2026 SCHOLARSHIP
$2500 Award Recipients
Claire Gillanders
Rory Mackin
$500 Honorable Mention Award Recipient
Bridget Johnston
$2500 awards were awarded to Claire Gillanders and Rory Mackin, while Bridget Johnston received a $500 honorable mention award.
Claire, great-granddaughter of shipmate Walter Blair, is a student at the University of Tampa, majoring in Marketing with a minor in Sales.
Rory is a freshman at California State University San Marcos, majoring in Finance. He is the great-grandson of shipmate Edward Tostanoski and lives in Monte Sereno, California.
Bridget lives in Estero, Florida, and is the great-granddaughter of shipmate Walter Blair. She is a freshman attending Florida State University majoring in Dietetics.
READ THE 2025 ESSAYS:
The 2024 Essay Prompt:
The year 2025 marked the 250th anniversary of the United States Navy and the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa where 60 crew members of the USS Emmons made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of their country. Throughout America’s history, her citizens have answered the call for duty in the service of their country. This was often done under rallying battle cries such as John Paul Jones’ “I have not yet begun to fight” and James Lawrence’s “Don’t give up the ship” and in some cases crewmembers providing nicknames for their warships as in the case of the USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides.” In a similar manner, Emmons earned a distinct reputation among her sister ships in her destroyer squadron and was given the nickname “Easy Money,” as it was always a sure bet that given any challenge, the Emmons would rise to the occasion and meet all of her operational commitment no matter how great the opposition and level of difficulty.
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Based on the exploits of the ship as described in Rear Admiral Billingsley’s book, , describe how “Easy Money” and her crew rightly earned and deserved the nickname and the reputation associated with it.
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Describe your Emmons relative’s role on the ship and how and why he and his shipmates, many of whom were less than 20 years old, developed such a strong sense of comradery and loyalty and how critical these traits were to come into play on April 6,1945. listing of all ship personnel, their ratings/ranks and a description of their duties at the end of the listing.
Since 1953 the Emmons Association has held reunions in memory of the 60 brave souls who perished on that fateful day off Okinawa, as well as all crewmembers that have since passed away. Three generations of Emmons crew members’ offspring have come into being since WWII and with the passage of time, it is possible that the sacrifice of these American heroes may be lost to future generations.
3. Is it important to you that awareness of the Emmons’ service be promoted and, if so, why? And what can you do personally to support the Association’s mission of preserving the Emmons legacy and the memory of the lost shipmates?