USC Dornsife honors 104-year-old alumnus, veteran and former Secretary of the Navy

Few USC alumni have received the rare honor of having a naval ship named after them. Paul Ignatius may be the only one. The Half Century Trojans Hall of Fame honoree and former Secretary of the Navy died last week at 104.

Ignatius graduated with a history degree from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences in 1942, shortly before he was called to serve in the Navy during World War II.

He would go on to serve high-level roles in the administrations of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson — first as Assistant Secretary of the Army, then as Under Secretary of the Army and Assistant Secretary of Defense, and finally as Secretary of the Navy.

He later served in a number of leadership positions, including president of The Washington Post, and founded a management consulting firm. He also authored two books and sat on the boards of several charitable organizations.

In 2013, the Navy announced it would name a ship for him. The USS Paul Ignatius, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, was commissioned in July 2019.

In a 2013 interview with USC Dornsife News, Ignatius said he “was quite surprised and really overwhelmed” to learn of the plan to name the guided-missile destroyer after him. “It’s a great honor.”

Ignatius also treasured his status as a Trojan alumnus and lauded USC Dornsife’s liberal arts education.

“Grounding in liberal arts equips one to evaluate complex issues that arrive with technology and scientific advances and rapid social change,” he said in a 2014 interview with USC Dornsife News. “Understanding history and civilization helps one to appraise things that are happening now and happening at an accelerated rate.”

Ignatius is among the ranks of many exceptional USC Dornsife Trojans who have served their country through military service.

• Viet Luong, who graduated with a degree in biological sciences in 1987, became the first Vietnamese-born general officer in the U.S. military.
• Army veteran Michael Donley served in several high-level government positions, including secretary of the U.S. Air Force, after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1977 and a master’s the following year.
• Perhaps most well-known, Olympian, prisoner-of-war survivor and subject of the 2014 film Unbroken Louis Zamperini graduated from USC Dornsife in 1940 before serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII.

The Trojan Family, one might argue, can take special pride in the accomplishments of these and the many other alumni veterans who have used their USC educations in service to their nation — particularly as the country celebrates Veterans Day.