Texas
Admirals explained
Admiral Dwight Albert (D. A.) Sharpe
By the
way, I do not want you misled. Being an an Admiral in the Texas
Navy is an honorary status, commissioned by the Governor, usually upon
recommendation by a State Representative or Senator. Its purpose is to
propagate historical knowledge about the Texas Navy, which played a role in the
Revolution of Texans from Mexico, that resulted in the Republic of Texas being
formed as a sovereign nation. The
Republic of Texas existed from March 2, 1836 to February 19, 1846, upon final
vote by the U.S. Congress to validate the annexation processes. (A
running local humor joke is that some Texas citizens thought it was supposed to
be Texas annexing the United States!)
Not all people so honored go
any further than the commissioning. However, all who are commissioned are
welcomed to join the Texas Navy
Association, which does have an organized program of education and
socialization. There has been a movement to start some sub-groups of the TNA.
These are called Squadrons of the
Texas Navy Association. The first one was the Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
Squadron of the Texas Navy, which essentially composed of TNA Admirals residing
in North Texas. It was my honor to
be 
among the
organizing Admirals for this first Squadron. These are the people who
were primarily involved in the USS Fort Worth events. There are six or
eight now existing and more on the horizon.
In the vein of promoting
Texas History, the Texas Navy Association has a Speakers Bureau from which local
civic, genealogical and historical organizations may request a guest
speaker.
It was my honor to be Commissioned
by Gov. Rick Perry (who is the only person ever elected as Governor of Texas
THREE times, and currently is the U. S. Secretary of Energy in the PresidentŐs
Cabinet). My Commission was
presented upon the recognizing event of my retirement after 22 years of
administrative service as Executive Administrator to the Senior Pastor of the
Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas, in August of 2004. My State Senator, Craig Estes, nominated
me. HeŐs a resident of Wichita
Falls and a graduate of ORU.
My wife,
Suzanne Margaret Boggess Sharpe, was Commissioned in March 2013 by Governor
Greg Abbott. She had completed
serving as President of the Wise (County) Republican Women, as well as several
other political elective positions, such as county and state conventions.
Back in my military age
days, I made active efforts to join the Navy to become a fighter pilot. I
even passed the entrance test for academic qualification for the flight school.
However, their discovery that I'd been treated by a physician for asthma
at age 15 resulted in my 4F classification and denial of any military service
opportunity. So, I have a love and admiration for the military, but my
only military experience is my high school ROTC time over at Woodrow Wilson
High School over in Dallas, class of 1957!
I hope this does not lower
me in your esteem, but I did want you to know the situation. By the way, the
members of the TNA are Admirals. I guess you could call it a pier group
or is it a peer group? Ha Ha.
Dwight Albert (D. A.) Sharpe
803 Derting Road East
Aurora, TX 76078-3712
817-504-6508
Biographical Sketch
Information
Here are
the Commissions of Suzanne and of me.