This account is for, and about, the members and families of the United States Naval Academy class that graduated in 1940. It will be designed to serve as a central and lasting reference point for accounts previously published by the Class including the 1940 Lucky Bag, A Score and Three More, The Class of Forty After Fifty Years, and the Class of Forty Archive.

The book is designed to assist its users in quickly finding information about either individuals or events. The users may include: the class members themselves: their spouses, offspring, and relatives (well into future years); professional military and naval researchers; students and professors at the Naval ROTCs, war colleges and other advanced schools; and especially midshipmen and instructors at the United States Naval Academy. The value of this information is enhanced by the fact that many members of this class fought in the Navy or Marine Corps in all conflict areas of World War II as well as in the Korean War.

The 1940 Lucky Bag, produced during the final year at the Academy, contains personal information about many class members as they began their careers. A Score and Three More contains biographical information after twenty-three years of service when many had retired from active service. The Class of Forty After Fifty Years contains extensive information about the history of the class as well as the most exhaustive biographical information available. The Class of 1940 Archive, stored in the Nimitz library at the Academy, contains a wealth of information contributed by many members concerning their experiences, publications, personal lives, and contributions to the Service. Much of the information contained in the Archive has been summarized in an Archive Index. The Archive Index and much of the Fifty Year Book will be fully reproduced as chapters listed below.

All of this text is recorded on the Internet or on two computer discs. The user will be able to search the content by entering any significant word or phrase such as name of person, battle, ship, squadron, command, school, weapon, area, location, date, company, award, agency, and so forth. Any selected text (or the whole thing) can be printed by the user or by a local library or print shop.