JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. -- March 20, 2003 - The U.S. began Operation Iraqi Freedom by launching cruise missiles from Navy ships in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.

March 21, 1917 - Loretta Walsh became the first woman Navy petty officer when sworn in as chief yeoman.

March 22, 1820 - Commodore Stephen Decatur died after a duel with Capt. James Barron

March 23, 1965 - Lt. Cmdr. John Young, piloted Gemini 3 and completed three orbits in four hours, 53 minutes at an altitude of 224 kilometers. The capsule was recovered by helicopters from USS Intrepid (CVS-11).

March 24, 1903 - George Dewey was commissioned Admiral of the Navy, with the rank retroactive to March 2, 1899. He was the only person to hold this rank.

March 25, 1898 - Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt proposed the Navy investigate military applications of Samuel Langley's flying machine, beginning naval aviation.

March 26, 1966 - Operation Jackstay, the Navy's first amphibious assault in Vietnam's inland waters, began.