From Pilot and wire reports SAN FRANCISCO Twenty-three years after enduring an on-board explosion that killed 47 Norfolk-based sailors, the battleship Iowa traveled along the California coast Sunday - on its final voyage before converting to a floating museum.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. Gay students at America's military service academies are wrapping up the first year when they no longer had to hide their sexual orientation, benefiting from the end of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that used to bar them from seemingly ordinary activities like taking their partners openly to graduation events.

America's newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever seen.

VIRGINIA BEACH On the lawn of Eastern Shore Chapel Episcopal Church, a field of American flags waved in the wind, as if saying hello to the cars zooming past on Laskin Road. A woman pulled to a stop, held her cellphone out the car window and snapped a photograph before driving away.

NORFOLK About 10,000 sailors in Hampton Roads face the prospect of breath alcohol tests while on duty this summer as part of a Navy pilot program to identify and assist those struggling with alcohol problems.

RICHMOND For Edwin Ray, almost every day is Memorial Day. Over the past 12 years, Ray has carved out time from his duties as a librarian in Richmond to assemble a massive online database of Virginians who died fighting for their nation - whether they'd pledged allegiance to a tribe, the British crown, the Confederacy or the United States.

ROANOKE The Federal Aviation Administration didn't know that Carilion Clinic's new Rockbridge County helipad existed. It's unlikely that the military knew about the site tucked behind a shopping center on U.S. 11, although pilots from several bases routinely fly training missions nearby. It took just 13 days — and a near disaster — to bring attention to the new landing spot.

Army Sgt. Brian Miller, who lost his leg fighting in Iraq, makes his way out into the surf with help from Wave Warriors volunteers on Saturday, May 26, 2012, at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront north of 1st Street. A surf event for wounded servicemen and women, the Wave Warriors Surf Camp coincides with the 9th annual Steel Pier Classic and surf art expo. Dozens took part in the event. (L.

WEST POINT, N.Y Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday that the United States can now focus on new global challenges after a long decade of war in an election-year commencement address to jubilant graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

When a top Google official came to Virginia Beach last week to speak at a respected defense conference, he delivered a stunning and convincing message: The company is on the verge of unveiling a project that could reveal to the public the precise locations of many ships at sea, including U.S. Navy ships.