Naval History and Heritage Command

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Harry Warner Baltazzi was born in Roslyn, New York, on January 2, 1899, son of S.A. Warner Baltzaai and Mrs. (Marion W.) Baltazzi. He attended St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, prior to entering the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, on June 15, 1917. Graduated with the class of 1921 A, and commissioned Ensign to date from June 5, 1920, he was promoted to Lieutenant (jg) on June 5, 1923. He resigned his commission on December 31, 1924. Entering the US Naval Reserve on July 12, 1939 in the rank of Lieutenant Commander, he was subsequently promoted to Commander on January 3, 1942, and to Captain to date from May 1, 1943. He was transferred in his present rank of the US Navy on July 2, 1946.

Following World War I service as a Midshipman and graduated from the Naval Academy in June 1920, he was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, a unit of Division 3, Battleship Squadron 11, Atlantic Fleet. He served as Deck and Engineer Watch Officer of that battleship until July 1921, when he was transferred to the USS Caldwell for a year’s duty as Chief Engineer. Continuing duty afloat, he served from June 1922 until November 1924, successively as Chief Engineer of the USS Litchfield; as Chief Engineer and later Deck Officer of the USS Scorpion; and as Gunnery Officer of the USS Bulmer. His resignation was accepted on December 31, 1924.

Called to active duty as a member of the US Naval Reserve, he served from October 1939 until march 1943 as Executive Assistant to the Head of the Foreign Intelligence Branch of the Office of Naval Intelligence, under the Chief of Naval Operations, Naval Department, Washington, DC. he served as Acting Head for fourteen months, and for a year thereafter, as head of that Branch. From July 1945 until March 1946 he was Head of Collection and Dissemination.

For World War II service he received a Letter of Commendation with Ribbon, from the Secretary of the Navy, as follows (in part): “For meritorious performance of duty while attached to the Division of Naval Intelligence, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. Responsible for the ten-fold expansion of intelligence of intelligence activities in foreign areas, required by war time needs, his close supervision of selection, training and assignment of officers to intelligence duties aboard were the primary factor in the successful establishment of a trained corps of reporting observers at point throughout the world….”

He was Special Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Naval Intelligence during the period March 1946 to April 1947, and in May of that year he became Director of Intelligence, Joint Staff, on the Staff of the Commander in Chief, Caribbean, in which capacity he served until July 1950. He had brief duty in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations prior to reporting on August 31, 1950, as US Naval Attaché and US Naval Attaché for Air, Cairo, Egypt. He remained there until September 1952, when he was assigned to the First Naval District, Boston, Massachusetts, as District Intelligence Officer.

In addition to the Commendation Ribbon, Captain Baltazzi has the World War I Victory Medal; Atlantic Fleet Clasp; the navy Expeditionary Medal; the American Defense Service Medal; the American Campaign Medal; the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign medal; and the World War II Victory Medal.

Captain Baltazzi is a member of the Army-Navy Club, Washington, DC.; the Army-Navy Country Club, Arlington, Virginia; and the Seawanhasa Corinthian Yacht Club, Oyster Bay, New York.

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