PHOTOS: Blue Angels give flyover salute to Naval Academy grads

May 20, 2020

USNA Staff Photographer Stacy Go/Stacy Godfrey

U.S. Naval Academy graduates who participated in the fifth in-person swearing event Wednesday in Annapolis, Maryland, got a surprise flyover visit.

The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, flew over Bancroft Hall as the midshipmen sang the “Navy Blue and Gold.”

Some 1,000 midshipmen graduated in five swearing-in ceremonies and a virtual ceremony that will take place Friday. Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper will give a prerecorded keynote address during the virtual ceremony, a Naval Academy news release said.

See photos from Wednesday’s ceremony.

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The Naval Academy prepares men and women to become professional officers in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. (Courtesy USNA/Stacy Godfrey)

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The hat toss, now a traditional ending to the event, originated at the Naval Academy in 1912 as a symbolic and visual end to the four-year program. (Courtesy USNA/Stacy Godfrey)

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The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels conduct an unannounced flyover in Annapolis, Maryland, in honor of the United States Naval Academy Class of 2020. (Courtesy Debbie Latta via USNA)

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The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, fly over Bancroft Hall as midshipmen sing the Alma Mater, Navy Blue and Gold, during the fifth swearing-in event for the United States Naval Academy Class of 2020. (Courtesy U.S. Navy/Josiah Pearce)

Abigail Constantino

Abigail Constantino started her journalism career writing for a local newspaper in Fairfax County, Virginia. She is a graduate of American University and The George Washington University.