, USN

Wilton, Alabama

January 20, 1967 (26 years old)

KIA, Vietnam, Attack Squadron (VA) 112, MIA, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company


1964 Parish LB.jpg
Charles Parish
Class of 1964

LCDR, USN

Lexington, Virginia

July 25, 1968 (25 years old)

KIA, Vietnam, Fighter Squadron (VF) 102, MIA, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company



1966 McLendon LB.jpg
James McLendon
Class of 1966

LT, USN

Roanoke, Virginia

February 17, 1969 (24 years old)

Operational loss, Training Squadron (VT) 7, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company



1971 Hormel LB.jpg
Richard Hormel
Class of 1971

LTJG, USN

Miami, Florida

February 12, 1975 (27 years old)

Operational loss, Attack Squadron (VA) 122, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company


1976 Linn LB.jpg
Marcus Linn
Class of 1976

ENS, USN

Lacey, Washington

September 17, 1976 (22 years old)

Operational loss, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company



1987 Vauk LB.jpg
Ronald Vauk
Class of 1987

LCDR, USNR

Nampa, Idaho

September 11, 2001 (37 years old)

KIA, 9/11, Terrorism, USNA 24th Company



2000 Wilt LB.jpg
John Wilt
Class of 2000

1LT, USMC

O’Fallon, Illinois

May 8, 2002 (23 years old)

Operational loss, Training Squadron (VT) 86, Fixed Wing, USNA 24th Company