[1] Capt McWethy received the Legion of Merit for his role in the development of SOSUS underwater listening posts as commander of Oceanographic Systems Atlantic.

His successor as captain, Marmaduke G. Bayne (later a rear admiral), remarked in an interview with the Naval Historical Foundation that "Bob McWethy was probably the best ship handler I have known.

"[1] Working with his friend Waldo Lyon, McWethy was instrumental in drawing up the Pentagon's plans for navigation of the Arctic by nuclear submarine in 1957.

As chief-of-staff for Submarine Squadron 10, wrote the orders that sent USS Nautilus on its secret crossing underneath the North Pole on August 3, 1958.

In 1993, the Annapolis Capital Gazette reported on the couple's preservation efforts, including Liz McWethy's threat to "strip naked and chain her body to a tree to save the woody banks" of the creek.

"In the fall he spends his week-ends sailing," noted his Lucky Bag yearbook, "and with the coming of spring he is torn between the golf course and the Bay.

"[14] In 1985, Yachting Magazine wrote that "Bob McWethy, a retired captain who has been a continuing stablizing factor at Annapolis as offshore coach and race-committee head for midshipman sailing, is also a sparkplug in USNSA as its secretary.

McWethy received the Silver Star Award for his actions as torpedo officer during a war patrol in enemy-controlled waters of the Pacific Ocean which resulted in the sinking of two Japanese freighters and a 20,000-ton transport and in the successful evasion of severe enemy countermeasures.