After back-to-back tragedies that took the life of one cadet and endangered several others, the California Maritime Academy was awash in celebration Saturday as the class of 2004 stepped into the future.

"We formed an alliance," Vallejoan Delvin L. Warren said of the camaraderie among the 120 graduates. "Having your fellow brethren by your side helps you get through."

Saturday's ceremony kicked off yearlong festivities marking the school's 75th anniversary. After forming on Tiburon in 1929, the school moved to Vallejo during World War II and joined the California University System nine years ago.

Cadets said the happiness of graduation lifted their spirits after several tough months.

On March 19, a two-alarm fire ripped through a dorm hall, trapping several cadets when it overtook their only exit. Students were rescued from balconies and jumped from windows as other cadets fought the flames until firefighters arrived. There were no injuries.

Nine days later, John Machado, a beloved member of the school's rugby team, vanished during a spring break trip with other cadets in Mexico. His body was found March 31 in the waters off San Jose del Cabo.

School officials didn't mention either event during their comments Saturday, but President William B. Eisenhardt said in a short sadness in a short interview afterward.

The 25-year-old Machado's death and the fire made it difficult to wrap up the year with the unfettered happiness that usually accompanies commencement ceremonies, he said, but seeing the smiles on parents' faces brought it all back.

"It was a lovely event. It helps me when the day goes well," Eisenhardt said, adding that cadets bond from the moment they step aboard the school's training vessel. "It's the shared experience that binds them."

Machado was good at building such bonds, cadets said.

"John was a good guy -always out to have fun," said Vallejo graduate Mathew Burns, adding that graduation was about recalling good and bad alike. "I look on the whole four years as ... the great learning experience it was."

Warren agreed, saying cadets became a family in times of hardship and challenge, such as sailing for several months together on the Golden Bear. "We have different majors, but we are going through the same things," he said.

Sticking with the rigorous maritime training meant overcoming several obstacles for the 24-year-old Warren, including caring for a son he fathered in high school. Seven-year-old Isaiah was among several gushing relatives circling around the graduate with cameras and wide smiles.

"I'm very elated," said Warren's mother, Earnestine Harris-Warren, adding that his achievement meant all three of her kids were college graduates. "He can move to the next level."

As they step into careers or post-graduate school, cadets won't forget the university's sense of teamwork, said Chris Schager. In a farewell address made on behalf of all grads, he recalled when cadets saved a classmate stranded in Hong Kong harbor several years ago.

"The next half-hour or 45 minutes is the last thing all of us will do together," Schager said before getting a standing ovation from classmates. "I can't think of a better way to spend four years and get a degree."

Burns' parents agreed, saying they were pleased he attended CMA.

"It was a good choice on his part," said mother Terrie Corkrean, of Vallejo. "I think this school is kind of not well known to the Vallejo community. It's a hidden jewel."

Father Tom Burns of New York remembered his surprise when Mathew chose merchant marine training, but is envious now that his son plans to spend life at sea.

"He's going out to see the world," said the father. "He was see a lot of different cultures. It will be great for him."

Also Saturday, CMA honored two men with the Distinguished Alumni Award. Jerry A. Aspland, Class of 1962, who gave Saturday's keynote address, served as CMA's president from 1996 to 2001. The other honoree, Capt. Manfred K. Aschemeyer, Class of 1963, was described as an avid CMA recruiter.