Lt. j.g. Everett Alvarez Jr.: On Aug. 5, 1964, Lt. j.g. Everett Alvarez Jr. became the first pilot shot down during the Vietnam conflict and perhaps the longest-held American prisoner in any war.

Rear Adm. Richard Nott Antrim: Interned at Makassar during World War II, Antrim earned the respect of his Japanese captors when he stood up to them on behalf of a fellow prisoner of war.

John Armstrong: Despite Secretary of War John Armstrong's assurances to the contrary, British forces were able to invade Washington and burn the Capitol and the White House during the War of 1812.

Warrant Officer Floyd Bennett: Few remember Floyd Bennett, the self-effacing man who piloted his friend, Richard Byrd, on the historic 1926 first flight over the North Pole. But did they really make it to the pole? Historians differ.

Richard Blackburn Black: Richard Blackburn Black's training came in handy during the three Antarctic expeditions he made with Adm. Richard Byrd. The first, in 1933, earned him the Navy's Special Silver Medal.

Lt. j.g. George H. W. Bush: His experiences as a young Navy pilot in the Pacific theater of World War II shaped the man who would become 41st president of the U.S.

Rear Adm. Richard E. Byrd: His feats of exploration were celebrated in song and story. Byrd was the first to fly over the North Pole, and at 1:14 a.m. on Nov. 29, 1929, his plane became the first to cross over the South Pole.

Lt. Jimmy Carter: Long before Jimmy Carter took up residence in the White House or the Georgia governor's mansion, even before he joined his family's peanut-farming business, he was Lt. Carter of the U.S. Navy's submarine fleet.

William Barker Cushing: Before he became the only non-flag officer of the Civil War to be officially thanked by Congress, William Barker Cushing was deemed "the hero of the war" by the secretary of the Navy.

Lt. j.g. Albert L. David: A boarding party led by Lt. j.g. Albert L. David captured the German submarine U-505 in the first hostile high-seas seizure by U.S. sailors since 1815.