Rear Admiral Paul E. Tobin ’58 Receives The Lawrenceville Medal

Rear Admiral (RADM) Paul E. Tobin '58 (U.S. Navy ret.) was recognized by the Lawrenceville Alumni Association and Board of Trustees on May 15 with The Lawrenceville Medal for “brilliant, life-long work in a significant field of endeavor.” The Lawrenceville Medal is the highest honor bestowed by the School, dedicated to the memory of Aldo Leopold, Class of 1905, renowned environmentalist and author.

A highly decorated military leader with over three decades of distinguished service to the United States Navy, RADM Tobin logged nearly two million miles at sea during a career that included executive commands as Director of Navy Information Management and Navy Logistics Group Western Pacific, Oceanographer of the Navy, and sea commands in the Vietnam and Gulf wars.

In recognition of his outstanding service, Tobin earned three Navy Commendations, a Meritorious Service Medal, a Bronze Star, four Legions of Merit, and two Navy Distinguished Service Medals. Following his retirement from active duty, he oversaw the Naval Historical Center as the 11^th Director of Naval History.

Before receiving the Lawrenceville Medal, Tobin attended presentations by students in “Case Studies in International Policy and Strategy,” taught by Ash Shah ’93, where one of the topics was, “Is It Time to Reinstate the Military Draft?”

Tobin was later honored at a special award ceremony held during the School’s spring Board of Trustees meetings, where he received the medal and was celebrated by Alumni Association President Greg Melconian ’87, Head of School Steve Murray, the Board of Trustees, Lawrenceville’s senior staff, family members, and Lawrenceville friends.

“The Lawrenceville Medal is unique among our alumni awards because it asks us to consider not only accomplishment, but also purpose,” said Murray. “Aldo Leopold believed deeply in responsibility–to one another, to community, and to the world we inherit and leave behind. His work reflected … an understanding that true impact is measured not only by achievement, but by contribution. Those same qualities are evident in the life and career of Rear Admiral Paul E. Tobin.”

Tobin’s acceptance speech was a trip down memory lane and a deep dive into Lawrenceville lore, as he acknowledged classmates and legendary faculty, and shared anecdotes from the past seven decades. He introduced his wife Lynn as his Fifth Form prom date; reminisced about babysitting for faculty kid Peyton “Punky” Brewster, made famous by former television executive Brandon Tartikoff ’66 in a 1980s sitcom; credited the English and History departments with teaching him to speak, read, and write; and praised the music program for cultivating his lifelong love of opera and classical music.

“Lawrenceville has been a big part of our lives,” said Tobin. “Some of my former teachers and classmates came to San Diego for my commissioning, and friends from Lawrenceville came to my retirement.”

To hear him tell it, his long list of accomplishments came from being in the right place at the right time, but his stories, told with humility, validated his leadership and dedication to duty. In recounting his meetings with some of the most famous Americans of the 20^th century – household names like Neil Armstrong and Jim Lovell – Tobin said only, “I got to be the master of the surprise encounter.”

He concluded, “All this points to a very interesting career. I can’t thank you enough. I’m being honored, my family is being honored, and the Navy is being honored. It’s been a great ride.”

See photos from the ceremony on Lawrenceville’s Flickr page.  

For more information, contact Lisa M. Gillard H'17, director of public relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.