Rear Adm. Alma Mei Oi Lau Grocki is the first woman from Hawaiʻi to graduate from the United States Naval Academy. She was a member of only the 2nd co-ed class.
Grocki is featured in a one-hour PBS special, “Salute to Service,” honoring our nation’s veterans, which airs today. She shared that she joined JROTC in high school to boost her grade point average at Punahou School. She said that her father worked at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard as well, but she added that she never had dreams of being in the military.
“I got a look at the shipyard and all these guys walking around, and they were experts in what they did, and they knew how to fix the ships and these submarines. And it was so amazing to me. But still, you know, no real thinking about being in the military,” she told HPR.
It wasn’t until a classmate told her about the Naval Academy that she became interested in joining. She shared that coming from Hawaiʻi was a huge advantage…