Historic Visitor, Inspirational Remarks and Sword Presentation!

Last Friday night, The United States Naval Academy‘s Friends Of The Jewish Chapel welcomed home USNA’s first female Jewish graduate, CDR Diane Durban USNR (Ret), Class of ’81.

Diane inspired the Jewish Midshipmen and Congregants with remarkable reflections of the challenges she faced as part of just the second USNA class to commission female Midshipmen into the Fleet, and how she persevered with purpose and patriotism to turn those challenges into trailblazing opportunities: a National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellowship, dual Masters of Science from Naval Postgraduate School and Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering, first female Geophysics Exchange Officer to the British Royal Navy and successful small business owner. 

A highlight of the evening was CDR Durban loaning her Officer’s sword for display in the Commodore Uriah Levy Center and Jewish Chapel. When she was a Midshipman, Diane wanted to interview with ADM Rickover for the nuclear power program. That door wasn’t open to her at the time. Now, her sword will be displayed right next to ADM Rickover’s in the Center! 

“Ma’am, what was your motivation to serve, especially through all the obstacles you had to overcome?,” asked one of the Midshipmen during a spirited Q&A session at the Oneg Shabbat. Appropriately, standing before the bronze bust of the Chapel’s namesake, Commodore Uriah Levy, a trailblazer as America’s first Jewish Flag Officer, she explained, “I am a first generation American. I come from a family of warriors and am donating my sword on their behalf. I wanted to serve. My Mother fought with the French Resistance in southern France against the Nazis, and for and then assisted the US Army with displaced persons (she spoke several languages) … and my father, who emigrated from Germany to [then] Palestine, fought with the Haganah (Zionist paramilitary organization – which would later become the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)). Since then, we’ve had family members active in the USN, USAF, and IDF. I believe in affecting change and giving back. The two most obvious ways to affect change is 1) direct conflict (i.e. participation), and 2) gaining positional authority, best done from the inside through acceptance.” Now those are some warrior genetics!

No finer example of “Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity®” leadership than from this extraordinary American. Thank you, shipmate, for returning home, sharing your story, and your sword to encourage a new generation of warriors!