Lt(jg) Maddy Swegle USN

[Islandlad]

A time line not checked for accuracy -

Wesley Anthony Brown (April 3, 1927 – May 22, 2012) was the first African-American graduate of the United States Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, Maryland. He served in the United States Navy from May 2, 1944, until June 30, 1969. He was involved in both the Korean and Vietnam wars.

1944 - The commissioning of the Navy’s first two African-American female officers. WAVES—Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or, essentially, the women’s reserve branch of the Navy—selected the two most capable African-American recruits: Harriet Ida Pickens and Frances Eliza Wills, two highly accomplished women of New York City

Jesse LeRoy Brown (October 13, 1926–December 4, 1950) was a United States Navy officer. He was the first African-American aviator to complete the U.S. Navy's basic flight training program, was a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the first African-American naval officer killed in the Korean War.


In Annapolis, Maryland, the United States Naval Academy admits women for the first time in its history with the induction of 81 female midshipmen. In May 1980, Elizabeth Anne Rowe became the first woman member of the class to graduate.

Barbara Ann Allen Rainey (August 20, 1948 – July 13, 1982) was one of the first six female pilots in the U.S. armed forces. Rainey received her wings of gold as the first female to be designated a naval aviator in February 1974 and became the first Navy woman to qualify as a jet pilot. She attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy

1980 - Brenda E. Robinson, the first Black female naval aviator, who earned her Wings of Gold in 1980.

Kara Spears Hultgreen (5 October 1965 – 25 October 1994) was a lieutenant and naval aviator in the United States Navy and the first female carrier-based fighter pilot in the U.S. Navy.


2020 - Lt. j.g. Madeline "Maddy" Swegle - The U.S. Navy's first Black female Tactical Aircraft pilot will receive her "Wings of Gold" during a ceremony in Kingsville, Texas..