Navy Veteran Patch

A Navy Veteran belongs to a tradition shaped by saltwater, steel, and service in every corner of the world. Some stood watch on destroyers slicing through open ocean, served aboard towering carriers, or disappeared beneath the waves in submarines that patrolled the depths. Others served far from the sea—at communications stations, airfields, medical units, and expeditionary commands where the mission depended on sailors just as surely as it did on the ships at sea. Together, they formed the global reach of the United States Navy.

From the early days of World War II to the long arc of the Cold War, from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, Navy Veterans carried out missions that touched nearly every environment imaginable. They launched aircraft into combat, tracked submarines across hemispheres, maintained secure communications from desert outposts, and operated with Marines on the ground where danger came not from waves, but from ambushes and explosions. Corpsmen ran toward wounded Marines in dusty streets; Seabees built airstrips and bases under fire; aviators and aircrew sailed the skies as their ships steamed far below.

Yet whether afloat or ashore, every Navy Veteran knows the same truths: the weight of long deployments, the rhythm of duty standing watch through the quiet hours, the pride of wearing the uniform, and the bond shared with shipmates and team members who became family. They answered the call wherever it led—across oceans, across continents, and into missions seen and unseen.

The Navy Veteran Patch honors all who served in that broad, powerful tradition. It represents the sailors who stood the line at sea, those who carried out vital missions on land, and every veteran whose service strengthened the Navy’s legacy of courage, professionalism, and devotion to duty.