There’s no such thing as a USS Midway Museum volunteer who only puts in the “minimum required effort.” One of the hallmarks of the volunteers corps is that they are always willing to go above and beyond the call of duty to support every element of the museum’s operations.
“Every day I’m truly impressed by the level of dedication I see in our volunteers,” said Mark Berlin, Midway’s director of operations. “We are extremely fortunate to have such a devoted and passionate group of people who lend their talents, for free, to the ship they love.”
Whether its visitor facing or behind the scenes, Midway volunteers continue to be the lifeblood of the Midway. Let’s give a round of applause to our volunteers of the month for the fourth quarter of 2025.
John Brongo, Docent – October 2025
Midway docents are almost always seen interacting with museum guests, but coordinating this group of more than 400 volunteers takes tremendous effort. John Brongo, a volunteer since 2015, has been the force behind the curtain quietly managing the docent’s legacy roster database and training new docents to access and operate the docent SharePoint portal.
Starting in 2020, John, a former U.S. Army paratrooper, managed information technology and maintained a web-hosted database project. He worked with a local software engineering firm to assess the requirements, and determined the best method to update and maintain the database. The project was successful, requiring only subsequent minor engineering changes to maintain the database.
John, who has amassed more than 8,300 volunteer hours, also assisted managers in maintaining SharePoint web pages available to the docents. His efforts have improved communications and enhanced the Docent Training and Continuing Education Programs.
While serving as a member of the Museum’s Docent Council, John also managed collaboration at meetings held every two weeks that provided a forum for docents and staff to discuss and resolve issues in a proactive and constructive manner.
“His willingness to donate an extensive amount time, along with his highly developed technical skills and tireless work ethic have greatly assisted both his fellow docents and many other members of the Midway family,” said Jack Gale. “John has made several very important contributions to Midway’s information sharing systems through managing the legacy databases, training new docents on SharePoint, and hosting and maintaining the support necessary for our Continuing Education series.”
Mike Mortellaro, Ship Restoration – November 2025
It’s the smallest details that can sometimes make biggest the difference, and there’s no one that pays more attention to thedetails that Mike Mortellaro, a member of the ship’s restoration team since 2024.
Mike, who has already contributed more than 800 volunteer hours, has had tremendous impact on a variety of preservation programs, and is also helping spearhead an effort to highlight important elements of Midway’s operational history.
Mike Mortellaro, along with fellow restoration volunteer Seppi Sepulveda, has taken great prided and care in a project to restore a series of almost forgotten brass plaques that commemorate milestone landings aboard the carrier.
It is estimated that more than 350,000 successful carrier landings were made on the USS Midway (CV-41). Each of those 1,000th landing records were commemorated with a brass plate engraved with the landing number, the date and the pilot’s name. The plates were then anchored to large brass plaques.
The plaques were part of a small number of artifacts from the Midway’s history that were stored at Naval Air Station North Island following the ship’s decommissioning in 1992. The plaques were given to Midway when it returned to San Diego and opened as a museum in 2004.
Mike, a former U.S. Navy hull technician, was instrumental in restoring an unused engraving machine to make replacement ID tags for the 1,000th-trap landing plaques. Not only did he restore the engraving machine, but also helped prepare a space below decks for exclusive plaques engraving and sign stenciling in the future.
“The combined efforts of our nearly 800 volunteers are why Midway is the number one thing to do in San Diego.”
For those interested in becoming a USS Midway Museum volunteer, more information along with the volunteer application can be found here.
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