USNA 32nd 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.


1949 Kirk LB.jpg
Gilbert Kirk, Jr.
Class of 1949

Lieutenant Commander, US Navy

Dalton, Massachusetts

October 12, 1961 (35 years old)

Operational loss, Fighter Squadron (VF) 53, Fixed Wing, USNA 32nd Company




1965 Pierson LB.jpg
Richard Pierson
Class of 1965

Lieutenant, US Navy

Duluth, Minnesota

November 12, 1973 (30 years old)

Operational loss, Attack Squadron (VA) 93, Fixed Wing, USNA 32nd Company



1966 Wiles LB.jpg
Marvin Wiles
Class of 1966

Lieutenant Commander, US Navy

Denver, Colorado

May 6, 1972 (28 years old)

KIA, MIA, Vietnam, Attack Squadron (VA) 22, Fixed Wing, USNA 32nd Company


1966 Chmiel LB.jpg
Larry Chmiel
Class of 1966

2nd Lieutenant, US Marine Corps

Baltimore, Maryland

June 2, 1967 (25 years old)

KIA, Vietnam, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, US Marine Corps, Ground, USNA 32nd Company


1968 Katsetos LB.jpg
Chris Katsetos
Class of 1968

Lieutenant, US Navy

Providence, Rhode Island

August 28, 1973 (30 years old)

Operational loss, Fixed Wing Passenger, USNA 32nd Company




1983 Deluca LB.jpg
Thomas Deluca
Class of 1983

Ensign, US Navy

West Islip, New York

November 14, 1984 (23 years old)

Operational loss, Training Squadron (VT) 26, Fixed Wing, USNA 32nd Company