Dear Navy League member/friend,
We are pleased to announce that at our next dinner in the Intercontinental Hotel on Wednesday October 20th at 20h00 the speaker will be:
Sr. D. Ricardo Domínguez García-Baquero, Presidente de Navantia. S.A., S.M.E.
“La Singladura 5.0”
Please RSVP to rsvp@nlmadrid.org by Monday October 18th.
More details are in this flyer: https://nlmadrid.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/october-2021-nl-dinner-announcement-1-3.pdf
Looking forward to seeing you there!
We are pleased to announce that at our dinner on Wednesday September 15th the speaker will be:
Vicealmirante Manuel Antonio Martínez Ruíz
Director de Ingenieria y Construcciones Navales de la Jefatura de Apoyo Logistico
who will speak on:
“Los Ingenieros de la Armada y La Construcción Naval Militar. 250 Años de Innovación Tecnólogica en la Mar”
Note that the dinner will take place in:
Cámara de Oficiales, Armada Española
This is a temporary venue for us while we find a new permanent home. A map showing the location is included in the attached dinner announcement. If you wish to use the parking at the venue please provide your car´s matrícula when RSVPing.
Please RSVP to rsvp@nlmadrid.org by Monday September 13th.
Apologies to the various people who have contacted us about the dinner in the last few days. I have not been able to respond to you personally. However, there has been a lot of work involved in setting up the dinner given that it is an entirely new location for us which has meant that this announcement has been sent out later than usual.
Looking forward to seeing you on the 15th!
*Amendment post dinner meeting*. Here is Vicealmirante Martínez Ruíz´s presentation which unfortunately he wasn´t able to show at the dinner meeting:
This year, Veterans´ Day will occur amidst a heated political environment and a dramatic Presidential election. As our nation seeks to emerge from this bitterly contentious period into a new and better future, perhaps we should take a moment next Wednesday to break away from the news coverage and reflect on all those that have made the ultimate sacrifice for the promise of America. The boys who died on the beaches of Normandy and Guadalcanal gave their lives that democracy might live on. The men who fought in the jungles of Vietnam did so that freedom would not be crushed beneath an iron curtain. The men and women who patrolled the hills of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq faced fear and danger so that their fellow Americans could remain safe and secure back home. These patriots, and those like them across the last two hundred years of American history, held vastly differing political beliefs, ethnicities, religious practices, and they came from every different corner of this country. But they were all Americans. They all believed in America. This Veterans Day, let’s honor their sacrifice by attempting to put the good of the country before all else.
Navy League Leg. Affairs Weekly Roundup November 6th, 2020
A Brief History of Veterans´ Day
Veterans´ Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, was originally set as a U.S. legal holiday to honor the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918. In legislation that was passed in 1938, November 11 was “dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day.'” As such, this new legal holiday honored World War I veterans.
In 1954, after having been through both World War II and the Korean War, the 83rd U.S. Congress — at the urging of the veterans´ service organizations — amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word “Armistice” and inserting the word “Veterans.” With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, Nov. 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars. Military.com
On Wednesday June 24th the US Navy League Madrid Council hosted its first ever virtual AGM. The AGM is normally held in conjunction with a dinner but given current restrictions it was decided to hold the event online.
A range of individual and corporate members attended and Robert Davis was elected as our new President. The Madrid Council congratulates Bob on his appointment and also wishes to offer many thanks to Carlos for all of the work he has done during his two year term as President. Carlos now becomes Immediate Past President. The full list of board members will be published on this site once the board has met and appointed advisors.
Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May to honor the men and women who have died while serving in the military. In 2020, Memorial Day will be observed on Monday, May 25.
Memorial Day commemorates the men and women who died while in military service to their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. In other words, the purpose of this day is to memorialize the veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. We spend time remembering those who lost their lives and could not come home, reflecting on their service and our freedoms that they protected.
The United States Congress designated May as National Military Appreciation Month in 1999. This was to ensure the nation was given the opportunity to publicly demonstrate their appreciation for the sacrifices and successes made by our service members–past and present.
In the spirit of both Memorial Day and National Military Appreciation Month, the Madrid Council goes to Menorca each May to honor Admiral Farragut and visit the Anglo- American Cemetery. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, our events in Menorca have been cancelled. Despite this temporary setback, the Madrid Council remains committed to helping the Spanish Army preserve this historic cemetery. We must never forget the sacrifices made by those buried there. What a comfort it is for us to know that the people resting there are in good hands and not forgotten…
The cemetery is located in the bay of Port Mahon
The Dock at the Cemetery (which is the only way to gain access)
A view of the cemetery from its highest point
The 2016 Navy League Commemoration at the Cemetery (which was attended by US Ambassador James Costos and Adm. James Foggo (of the US Sixth Fleet)
Information on the U.S. personnel buried in Port Mahon Cemetery
The Madrid Council has been unable to find a definitive listing of the U.S. personnel buried in the Port Mahon Cemetery. The information that exists is often conflicting and incomplete. We are unaware of any researcher who has combed through the surviving handwritten ship logs, commanding officers’ letters, and other documents looking for data on sailors who died while serving on US Navy ships that went into port at Menorca. There should be a body of information on this subject at the National Archives in Washington, DC. However, in the 19th century many Navy officers took official documents with them, treating them as personal property, when they finished their assignments, meaning information on this subject is not readily available. The following is a compilation of the burial data that we have found.
“Spain, British Cemetery, Port Mahon, Menorca, Balearic Islands (26 burials) made between 1825 and 1850.”[Identified burials listed below:] William Malloy, USS Delaware, died 2 April 1829.
David Horton, USS North Carolina, died 24 March 1826.
Smothers, crew member of a US frigate.
John Landseer.
John Croft, USS Delaware, died 7 May 1829.
Joseph Cooper, died 18 January 1870.
John Brown.
Jacob Shane, USS Delaware, died 2 December 1843.
James M. Lee, USS Delaware, died 30 October 1843.
Midshipman John Patterson, Acting Master of US Frigate Congress., died 28 October 1842.
Silas Howard, USS Delaware.
? Jones, USS North Carolina.
Source for the above information: Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Descendent Affairs Branch. “Listing of US Naval Personnel Interred In Foreign Cemeteries.” n.d. [1953?], located in Navy Department Library’s ZO file titled “Cemeteries Containing Navy Dead,” Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington, DC.
____
The list below is from: Hentschel, Arthur, “Graveyard of American Sailors Slain By Algerian Pirates in the Mediterranean,” US Naval Institute Proceedings (Oct. 1938) pp.1495-1496, and contains some duplicates with the list above, and different, sometimes conflicting, information. The information was obtained from legible inscriptions in November 1928 during a visit to Mahón by VADM John Dayton. As the article says, “Many of the headstones were so decayed and broken with the passing of the years that it was impossible to make out the names, etc. of the deceased.”:
Passed Midshipman John Smith Patterson of South Carolina, acting Master of USS Frigate Congress who was assassinated at Mahon on the night of 28 October 1842.
Henry Jones, Quartermaster on US ship North Carolina, a native of Boston, aged 28 years, killed in this port March –.
Seaman Silas Howard, US ship Delaware, died 30 November–.
David Horton, native of Baltimore, Maryland, a seaman on US ship North Carolina, aged 45 years, died 2 March 1826.
John Landsley.
Berger, aged 19 years, died on board US ship Delaware.
Quartermaster Smothers, aged 29 years, a native of Salem, Massachusetts, of US Frigate — drowned in the harbor of Port Mahon on the night of 24 September –.
John Brown.
William Malloy, aged 48 years, native of Troy, New York, on US ship Delaware, died 2 April 1829.
Lester Johnson Coppersmith.
Jacob Shane, native of the state of Massachusetts, died in the harbor on board US ship Delaware, 2 December 1843.
James M. Lee, a native of Philadelphia, aged 19 years and four months, died on US ship Delaware at Port Mahon, 30 October 1843.
___
In our ZO file titled “Cemeteries Containing Navy Dead,” we also found reference to others buried on Menorca:
Quartermaster Alexander Graves, USS Brandywine, died 17 January 1826.
Captain of the main top James Smith, USS Frigate Brandywine, died 4 February 1826.
Information provided by the Navy Department Library
Naval History and Heritage Command
As of today, Thursday May 7th, Madrid is in Phase 0 of the de-escalation plan and it is not clear when Madrid will move through all of the 4 phases to the “new normal”.
As soon as it is practical (and safe), while observing all health guidelines, the Navy League does intend to restart our dinner events. More details will be posted here when the situation changes.
Dear Navy League member/friend,
Dear Navy League member/friend,
Our next dinner meeting takes place on Thursday February 20th at 8pm in the Intercontinental Hotel.
We are delighted to welcome to our podium Sr. D. Guillermo Alcantara. He will speak on “A Tribute to the Veterans. The 75th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge”
This dinner will also celebrate the memory of George Mahl, a long-time member of the US Navy League – Madrid Council who passed away in January. George was a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge.
More details are in the attached flyer which is here: February 2020 NL dinner announcement v2
All people wishing to attend should RSVP by Monday February 17th to rsvp@nlmadrid.org
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Dear Navy League member/friend,
