October 13, 2025 – Wreaths across America Annual Appeal
Dear USNA Class and Chapter Officers,
Please place the following information onto your social media sites and get the word out to all, so that we can once again fill the cemetery with memorial wreaths for our veterans and their families. We can’t do this without your help. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you,
Carol Turman, Coordinator
Wreaths Across America USNA, 2430 Kemper Rd, Crofton, Md.21114
443-336-6541
Dear Alumni, Parents, Friends,
On Friday December 12, 2025 at 09:00 we will gather at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery and Columbarium to take part in the meaningful tradition- Wreaths Across America. This powerful event brings together volunteers from all walks of life to lay veterans wreaths on the graves of our nations hero’s, a gesture of remembrance and gratitude for their selfless service.
- This year’s theme is “Keep Moving Forward.” By connecting this theme to the Wreaths Across America mission to remember, honor, and teach, we are recognizing those who continue to live with purpose every day and have chosen to keep moving forward by placing wreaths on the final resting places of our service veterans. We acknowledge that their sacrifices are not forgotten and that their stories live on through us.
- We can only accomplish this mission by your donations. Each wreath is $17.00 and by going to this site https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/md0011 for every four wreaths you buy USNA will get the 5th for free. You need not do anything extra to accomplish this, it is automatic. Every donation, no matter the size, directly honors the fallen at USNA.
One can also write a check (place MD0011 in the Memo line) and mail to:
Wreaths Across America, PO Box 249, Columbia Falls, ME 04623
Please join us in making sure that no hero buried at the USNA Cemetery goes unremembered this December. Your generosity helps keep this important tradition alive.
50th Reunion Recap
Many photographs and other media from our 50th Reunion are available on the following pages:
- 50th Reunion Recap: http://1973.usnaclasses.net/50th-reunion-recap/
- Company Pages: http://1973.usnaclasses.net/company-pages/
25 MAY 2022 – COACH CANIN GABARRA AWARDED USNA CLASS OF 1973 HEINZ LENZ FELLOW AWARD
Link to .PDF file: 2022 – Carin Gabarra Heinz Lenz release
ANNAPOLIS, Md.—Head women’s soccer coach Carin Gabarra has been awarded the Naval Academy Class of 1973 Heinz Lenz Fellow Award. This award recognizes the importance of leadership through Athletics Excellence as a contributor to the overall mission of the Naval Academy to develop midshipmen morally, mentally and physically. The recognition commemorates the Athletics Excellence pillar in honor and memory of Coach Heinz Lenz.
The son of the late Amalie and Frederick Walter Lenz, Lt. Cmdr. Lenz was born March 31, 1925, in Berlin, Germany, and came to the United States when he was age 15. He served in the Navy in World War II as an enlisted sailor and landed at Normandy in France on D-Day Plus 2. He joined the Naval Reserve and retired as a lieutenant commander.
He graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts degree in modern languages in 1948 and earned a master of arts degree in physical education in 1949 at Columbia University.
He taught at St. Mark’s College, a preparatory school in Dallas, Texas, before joining the faculty at the Naval Academy in 1957. In 1968, as a member of the physical education department, “Coach” Lenz developed “PEP,” a daily exercise program for the incoming class of plebes. He continued to lead “PEP” until 1992 and retired from the academy in 1994.
He co-authored a book, “Fit for Life: The Annapolis Way.” In 1992 he was selected as one of the nation’s 10 Healthy American Fitness Leaders by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“I am extremely humbled to receive the Heinz Lenz Fellow Award and I want to extend my sincere thanks to the Class of 1973 for the award creation and to Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk for his unwavering support of our program,” said Gabarra. “Heinz Lenz is an icon at the Naval Academy and he believed deeply in the mission. His devotion to athletics was an important component for midshipmen development and coaches Rob Blanck, Mike Melton and I hope to serve our exceptional and driven athletes with the same passion, pride, and commitment as he did in his tenure.”
“This ongoing tribute to Coach Lentz, coupled with the generosity and historic sentiments of the Class of ’73, make this distinction to an extraordinary educator on the NAAA staff most special,” said Gladchuk. Coach Lentz meant so much to so many over the years. His inspirational values remain embedded in the fiber of character development at the Academy. His qualities as a person and his legacy of influence are reflected in Coach Gabarra. History and traditions are so important to the physical mission at Navy and Carin covers that responsibility as well as anyone, with her humility, dignity, and unparalleled success.”
Gabarra has been the head women’s soccer coach at the Naval Academy since the program started in 1993 (29 seasons). She has compiled a record of 362-164-58 and is the Patriot League’s all-time wins leader. Her 362 wins rank 40th in the history of NCAA Division I women’s soccer and are the 17th-most wins among active coaches.
Gabarra has been named Patriot League Coach of the Year five times and has led the Mids to five NCAA Tournaments (2003, 2006, 2007, 2009 and in the 2020-21 covid year). Women’s soccer student-athletes have won 31 Patriot League Major Awards (offensive, defensive, midfielder, goalkeeper or rookie of the year) and 21 have been named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, including at least one in each of the last seven years.
In the spirit of Coach Lenz’s total commitment to the development of young people in becoming Leaders of Great Character, the recognition appoints a current varsity or club coach to the Coach Heinz Lenz Chair. The appointment will be for a two-year term, consideration for one additional two-year term. This distinction may extend additional leadership and/or administrative opportunities, and is founded by the Class of ’73 with an annual stipend for her meritorious achievement.
In addition, the Navy Women’s Soccer Program will receive supplemental margin of excellence funding through the generosity of the Class of 1973.
The coach selected for this distinction will be the head coach or an assistant coach of a non-revenue sport (varsity or club). The coach should epitomize Coach Lenz’s leadership qualities and attributes, to include (but not be limited to): a keen sense of integrity; competitive team spirit; commitment to the Naval Academy mission; a joy and passion for his/her profession; and an expectation to win on the field and in life. Men’s rugby head coach Gavin Hickie was the inaugural winner in 2020.
19 APR 2022 – ATHLETIC & SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM HONORS GEORGE WATT
19 APR 2022 – MARCH 24, 2022 SPECIAL EVENT
The Class celebrated several special events on March 24, 2022 in the Aerospace Engineering Office spaces in Rickover Hall at USNA.
- Enshrining a montage from Classmate Ken Reightler’s STS-60 Space Shuttle mission
- Putting on display a propeller salvaged from ‘73’s time in the Aero Department.
- Unveiling Classmate Ray Fulton’s wooden ship model of a “Baltimore Clipper”
Ray’s wife, Nancy, attended the event, as did Ken, 17 of his 1973 Classmates, numerous Aerospace Engineering majors from our ALITC sister class of 2023, and CAPT Cecily Walsh, USN (USNA 2001), Associate Chair of the Aerospace Engineering Department.
As an Astronaut, Ken was the pilot of the first joint U.S.-Russian space shuttle flight, and the montage contains items commemorating the Class of 1973’s involvement in that flight including a class patch that was on Discovery during the mission. The partially damaged propeller is an artifact from Ken’s time as a midshipman. Both he and Classmate Jim Ewing were Aerospace Engineering majors, and during first class year they participated in hovercraft experiments on Hospital Point. During one such experiment, their craft hit the seawall, and the propeller that is now on display reflects that collision. This event provided some useful lessons for the Department, including the crew, on the need for greater Safety Awareness.
Ray was a Naval Architecture major at the Academy. Before his death, he built some very detailed ship models. The Baltimore Clipper ship model that was unveiled at this event will be put on the display in the Robert Crown Sailing Center at the Academy. Being faster and more maneuverable than British warships, Baltimore Clippers enjoyed considerable success as “blockade runners” during the War of 1812.
Photographs of the event follow.
15 JANUARY 2022 – PHOTOGRAPH FROM NATIONAL COLLEGIATE SKYDIVING CHAMPONSHIPS
Led by Eric Olson, the Class of 1973 has made various donations to support the Naval Academy Parachute Club. As shown above, recognition of our sponsorship is reflected on some of their gear.
25 FEBRUARY 2021 – ENSIGN FRED MINIER ETHICS RESEARCH FELLOW POSITION
The Class of 1973 has designated the Academy’s Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership as a recipient of a significant portion of the funds it donates to the Academy. As part of that ongoing support, the Center recently established the Ensign Fred Minier Ethics Research Fellow position. The purpose of this position is to foster full-time research into military ethics issues and problems. It is the first such position at the Naval Academy.
- Classmate Fred Minier died heroically during diving operations in 1973. He was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for Heroism during that event. Notably, Fred also designed our Class Crest. Here is a Eulogy to Fred that was written by Classmate Ken Mayeaux: Fred Minier Eulogy
JANUARY 12, 2019 – DEATHS OF RICK FORZANO AND GEORGE WELSH (POSTED BY WEBMASTER)
The following links are for articles from the Annapolis Capital Gazette which report the recent deaths of former Navy football coaches Rick Forzano, who died January 9, 2019 at the age of 90, and George Welsh, who died January 2, 2019 at the age of 85. The articles should prove interesting reading for all members of the Class of 1973. Rick Forzano was the coach from 1969 through 1972. The article on Rick Forzano notes that “hampered by the growing popularity of professional football and the unpopularity of the Vietnam War, Forzano had difficulty recruiting and the result was a four-year record of 10-33 at Navy.”
