- July 12, 2025
BOSTON — Petty Officer 1st Class Raymond Minami, a native of Palm Coast, is one of more than 60 sailors celebrating America’s 249 years of independence while serving aboard the USS Constitution, the Navy’s oldest commissioned warship.
Minami attended Matanzas High School and graduated from Flagler Technical Institute (now Flagler Technical College) in 2011. Additionally, Minami earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Maryland Global Campus in 2022 and a certificate in 2019 from Syracuse University’s advanced military visual journalism program.
Minami joined the Navy 12 years ago. Today, he serves as a mass communication specialist.
“I joined the Navy because I felt like life was a little too slow and I was looking for more,” Minami said. “I visited recruiting offices for other military branches, but it was like a puzzle piece fit when I walked into the Navy recruiting office.”
Launched from a Boston shipyard in October 1797, USS Constitution is the only surviving vessel of the Navy’s original six frigates and is the world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat. The ship earned the nickname “Old Ironsides” during the War of 1812 after British cannonballs were seen bouncing off the ship’s wooden hull.
Now, 227 years after its launch, Constitution’s primary mission is education and outreach, welcoming more than 500,000 visitors aboard each year. Its crew of more than 70 sailors is hand-picked to preserve and protect the USS Constitution, while promoting naval history, maritime heritage and raising awareness of the importance of a sustained naval presence.
Minami is the USS Constitution's communications director.
“Being able to get the job and becoming a journalist are my proudest moments because they’ve led me to where I am today,” Minami said. “I’m also proud of being able to have taught at the Defense Information School (DINFOS). One of my former students just called me the other day to tell me about getting a job at the White House. Being able to instruct or have that legacy in the military and with other humans all over the world means a lot. They’ve made rank, and watching them crush it is fantastic. It’s always a really strong hug when we see each other.
“I’m also proud that my wife is willing to move with me and has joined the Navy family. We got married when I was a DINFOS instructor. I’m lucky to have someone join me on this Navy journey.”
