At the U.S. Naval Academy's 2012 Graduation Ceremony yesterday, the entire faculty, staff, and all the graduating midshipment stood up for the one man who could not. Kevin Hillery became the first paraplegic to graduate from the institution, and he's seen above accepting his diploma from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Hillary was paralyzed from the waist down last year in a mountain biking accident in the Shenandoah Valley.
Another milestone was reached yesterday as the final hat toss marked its 100th Anniversary. As lore and the DoD website has it, the Naval Academy started the tradition of the hat toss in 1912, the first year that mid-Ship would graduate directly to officers and thereby have to put on a new hat.
