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US Naval Institute Oral Histories Available in the Navy Department Library

The oral histories in the Navy Department Library do not circulate.  DoD staff are welcome to use them on site and several pages can be scanned if necessary for external patrons. To see if we have an oral history in our collection, go to our online catalog, EOS, and follow these steps:

1)      Select Title, when conducting an Advanced Search.

2)      Enter the name of the person.  For example, “Collins, Winifred Quick, Captain”

3)      The item with the call number and additional catalog information should appear.

Feel free to contact us via email or reference desk phone if you experience difficulties:

NHHCNavyLibrary@navy.mil

202-433-4132

Select any letter below to see a list of the oral histories by last name. Click on the name to see a brief description of the contents. (Volumes denoted by an asterisk are held by the U.S. Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland.)

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

R

Ramage, James D., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Ramage, Lawson Paterson, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Reagan, John W., Member of the Golden Thirteen
Reich, Eli T., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.) 
Rhodes, Earl K., Captain, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.)*
Richardson, David C., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Richmond, Alfred C., Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.)
Riley, Herbert D., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Rivero, Horacio, Jr., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Rochefort, Joseph J., Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Roland, Edwin J., U.S. Admiral Coast Guard (Ret.)* 
Royar, Murrey L, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Ruckner, Edward A., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Russell, James S., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
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Adair, Charles, Rear Admiral U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on ten interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from February 1975 through April 1975. The volume contains 646 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1977 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral Adair [biographical manuscript] graduated from the Naval Academy in the class of 1926. Following assignments on board the MississippiToucey,Blakeley, and Patoka, he studied communications at the Naval Postgraduate School. From 1935 to 1938 he served as radio officer on the staffs of Destroyer Squadrons Six and 14. After a staff assignment at the Naval Academy, he reported as flag lieutenant to Admiral Thomas Hart, Commander in Chief Asiatic Fleet, and was in that job when World War II broke out. He moved to Corregidor and then escaped to the Dutch East Indies as senior man on board the schooner Lanikai, sailing by night and hiding by day. From 1943 to 1945 he took part in the planning and execution of every major amphibious operation in the Southwest Pacific Area while serving on the staff of Rear Admiral Daniel Barbey, Commander Seventh Amphibious Force. After duty in OpNav and BuPers, he commanded attack cargo ship Marquette, served on the CinCPacFlt staff, and then in the office of the Comptroller of the Navy, William Franke. He retired in 1956.
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Anderson, George W., Jr., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on eight interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from June 1980 through November 1980. The volume contains 376 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1983 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

Traces the early career of a future Chief of Naval Operations from Naval Academy graduation in 1927 through command of Carrier Division Six in the Mediterranean in 1958-1959. Along the way, he discusses flight training, aviation duty in light cruisers, patrol planes and service in aircraft carriers, including putting Yorktown into commission under Captain Jocko Clark. Admiral Anderson held a number of important planning jobs ashore, including the Bureau of Aeronautics, the AirPac staff under John Towers, and CominCh staff. He commanded the carriers Mindoro and Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the early 1950s, he was on the Sixth Fleet staff, helped establish the NATO command in Europe, and was essentially chief of staff to Admiral Arthur Radford as Chairman of the JCS. As a flag officer, he was Commander Formosa Patrol Force before taking command of CarDiv Six.

Volume II

Based on eight interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from December 1980 through April 1981. The volume contains 353 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1983 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

The concluding volume of this memoir deals with Admiral Anderson's command of the Sixth Fleet from 1959 to 1961, his stormy tenure as Chief of Naval Operations from 1961 to 1963, his tour as U.S. Ambassador to Portugal from 1963 to 1966, and his activities since retirement from government service. In describing his time as fleet commander, Admiral Anderson tells of the fleet's combat capabilities and role as a goodwill ambassador for the nation. When he became CNO during the administration of John Kennedy, he had good relations with Secretary of the Navy John Connally. Admiral Anderson is much less kind in discussing SecNav Fred Korth and SecDef Robert McNamara. The admiral tells of the Cuban Missile Crisis and his widely publicized disagreements with civilian authority over the TFX fighter plane. The memoir tells of his removal in 1963 when he was not reappointed CNO. He went instead to serve in Portugal. He tells of his dealings with the Portuguese Government and with various offices within the U.S. State Department. Following his retirement from active government service, Admiral Anderson served on several corporate boards and was a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board in the Nixon Administration.
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Ansel, Walter C., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on seven interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from September 1970 through December 1980. The volume contains 249 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1972 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

A 1918 graduate of the Naval Academy, Admiral Ansel served on convoy escort duty in the closing months of World War I. He had a variety of duty in the interwar years, including study of amphibious warfare, service on board the cruiser Milwaukee, at the Naval Academy, and command of the destroyer Bulmer and Destroyer Division 14. During a tour in the War Plans Division of OpNav just prior to World War II, he observed the poor state of U.S. Navy war planning. He was first CO of the oiler Winooski, then had staff duty for the planning of the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, and Southern France. In 1944-1945, he commanded the light cruiserPhiladelphia, including support duty in the Mediterranean. After postwar staff duty in the support force off Japan, he was on a SecNav Board and then served 1947-1949 as subchief of the U.S. naval mission to Brazil. Retired in 1949.
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Austin, Bernard L., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 16 interviews conducted by Paul L. Hopper from August 1969 through January 1971. The volume contains 543 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1971 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

Admiral Austin, who graduated from the Naval Academy in 1924, provides a relatively brief description of his junior officer years, which contained a fair amount of submarine duty. From 1937-1940, he was press officer in the Navy Department, then went to the U.S. Embassy, as special naval observer in London under Vice Admiral R.L. Ghormley. While CO of the destroyer Woolsey, he was credited with sinking a German submarine during North African landings. He then commanded the new destroyer Foote for a year before commanding DesDiv 46 in Arleigh Burke's famous "Little Beaver" squadron in the Solomons campaign. After duty on Admiral Nimitz's staff, he held a variety of assignments at sea and ashore, including three-star duty as Director of the Joint Staff Office, DCNO (Plans and Policy), Commander Second Fleet, and President of the Naval War College.
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Backus, Paul H., Commander, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on three interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from October 1981 through April 1982. The volume contains 509 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1995 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

During and after his years at the Naval Academy, Backus served as president of the class of 1941. Upon graduation, he served briefly in the destroyer Jarvis (DD-393). He was in the crew of the battleship Oklahoma (BB-37) when she capsized during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He subsequently spent much of World War II in the battleship South Dakota (BB-57). Following postgraduate education in ordnance, he served in the USS Mississippi (BB-41) during her conversion to a test ship. Then he was gunnery officer in the light cruiser Huntington (CL-107) under Captain Arleigh Burke. After duty in the research division of the Bureau of Ordnance, he commanded the destroyer Isherwood (DD-520) during two deployments to the Mediterranean. Next he was an assistant naval attaché in London, interacting with the Royal Navy and doing clandestine intelligence collection against the Soviets. Commander Backus wound up his career with a long tour of duty on the staff of Chief of Naval Operations Arleigh Burke. He had an instrumental role in the OpNav aspects of developing the Polaris ballistic missile system, including such aspects as operating schedules, communications, and submerged navigation.
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Badders, William, Chief Machinist's Mate, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on three interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from September 1971 through November 1971. The volume contains 157 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1986 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Chief Badders, who enlisted during World War II, got a taste of battleship and aviation duty before being brought into diving and salvaging work in the mid-1920s. He describes the woeful status of the Navy's diving capabilities and was in on the ground floor of improvements that occurred during his career. Of particular interest is his account of the rescue attempts and salvaging of the sunken submarines S-51 (SS-162), S-4 (SS-108), and Squalus (SS-192). For his dangerous and aggressive rescue of 18 Squalus crew members, Badders was awarded the Medal of Honor in January 1940. A prevalent theme throughout his memoir is sports. Badders played on various professional and semipro baseball and football teams, and recalls his encounters with such greats as Satchel Paige, Lou Gehrig, and Ted Williams.
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Bak, Michael, Jr., WWII Quartermaster, USN

Based on three interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from March 1984 to June 1986. The volume contains 242 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1988 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Mike Bak served as a quartermaster in the Fletcher-class destroyer Franks (DD-554) from 1943 to 1946. He is representative of an entire generation of enlisted men who grew up during the Depression and whose only active duty was during World War II and the immediate postwar period. He tells of his boyhood in New Jersey; navy training; and the various campaigns in which the Franksparticipated. His ship specialized in plane guard duty and rescued more than 20 downed aviators. Bak gives a real feel for the excitement and flavor of wartime destroyer duty. After his discharge from the Navy, Bak excelled as a salesman, being honored by Olivetti USA with the establishment of a permanent sales award in his name.
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Baldwin, Hanson W. (Military Correspondent for the New York Times)

Volume I

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from February 1975 through June 1975. The volume contains 434 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1976 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This is one of the few interviews of a civilian in the Naval Institute collection, but it is one of considerable value to historians because of Mr. Baldwin's long association with the service during his time as military correspondent and editor for The New York Times. Mr. Baldwin was graduated from the Naval Academy in 1924 and served on board battleships and a destroyer before resigning to go into newspaper work. He served in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and off Europe. Initially, he covered a variety of naval and maritime stories, including the Navy's annual fleet problems, and came into contact with a number of high-ranking officers. He noted the military buildup as World War II approached and the general unpreparedness of this nation to go to war. He rode the new battleship North Carolina on trials and covered Army maneuvers in 1941, then visited the Pacific and North Africa after the war started, writing both news accounts and interpretive pieces. He was off Normandy for D-Day in 1944.

Volume II

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from July 1975 through December 1975. The volume contains 356 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1976 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After the end of World War II, Baldwin covered the atom bomb tests and the bitter Navy-Air Force fight over unification of the services. During the 1950s, he covered the Korean War, the Formosa dispute, new weapon systems, and various other Navy stories. He went to the Middle East for the Suez crisis of 1956. He also had an interesting trip to the Soviet Union. He later was involved in reporting the space program and intelligence matters. A particularly interesting section of the memoir deals with Baldwin's discussion of the Robert McNamara regime while Kennedy was President. Concludes with coverage of the initial years of the Vietnam War.

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Barnaby, Ralph S. Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret)

Based on one interview conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in August 1969. The volume contains 49 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1995 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Barnaby was the first person in the United States to earn a soaring license. He began developing gliders not long after the pioneering work of Orville and Wilbur Wright. The memoir of his naval service focuses primarily on his glider experiences, including his achievement as the first person to descend by glider from an airship, the USS Los Angeles (ZR-3), in 1930. He later used gliders in naval aviation training at Pensacola, Florida. During World War II he was an engineer at the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia and commanding officer of the Naval Air Modification Unit at Johnsville, Pennsylvania.
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Barnes, Dr. Samuel E., (Member of the Golden Thirteen)

Based on three interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from November 1986 through May 1989. The volume contains 362 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1993 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After a boyhood in Oberlin, Ohio, Barnes attended Oberlin College in the same town, graduating in 1936. He excelled in sports, particularly football and track, in both high school and college. He worked for five years as an athletic coach at Livingstone College in North Carolina, later enlisted in the Navy in September 1942. He served as an athletic specialist until tapped to enter an officer training program. He was commissioned an ensign in March 1944, one of the Navy's first 13 black officers. After initial duty running athletic programs at Great Lakes, Illinois, he was sent to Williamsburg, Virginia, for training and later commanded a black stevedore battalion on Okinawa. After World War II he returned to civilian life and earned both his master's degree and doctorate. In 1947 Barnes joined the faculty of Howard University in Washington, D.C. He coached a number of sports and later was athletic director from 1956 to 1970. Subsequently he was with Federal City College and the University of the District of Columbia. From 1970 to 1972 Dr. Barnes was on the executive committee of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the first black person to achieve that honor.
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Bauernschmidt, George W., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on eight interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from August 1969 through June 1970. The volume contains 394 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1991 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use. This is a revised version of the original, which was issued in 1970. The new version has been completely retyped, annotated with footnotes, and given a detailed index.

Admiral Bauernschmidt was a 1922 Naval Academy graduate who spent the first ten years of his commissioned service as a line officer and then switched reluctantly to the Supply Corps to avoid being retired for color blindness. He thus brought a line officer's perspective and feeling for the prerogatives of command to the Supply Corps. He tells his story with a nice sense of humor and expresses frustration at the number of his recommendations not accepted. He served in the battleships North Dakota (BB-29) andNew Mexico (BB-40) in the 1920s, the Nevada (BB-36) in the 1930s, and as supply officer of the New York (BB-34) in the years leading up to World War II. In the late 1920s he commanded the submarine R-2 (SS-79) and in the 1930s served in the tenderBeaver (AS-5). In the early 1930s he had an interesting tour in American Samoa. During World War II, Bauernschmidt helped set up the U.S. naval supply depot in Oran, North Africa, to support Allied operations in the Mediterranean. Later in the war, he served ashore in France, at the supply depot in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and commanded the huge naval supply depot on Guam. Afterward, he helped rewrite U.S. Navy Regulations and commanded naval supply centers at Pearl Harbor (during the Korean War) and at Clearfield, Utah. During his career he also had tours of duty in the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts in Washington, D.C. In 1953, Bauernschmidt's daughter Sarah married Stuart Murray, the son of the rear admiral who lived next door at Pearl Harbor.
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Benson, Roy S., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.) Volume I and II

Volume I

Based on seven interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from March 1980 through April 1980. The volume contains 459 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1984 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

In this first volume of Admiral Benson's oral history, he recalls his early years with his Swedish family in New Hampshire, and his days at the Naval Academy, where athletics were not of as much interest as music. Following graduation in 1929, he served first in the New York (BB-34), and then on the Smith Thompson (DD-212) on the Asiatic Station. Benson gives a real feel for the flavor of China in the mid-1930s, and it is here that he has his first experience with what is to become his specialty - submarines. He attends submarine school and has various duties before joining the Nautilus (SS-168), in which he served during that submarine's presence at the Battle of Midway. Later, as commanding officer of the USS Trigger (SS-237) his ship was credited with sinking almost 30,000 tons of Japanese shipping. Some key subjects discussed by Admiral Benson include the sinking of the Cochino (SS-345) while on an interesting mission in 1949, magnetic exploders, the use of submarines in antisubmarine warfare, and submarine tactics and safety measures. The last assignment discussed is Benson's duty in the unpopular billet of Director of Public Information for the Navy at the beginning of the Korean War. He provides anecdotes about many famous officers he came into contact with, including Forrest Sherman, Page Smith, George Marshall, William Fechteler, and Hyman Rickover.

Volume II

Based on 11 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from April 1980 through August 1980. The volume contains 486 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1987 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

Admiral Benson begins this concluding volume of his memoir by describing his service in command of the attack transport Bayfield in 1953-1954, followed by command of Amphibious Squadron Six. At the time, duty in the amphibious forces was not considered particularly career-enhancing for naval officers, but it proved to be so in the case of Benson, because he was subsequently selected for flag rank during the course of a tour of duty in charge of Navy recruiting at the Bureau of Naval Personnel. As a rear admiral, he was a cruiser division commander in the Pacific and then Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Navy's Military Sea Transportation Service. His telling of that period provides a useful description of the interplay between the Navy and the U.S. merchant marine. One of the admiral's most enjoyable tours was as Commander Submarine Force Pacific Fleet from 1960 to 1962, at a time when nuclear submarines were still a novelty in that ocean. Then followed a five-year tour on the OpNav staff as Assistant Vice Chief of Naval Operations/Director of Naval Administration. This is unusual oral history material because of the considerable detail provided on the routine aspects of naval administrative matters. In many cases, oral histories concentrate on high-level decision-making, but the reality is that the paperwork must still be accomplished, and Admiral Benson provides rare insight into that aspect. The volume concludes with his description of service as Commandant First Naval District prior to his retirement from active duty in 1969.
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Beshany, Philip A., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on nine interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from February 1977 through November 1977. The volume contains 494 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1980 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the transcript requires the written permission of the interviewee to quote or cite in published works.

A 1938 graduate of the Naval Academy, Admiral Beshany served in the new light cruiser Philadelphia before going into submarines. After duty in the S-14, he was executive officer of the fleet boat Scamp (SS-277) from 1942 to 1944, participating in seven war patrols. He was then exec of the Quillback during the Okinawa campaign and the occupation of Japan. He later commanded the submarines Billfish (SS-268), Burrfish (SS-312), and Amberjack (SS-522). Shore tours included postgraduate instruction at Annapolis, repair officer at the submarine base in New London, and duty as head of the prospective commanding officers' course for submarines. While on the ComSubLant staff, he worked closely with the Navy's first nuclear-powered submarines. After graduation from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Admiral Beshany had a tour as commanding officer of the fleet oiler Salamonie.

Based on nine interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from November 1977 through January 1979. The volume contains 505 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1983 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the transcript requires the written permission of the interviewee to quote or cite in published works.

In this concluding volume Admiral Beshany discusses his command of Submarine Squadron 4 in the early 1960s during the transition from diesel to nuclear powered subs, duty as chief of staff to Deputy Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet during the tragic period when Thresher was lost, and the ground work involved in setting up facilities for U.S. Polaris submarines in Rota, Spain. Subsequent duties included a staff position with Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe in the mid-1960s and Director of Submarine Warfare during the development phases of the Los Angeles-class attack submarine. In this position Beshany was in the thick of the ongoing technical versus operational argument being waged within the OpNav staff. His next duty as an amphibious group commander gave him a new appreciation of the importance of this special type of warfare and the complexity of joint exercises. The 1970s found Beshany back at the Pentagon, first as Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Fleet Operations and Readiness) and then during the reorganization of the OpNav staff he was made the first Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Submarine Warfare) over the objections of Admiral Rickover. In discussing this period Beshany candidly assesses his boss, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo Zumwalt. Beshany's final tour was as Commander, U.S. Taiwan Defense Command, a position that gave him cause to question our politically motivated shunning of that country. Admiral Beshany served in this post until his retirement in August 1974.
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Bieri, Bernhard H., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on seven interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from July 1969 through October 1969. The volume contains 257 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1997 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use. This is a revised version of the original, which was issued in 1970. The new version has been completely retyped, annotated with footnotes, and given a detailed index.

In 1911, Admiral Bieri was graduated from the Naval Academy as a passed midshipman. He served in the Delaware (BB-28),Nashville (Gun Boat 7), Montana (ACR-13), Virginia (BB-13), and Texas (BB-35) until 1919. Among his further assignments were duty as aide to Rear Admiral Augustus Fechteler; command of the USS Bailey (DD-269) and DesDiv 29; sonic survey of the West Coast in USS Hull; survey of the Alaskan cable from Seattle to Seward; various staff duties; and command of the heavy cruiser Chicago. He was on the staff of Admiral E. J. King, CominCh. After World War II, as a vice admiral, he commanded the Tenth Fleet in the Atlantic and then became Commander U.S. Naval Forces Mediterranean, a forerunner of the Sixth Fleet. He had a tour as Commandant of the 11th Naval District and then was senior naval member on a committee serving the United Nations Security Council. Retired in 1951. The final interview in the memoir is devoted to Bieri's service with Admiral King.
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Bogan, Gerald F., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on one interview conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen, in October 1969. The volume contains 168 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1986 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use. This is a revised version of the original, which was issued in 1970. The new version has been completely retyped, annotated with footnotes, and given a detailed index.

In 1917 was watch and gunnery officer in the Birmingham (CL-2), which was doing escort duty during World War I. In 1919 served in the Stribling (DD-96), then the Hopewell (DD-181) and Broome (DD-210). In 1922 was CO of U.S. Naval Radio Station, Russian Island, Vladivostok and returned that station to Soviet forces after its decommissioning. Became naval aviator and joined squadron with the Langley, then Commander Fighting Squadron One of the Saratoga. During World War II he was commanding officer of Naval Air Station Miami and the Saratoga (CV-3). Later, as a flag officer, he commanded Naval Air, Tenth Fleet, under Admiral Ernest J. King and a fast carrier task group in the Pacific. Returned to the States and was in command of Fleet Air, Alameda and then until his retirement in 1950, Commander First Task Fleet.
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Bond, Roger L., WWII Quartermaster, USN

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in October 1987. The volume contains 260 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1995 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

In this engaging memoir, Mr. Bond serves as a representative for hundreds of thousands of enlisted men whose only active military service was during World War II. He enlisted in the Navy in 1942, took boot training at San Diego, and then reported to the destroyerSaufley (DD-465). He was on board for operations around the Solomons late in 1942. In 1943 he joined the navigation gang of the aircraft carrier Saratoga (CV-3), which had been in commission since 1927. Mr. Bond paints a vivid word picture of the living and working conditions in a ship that was outdated but still called upon to take part in a modern war. He talks about the ship's air operations against the Japanese, including a stint in the Indian Ocean with the British. He provides a valuable discussion of the professionalism of the ship's quartermasters. Detached in 1945, Mr. Bond was in the original crew of the patrol craft PCE(R)-858, including her shakedown training and her role in minesweeping operations around Japan after the war was over. Following his Navy discharge in 1946, Mr. Bond received his college education through the GI Bill, then went on to a civilian career as an executive in the trucking industry.
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Brashear, Carl M., Chief Boatswains Mate, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in November 1989 and March 1990. The volume contains 164 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 1998 jointly by Carl Maxie Brashear and the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Brashear grew up on a farm in Kentucky as part of sharecropper's family. After being educated in small segregated schools, he enlisted in the Navy in 1948 and underwent recruit training at Great Lakes, Illinois. After initial duty as a steward, he began handling aircraft for squadron VX-1 at Key West, Florida, and was subsequently rated as a boatswain's mate. He served in the escort carriersPalau (CVE-122) and Tripoli (CVE-64) and began taking training in salvage diving. Other duties were in USS Opportune (ARS-41); Naval Air Station Quonset Point, where he escorted President Dwight Eisenhower; Ship Repair Facility Guam; Deep-Sea Diving School; the submarine tender Nereus (AS-17), and Fleet Training Center Pearl Harbor. He also had temporary duty with Joint Task Force Eight for nuclear tests in the Pacific. He served in the USS Coucal (ASR-8), USS Shakori (ATF-162), and USS Hoist (ARS-40). While on board the latter in 1966 for the recovery of a nuclear weapon off Spain, Brashear was badly injured in an accident; as a result, surgeons amputated his left leg below the knee. He refused to submit to medical survey boards attempting to retire him as unfit for duty. After demonstrating that he could still dive and perform his other duties, he served in Harbor Clearance Unit 2, Naval Air Station Norfolk, Experimental Diving Unit, submarine tender Hunley (AS-31); USS Recovery (ARS-43), Naval Safety Center, and Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity Norfolk. In 1970 he qualified as the first black master diver in the history of the U.S. Navy. Master Chief Brashear's memoir also includes material on his post-retirement employment and a candid description of his treatment in the Navy's alcohol rehabilitation program.
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Brown, Wesley A., Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on nine interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from December 1986 to February 2008. The volume contains 481 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2010 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee placed no restrictions on its use.

This oral history is particularly noteworthy, because it provides personal recollections from the first African American graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. Brown entered the Academy in 1945, a century after the institution was founded, and graduated in 1949. A handful of black midshipmen had previously been appointed to the school in Annapolis, but all were either pushed out or left of their own volition prior to graduation. Brown spent his youth in Washington, D.C., where he attended segregated Dunbar High and had part-time jobs working for the Navy and Howard University. He was able to succeed at the Naval Academy through a combination of his sunny disposition, academic ability, and perseverance. Following his commissioning in 1949 he had a temporary assignment at the Boston Naval Shipyard prior to undertaking postgraduate study in civil engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1950?51. His subsequent duties as an officer in the Civil Engineer Corps included postings to Bayonne, New Jersey; Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5 (NMCB-5) in the Philippines and Port Hueneme, California; the headquarters of the Bureau of Yards and Docks in Washington; the Construction Battalion Center, Davisville, Rhode Island; the public works department at the Barbers Point Naval Air Station in Hawaii, temporary duty in Antarctica; a tour at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba; and final active duty service, 1965-69, at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. During his time in the Philippines in the 1950s he had a substantial role in the construction of a new aircraft carrier pier in Subic Bay. In the early 1960s he had a leadership role as the Navy's Seabees did construction projects in the Central African Republic, Liberia, and Chad. Following his retirement from active naval service in 1949, Lieutenant Commander Brown worked in several capacities for the State University of New York system and subsequently did facilities and construction work at Howard University in Washington. In May 2008 the Naval Academy dedicated a new athletic field house named in Brown's honor. In his remarks at the dedication of the facility Brown said the naming of the new building symbolizes the Navy's commitment to diversity.
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Bucklew, Phil H., Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on nine interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from March 1980 through June 1980. The volume contains 451 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1982 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

A legendary figure within Navy circles, Captain Bucklew devoted his entire Navy career to scouting, raiding and intelligence. One of the Navy's first "frogmen" and a charter member of its Scouts and Raiders of World War II, he scouted the beaches at Normandy, Salerno, and Sicily weeks before Allied invasions. Then, moving to China, he slipped by Japanese occupation troops to conduct a 400-mile overland scouting trip of the coastline near Hong Kong. In 1964, Captain Bucklew led a study team to investigate the communist infiltration problems in South Vietnam. Prior to his Navy career, Captain Bucklew was a collegiate and professional football star.
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Buell, Thomas B., Commander, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in May 2002. The volume contains 455 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2005 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee placed no restrictions on its use.

In these interviews conducted the month before Commander Buell died, he was extremely candid in describing his experiences and the people with whom he served. The two major themes in the memoir deal with his service as a destroyerman and his work as a historian. He wrote widely admired biographies of World War II Admirals Ernest J. King and Raymond A. Spruance and later produced a book dealing with Civil War leaders on both the Union and Confederate sides. After he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1958 Buell served in the destroyer Hamner (DD-718) and in the first crew of the guided missile frigate King (DLG-10). After studying at the Naval Postgraduate School, he was in the commissioning crew of the guided missile destroyer escort Brooke (DEG-1). Later duties included serving as technical assistant for weapons at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and as executive officer of the guided missile destroyer John King (DDG-3). From 1970 to 1973 he was at the Naval War College in various capacities, and it was there he began his career as a biographer. His sea command was the destroyer escort Joseph Hewes (DE-1078) from 1973 to 1975. From 1975 to 1979 he taught in the history department of the Military Academy at West Point. Following his retirement from naval service in 1979 he worked in the defense industry for the Honeywell Corporation and Rosemont Company in Minnesota. In the 1990s, living in North Carolina, Buell did consulting work and wrote his Civil War book, The Warrior Generals. The oral history contains accounts of the research and writing of his books.
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Buescher, John B.

Based on three interviews conducted by Dr. John T. Mason, Jr., from November 1981 to March 1982. The volume contains 147 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2003 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This memoir is a rarity in the Naval Institute collection in that it details the career of a Navy civil servant rather than a uniformed officer. Dick Buescher, as he was known, graduated from Mississippi State College in 1941 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. After a brief stint with the Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company in Mobile, he joined the staff of the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) late in 1941. Though the nature of his jobs changed and the scope of his responsibilities increased over the years, he remained with the Navy until his retirement in 1981. With BuOrd he was a production engineer who oversaw the manufacture of various kinds of ammunition, including rockets and missiles. He emphasized the importance of quality control and uniformity. In the mid-1950s he transferred to the Navy's Special Projects Office and from then until the end of his career had key roles in the development of the Navy's strategic ballistic missile systems - Polaris, Poseidon, and Trident. Included is discussion about the relationship between the government and private defense contractors in developing and producing the many subsystems that were involved in the nuclear-armed Polaris. The memoir includes Buescher's insights on principal individuals involved in the ballistic missile program, Rear Admiral William Raborn, Gordon Pehrson, and Rear Admiral Levering Smith.
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Burke, Arleigh A., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on three interviews conducted by Dr. John T. Mason, Jr., from November 1981 to March 1982. The volume contains 147 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2003 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Volume I, Special Series

Based on six interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from July 1978 through March 1979. The volume contains 555 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1979 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

The first interview was inspired by an invitation for Admiral Burke to participate in a Japanese TV documentary on the use of Japanese minesweepers during the Korean War. The second interview deals with the modern Japanese Navy and Burke's role in it. The third interview deals with the Korean War when Burke was CNO Forrest Sherman's unofficial representative in the war theater and later when he was Commander Cruiser Division Five. Interviews four through six deal with Burke's long association with Admiral Marc Mitscher - in the crucial battles of the Central Pacific and later when Mitscher commanded the Eighth Fleet and the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

Volume II, Special Series

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from May 1979 through August 1979. The volume contains 342 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1980 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

These interviews deal with Admiral Burke's duty on the Navy General Board (April 1947-July 1948), during which time he was asked to make a study of the naval shore establishment. Instead, he saw a need to establish plans and policy for the years ahead, and the project grew to include the military and all pertinent governmental agencies. Another area covered was his service on the Korean Armistice Delegation during the early months of its existence (July-December 1951) while fighting continued. He also covers his path-finding efforts as head of OP-30, the Strategic Plans Division of the Navy.

Volume III, Special Series

Part I deals exclusively with the German General Staff, 169 pages. Part II is based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from July 1980 through October 1980. The volume contains 353 pages of interview transcript plus index. The transcript is copyright 1981 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

As background to his role in OP-23, dealing with the unification debates of 1949, Admiral Burke explores the history of the German General Staff, its weaknesses and strengths, as they related to the ideas that surfaced in the unification debates in the United States in 1949. His interviews in Part II further discuss the inherent problems in the military unification program.

Volume IV, Special Series

Volume IV consists of 240 pages of narrative written by Admiral Burke and six interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from November 1980 through May 1981. The volume contains 345 pages of transcript, 240 pages of narrative, plus index. The transcript is copyright 1983 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

This volume employs a format unusual for oral history. Admiral Burke began by writing a narrative on military history, beginning with the French Army in the late 18th century and proceeding on through World War II. In so doing, he draws a number of lessons on the ways in which military forces have been used and misused during history. This narrative forms the backdrop for his subsequent discussion in the narrative of the establishment in late 1948 of OP-23, a division of the CNO's staff which was created to fight off attempts by the Air Force to take control of naval aviation as part of overall defense unification. The volume concludes with oral history interviews which go into further detail on the points raised by Admiral Burke in his own narrative. Key individuals discussed are CNO Louis Denfeld, VCNO Arthur Radford, Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, and Secretary of the Air Force Stuart Symington. (Two more volumes will conclude Admiral Burke's discussion of OP-23.)
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Burke, Julian T., Jr., Rear Admiral (Ret.)

Based on 12 interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from January 1997 to June 1998. The volume contains 557 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2003 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After graduation from the Naval Academy in 1940, Burke served in the battleships West Virginia (BB-48) and North Carolina (BB-55); he was in the first crew of "The Showboat." After Submarine School he served combat duty in the Flying Fish (SS-229) and after the war commanded the Guardfish (SS-217). Subsequent duty was in the submarine tender Howard W. Gilmore (AS-16), in the Bureau of Naval Personnel, and as executive officer of the Dogfish (SS-350). He commanded the submarine Sablefish (SS-303), served in the presidential yacht Williamsburg (AGC-369) until she was decommissioned in 1955, and commanded the destroyer Harold J. Ellison(DD-864). Later duties were on the staff of Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet, as a student at the Naval War College, and as Commander Submarine Division 63 during Regulus missile trials. In the 1960s he was executive officer of the Naval Academy's Bancroft Hall and commanded the attack transport Fremont (APA-44) and Amphibious Squadron Six. After duty in the Navy Plans Branch in OpNav he was Commander Amphibious Group Three and later Commander Amphibious Group One in the Western Pacific. While in OpNav he ran a study that involved major reorganization of the Naval Reserve. During duty from 1970 to 1973 as Commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan, he was instrumental in getting a U.S. aircraft carrier homeported in Yokosuka. Later in the 1970s he was Commander Service Force Atlantic Fleet and Commandant of the Sixth Naval District. After retirement from active duty in 1976, he was vice president of the Navy Relief Society.
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Chew, John L., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on ten interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from September 1972 through December 1973. The volume contains 464 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1979 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Early service was aboard the battleship Maryland (BB-46), destroyers Overton (DD-239) and Monaghan (DD-354), and tanker Neches(AO-47). Joined the Helena (CL-50)as air defense officer in 1939. Was senior survivor when the Helena was sunk in the Kula Gulf in 1943, escaping to Vella Lavella island in the Solomons. Then was ordnance instructor at U.S. Naval Academy. Besides Washington billets, was exec of the new heavy cruiser Helena, CO of the Stickell (DD-888), Pawcatuck (AO-108), and Roanoke (CL-145). In 1961 he became Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Four, directing recovery operations for Project Mercury. Subsequently he was with the JCS, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Japan, Commander Anti-Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet, and Commander of the U.S. Taiwan Defense Command.
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Collins, Winifred Quick, Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in October and November 1986. The volume contains 123 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2013 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee placed no restrictions on its use.

This memoir covers the experiences of a naval pioneer. She was among the first officers accepted when the WAVES were established in 1942; one of the first female officers commissioned in the regular Navy, which happened in 1948; and at the top of her profession as the only woman line captain at the end of her career. She was selected for the Navy experience as the result of being one of the first five women to undergo Harvard Business School training, which she studied at Radcliffe College in 1937-38. She received naval officer training at Smith College in 1942 and subsequently served there as personnel officer until 1944. She was assigned 1944-46 as a personnel officer for the 14th Naval District in Hawaii and from 1946 to 1950 with the Potomac River Command and Bureau of Naval Personnel. She served on the staff of the Secretary of Defense, 1950-51. After postgraduate study at Stanford University, 1951-52, she was personnel officer on the 12th Naval District staff, San Francisco, from 1952 to 1956. She served 1956-57 on the staff of Commander in Chief U.S. Naval Forces Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean (CinCNELM) in London. Her final tour of active duty, 1957-62, was as Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel for Women.
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Colwell, John Barr, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on eight interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from April 1973 through February 1974. The volume contains 290 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2002 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use. This is a revised version of the original, which was issued in 1974. The new version has been completely retyped, annotated with footnotes, and given a detailed index.

After 1931 graduation from the Naval Academy, Colwell served in the battleship Maryland (BB-46), on the Battle Force staff in theCalifornia (BB-44), and in the four-stack destroyers Rathburne (DD-113) and Aaron Ward (DD-132). He did postgraduate work in ordnance engineering and a 1939-42 tour in the battleship Idaho (BB-42). In 1942 was gunnery officer in Halsey's South Pacific Force; later CO of the Converse (DD-509), making forays towards Truk as a part of Admiral Burke's destroyer squadron, "Little Beavers." Long tour at the Naval Proving Ground at Dahlgren, then was XO/CO of the Missouri (BB-63), on CinCPacFlt staff, and in the Bureau of Ordnance. In 1953-54 he was EA to Deputy Secretary of Defense Roger Kyes. A high point of his career was serving as deputy to Admiral Red Raborn during the development of Polaris. Was CO of the oiler Elokomin (AO-55) and USS Galveston (CLG-3), first guided missile light cruiser. As a flag officer, Colwell was Commander Amphibious Group Four; Director of CNO's Long Range Objective Group; Commander Amphibious Force Pacific Fleet; and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Fleet Operations and Readiness). He retired in 1969.
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Cooper, George C. (Member of the Golden Thirteen)

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in October 1986 and July 1988. The volume contains 191 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1989 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

George Cooper received his bachelor's degree from Hampton Institute in 1939 and his master's degree from Columbia University in 1948. He had owned his own business and been an instructor at Wilberforce University and Hampton Institute before enlisting in the Navy in 1943. He received a direct appointment as a chief petty officer, and remained at Hampton until he headed to Great Lakes for officer indoctrination in early 1944. After he was commissioned he returned to Hampton as personnel officer and training supervisor. He resigned from the Navy for health reasons in 1945, and continued his distinguished civilian career at Hampton, and in private and civic business. In retirement, Cooper has been active in a job training program for black workers in Dayton, and as president of the Dayton chapter of the Navy League.
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Cooper, Joshua W., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on nine interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from October 1973 through July 1974. The volume contains 534 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1975 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Served in the Maryland (BB-46), McCawley (DD-276), Perry (DD-340), Sicard (DD346) and Milwaukee (CL-5) from 1927 to 1934. Was assistant professor of naval science for Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at Harvard until assuming command of the Palmer, which participated in the Fedala-Casablanca sector in 1942. CO of the Bennion (DD-662) in 1943 and was in the Pacific campaign at Saipan, Tinian, the Palaus, Leyte, and Mindoro. In 1944 was on staff of Amphibious Group Nine, participating in numerous amphibious landings in the Philippine area. Later with Bureau of Ordnance; Commander Destroyer Squadron Twelve, Atlantic Fleet; CO of the battleship Iowa in Korean War; Commander Amphibious Group Three; and Chief, Military Assistance Advisory Group, Norway.
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Coughlin, John T., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in April 1999. The volume contains 459 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2005 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This volume is useful for those with an interest in U.S. Navy patrol aviation from the 1950s through the 1970s; it is especially strong concerning the fleet introduction and use of the P-3 Orion land-based antisubmarine warfare aircraft. John Coughlin enlisted in the Navy shortly before the end of World War II and went through the program for radar technicians before entering the Naval Academy. He graduated and was commissioned in 1950, then underwent flight training. He served in the early 1950s in Weather Reconnaissance Squadron One (VJ-1) and in the Fleet Airborne Electronics Training Unit Pacific. From 1955 to 1958 he studied advanced electronics at the Naval Postgraduate School and then moved on to fly P2Vs in VAHM-10/VP-17. Duties in the early 1960s included the staff of Commander Fleet Air Whidbey Island, Air Development Squadron One (VX-1), and as a student at the Armed Forces Staff College. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, in the P-3, he commanded a detachment of Patrol Squadron 31 (VP-31), Patrol Squadron 22 (VP-22), and Patrol Squadron 30 (VP-30). Sandwiched in was Vietnam War service as navigator of the amphibious assault ship Princeton (LPH-5). In the 1970s he had a variety of duties. He was in the Naval Electronic Systems Command; attended an advanced management program at Harvard University, worked on the Joint Staff as program manager for the Worldwide Military Command and Control System, and in 1975-77 was the last officer to serve as Commandant of the 12th Naval District. He later served in OP-04, with additional duty as advisor to the Maritime Administration. The admiral's final active duty tour, from 1979 to 1980, was as Director of Naval Administration in OpNav.
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Coye, John S., Jr., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen in September 1982. The volume contains 203 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1983 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After graduation from the Naval Academy in 1933, Admiral Coye served in the cruiser Northampton (CA-26) and destroyer Monaghan(DD-354). Submarine school in 1937 was followed by service in the submarine Shark (SS-314) as engineer until 1941. He then helped put the mothballed submarine R-18 into commission and succeeded to command during patrols off Panama. The highlight of his career came during command of the Silversides (SS-236) on six successful war patrols, accounting to 14 confirmed sinkings of Japanese ships. After that he was submarine PCO instructor for two years and served on the staff of Commander Operational Development Force. Subsequent commands were the tender Fulton (AS-11) and Submarine Squadron Eight. After attending the Naval War College and serving on the staff of Commander Second Fleet, Admiral Coye commanded the heavy cruiser Rochester (CA-124), the Seventh Fleet flagship. While serving in the Strike Warfare Division in OpNav, Coye was selected for rear admiral, then served as Commander Naval Forces Marianas from 1961 to 1963. Later flag tours included duty as Commander Amphibious Group Three, staff of CinCSouth, and Commander Training Command Atlantic Fleet. He retired in 1968.
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Cutter, Slade D., Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in November 1982 and December 1982. The volume contains 344 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1985 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Cutter turned in a music scholarship at an Illinois college to attend the Naval Academy, where he became an All-American football star and standout on the boxing team. Following graduation in 1935, Cutter embarked on a career heavily intertwined with sports. His first duty was as football coach for the team of the battleship Idaho (BB-42). After submarine school he coached football at the Naval Academy with collateral duty in the S-30 (SS-135). World War II found him in the crew of the Pompano (SS-181), where he made a name for himself as a brilliant submariner that was further enhanced by his wartime commands of the Seahorse (SS-304) and theRequin (SS-481). Cutter provides an excellent picture of wartime sub duty: the attributes required of a good skipper and opinions of all the top names, description of the experience of undergoing a depth charge attack, the quality of food aboard subs, and the craziness of submariners letting off steam between patrols. After the war, Cutter took charge of the Navy sports program, taking an armed forces team to the 1948 London Olympics, where he refereed boxing. His first volume ends with discussion of his assignment as executive officer of the tender Sperry (AS-12) in 1949-1950.

Volume II

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in July 1983 and June 1985. The volume contains 272 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1985 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

In this concluding volume, Cutter picks up his career with his unsatisfying service as Commander Submarine Division 32 in the early 1950s. He moved on to a more interesting assignment as director of the Special Services program, where he was concerned with officers' clubs and liquor sales. Next came a stint in the Navy Information Office in the mid-1950s, where he became embroiled with the problems of security leaks, Admiral Rickover, and the Nautilus (SSN-571). He commanded the command ship Northampton (CLC-1) when she was Second Fleet flagship. Other tours discussed include NATO duty in Naples, director of athletics at the Naval Academy in the late 1950s, director of the Navy Museum, from which he retired in 1966. Cutter's reminiscences of his varied career are enhanced by his humility and humor, evident throughout.
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Darden, Colgate W., Jr., Marine Corps Aviator, Member of Congress

Based on two interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in September 1969 and October 1969. The volume contains 79 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1984 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Darden's life was one of public service, including being a U.S. Congressman, Governor of Virginia, president of the University of Virginia, and delegate to the United Nations. This short volume concentrates on two facets of his career - as an aviator and a congressman. As a Marine Corps aviator in World War I, he went through boredom in France waiting for planes to become available, then was seriously injured in an aircraft accident which killed Marine Medal of Honor recipient Ralph Talbot. In the second interview in the oral history, Darden discusses his service on the House Naval Affairs Committee in the 1930s and 1940s and recalls some of the issues of importance at the time: dealing with the Japanese, fortifying Guam, and preparing the Navy for war. He provides insights on personalities such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Representative Carl Vinson, and Admiral Chester Nimitz.
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Davidson, John F., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from August 1985 through October 1985. The volume contains 439 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1986 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1929, Admiral Davidson served in the battleships Utah (BB-31) and Arizona (BB-39). From 1933, when he entered submarine school, through World War II, his life was submarines, with service in the Cachalot (SS-170) and S-45 (SS-156), and command of S-44 (SS-155), Mackerel (SS-204), and Blackfish (SS-221). One of his talented junior officers in the Blackfish was Eugene Wilkinson, later the first skipper of the nuclear-powered submarine Nautilus (SSN-571). Davidson discusses war patrols in both Atlantic and Pacific. Another thread running through his career was the detailing of officers, a difficult business that Davidson tackled with finesse. After serving as a department head at the Naval Academy in the early 1950s and commanding the heavy cruiser Albany (CA-123), he returned to Annapolis as Superintendent in the early 1960s. He offers many reflections on the joys and trials of that position, including reminiscences of many top political and military leaders. Admiral Davidson has an engaging style that makes his memoir a particular pleasure to read.
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Demars, Bruce, Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in May 2012. The volume contains 268 pages of interview transcript plus an appendix and a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2012 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral DeMars was one of the early successors of the legendary Admiral Hyman Rickover in running the Navy's nuclear power program. He grew up in Chicago and received his bachelor's degree and commission at the Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1957. In the following year he served in two attack transports, the Telfair (APA-210) and Okanogan (APA-220), before attending Submarine School in 1958-59. His first submarine, 1959-60, was the diesel-powered Capitaine (SS-336). After a trying interview with Admiral Rickover, DeMars attended Nuclear Power School at Mare Island in 1960 and then underwent training on a prototype nuclear reactor in West Milton, New York, in 1960-61. He was among the members of the handpicked crew of the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine George Washington (SSBN-598) in 1961-62. He taught at the Nuclear Power School at Mare Island, 1962-64, and from 1964 to 1966 served in the nuclear attack submarine Snook (SSN-592) during special intelligence operations against the Soviet Navy. DeMars attended the Armed Forces Staff College in 1966-67, later served 1967-69 as executive officer of the nuclear attack submarine Sturgeon (SSN-637). After teaching at Submarine School, 1969-71, he was a student at prospective commanding officers' school. He commanded the nuclear attack submarine Cavalla (SSN-684) from 1973 to 1975. For a few months in 1975 was Deputy Commander Submarine Squadron Ten until April of that year, when he suffered broken ribs while being lifted from a submarine by helicopter. From 1975 to 1978, he was on the Atlantic Fleet Nuclear Propulsion Examining Board, eventually becoming senior member. He commanded Submarine Squadron 12 in 1978-79, then served 1979-81 as OP-22B, Deputy Director of the Attack Submarine Division, on the OpNav staff. From 1981 to 1983 held three simultaneous billets while serving in Guam. He was Deputy OP-02, 1983-85, and from 1985 to 1988 was Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Undersea Warfare (OP-02). His final tour of active duty, as a four-star admiral, was from 1988 to 1996 as Director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion, serving both the Navy and the Department of Energy.
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Dennison, Robert Lee, Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 11 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from November 1972 through July 1973. The volume contains 481 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1975 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

Admiral Dennison's memoir is an especially valuable one, because of his close contacts with prominent individuals, notably service from 1948 through 1953 as naval aide to President Harry Truman. Early in his career, Dennison was a submarine officer and acquired postgraduate education, including a doctorate in engineering. He had contact with General MacArthur while on the staff of Admiral Thomas Hart at the outbreak of World War II in the Far East, later served in the Aleutians campaign and with JCS in Washington. Postwar he commanded the battleship Missouri. In the 1950s, Dennison was in OpNav and various fleet commands; capped career with 1960-1963 tour as CinCLantFlt/CinCLant/SACLant during Bay of Pigs invasion and Cuban Missile Crisis.
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Doolittle, James H., General, U.S. Air Force (Ret.)

Based on one interview conducted by Paul Ryan in February 1983. The volume contains 53 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1987 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

General Doolittle describes in detail the background and preparation for the air attack he led on Tokyo in April 1942, the famous Doolittle Raid. Among aspects he covers are mechanical difficulties, crew training, and the personalities he dealt with in bringing off this daring attack.
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Dornin, Captain, Robert E., U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on a narrative dictated by Captain Dornin in May 1982. The volume contains 19 pages of transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1987 by the U.S. Naval Institute; Captain Dornin has placed no restrictions on its use.

In this short volume, Captain Dornin, a highly successful World War II submarine skipper with nine successive war patrols, discusses his wartime service as aide to Chief of Naval Operations Ernest J. King. Among the topics he covers regarding Admiral King are a meeting with General De Gaulle, a hair-raising tour of Allied holdings in the Central Pacific before they were totally secured, and the admiral's attitude toward the use of the atomic bomb to end the war.
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Duncan, Charles K., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on six interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from August 1973 through July 1974. The volume contains 567 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1978 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral Duncan was XO of the Hutchins in 1942 in combat action in the Aleutians and South Pacific, then CO of the Wilson taking part in action in the South and Central Pacific. After World War II, he served as: XO of the Wisconsin (BB-64) and CO of the Chilton (APA-38); Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations CinCPac; Commander Amphibious Group One and later Commander Amphibious Training Command, Pacific Fleet. Discussions cover various naval topics: neutrality patrol in the Atlantic; transfer of fifty destroyers to the Royal Navy; planning for CinCLant and newly established SACLant command; amphibious warfare in its early stages and later developments; naval education; and the Navy Reservists.

Volume II

Based on seven interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from August 1974 through May 1975. The volume contains 699 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1981 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This volume gives detailed coverage of the admiral's tours of duty as Assistant Chief of the Bureau of Naval Personnel (1962-1964) and as Chief of the Bureau (1968-1970). This position includes a notable account of the admiral's years as liaison of BuPers with Rickover and the nuclear program of the Navy. Included in the volume is coverage of several large sea commands that span a significant period in history: Atlantic Fleet Cruiser-Destroyer Force (1964-65); Atlantic Fleet Amphibious Force (1965-67); the Second Fleet (1967-68).

Volume III

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from June 1975 through April 1976. The volume contains 395 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1983 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

In this volume, Admiral Duncan provides a wealth of detail on his service as Chief of Naval Personnel from 1968 through 1970 and as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic from 1970 until his retirement in 1972. In discussing both tours, he provides explanations of what the jobs entail and illustrates with examples from his own tenure. As chief of BuPers, he managed the Navy's manpower, justified programs before Congress, and dealt with budgetary considerations. Included was the requirement to reduce sharply the manpower allocations to meet budget requirements in 1969-1970. Serving as SACLant was one of three jobs the admiral held simultaneously, and he tells in this volume of the NATO billet. He worked with both high-ranking civilians and military officers in other countries, was involved in planning, and in the conduct of NATO exercises.

Volume IV

Based on two interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in November 1976 and January 1978. The volume contains 263 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1983 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This concluding volume covers Admiral Duncan's duties in two of the three "hats" he wore from 1970 through 1972. In Volume III, he told of his NATO hat. At the same time, he had the U.S. joint-service title of Commander in Chief Atlantic and the U.S. Navy billet as Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet. The admiral explains the differing concerns that went with each job and makes a case for having them held by two different admirals, as is done in the Pacific. As in the previous volume, he explains what the jobs entailed and illustrated through his experiences from his own service. This volume concludes with a detailed recounting of Admiral Duncan's involvement with Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, who was Chief of Naval Operations during Duncan's final years on active duty. The relationship began in BuPers when Zumwalt was a lieutenant commander, ten years junior to Duncan, and concluded when Zumwalt was Duncan's senior.
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Dunn, Robert F., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on seven interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from March 1990 to February 1996. The volume contains 600 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 2008 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee placed no restrictions on its use.

A native of Chicago, Dunn was captivated by aviation when he took his first airplane ride at age ten. After a year at Northwestern University in Illinois, he was appointed to the Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1951. His initial commissioned service, which included Korean War duty, was in the escort destroyer Nicholas (DDE-449). That was followed by flight training, during which he earned his aviator's wings in 1953. In the ensuing years he flew the AD Skyraider in Attack Squadron 95 (VA-95), Fighter Squadron 194 (VF-194), and Attack Squadron 196. Dunn was a flight instructor at Pensacola, Florida, from 1956 to 1960, then served as flag lieutenant to the colorful Rear Admiral Joseph "Jumping Joe" Clifton. After aviation safety school at the University of Southern California, Dunn flew the A4D/A-4 Skyhawk in the RAG squadron VA/44 and in the fleet in Attack Squadron 36. Subsequent shore tours were as a student at the Naval Postgraduate School and as the Bureau of Naval Weapons resident representative at the Aerojet-General Corporation. In 1966-67, as a commander, Dunn flew the A-4 in bombing runs against North Vietnam while serving as executive officer and then commanding officer of Attack Squadron 146 (VA-146). Subsequently he was a student at the Joint Services Staff College, Latimer, England, and had shore duty in the Bureau of Naval Personnel. In 1970-71 Dunn had a short tour as Commander Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7). He moved from there to the Sixth Fleet staff and served under Vice Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, Jr., and Vice Admiral Gerald E. Miller. His ship commands were the amphibious command ship Mount Whitney (LCC-20) and the aircraft carrier Saratoga (CV-60). After promotion to flag rank in the mid-1970s, Dunn was Commander Naval Safety Center, a member of the staff of Commander Naval Air Force Atlantic Fleet, Commander Carrier Group Eight, Commander Naval Military Personnel Command, and Chief of Naval Reserve. His active service concluded with two tours as a three-star admiral: 1983 to 1986 as Commander Naval Air Force Atlantic Fleet and 1987-89 as Deputy CNO (Air Warfare). In 1988-89 was honored as the Navy's "Gray Eagle," active aviator with the earliest designation. After retirement he worked for a time for the U.S. Naval Institute, which he had previously served as a board member.
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Dyer, George C., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 15 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from April 1969 through May 1971. The volume contains 547 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1973 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

In the years before and during World War II, Dyer acquired an intimate view of high-level command through his service on the staffs of Admiral James O. Richardson, Ernest J. King, and Richard L. Conolly. And early submariner, Dyer also served in a number of surface ships, including the battleship Arizona (BB-39), heavy cruiser Indianapolis (CA-35) (with Captain Thomas Kinkaid in command), and light cruiser Astoria (which Dyer commanded). As a flag officer, he commanded Cruiser Division 10; United Nations Blockade and Escort Force (Task Force 95) during the Korean War; Training Command Pacific Fleet, and the Eleventh Naval District. Dyer is the author of Naval Logistics and coauthor of Admiral James O. Richardson's memoir, On the Treadmill to Pearl Harbor.
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Dyer, Thomas H., Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in August 1983 and September 1983. The volume contains 355 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1986 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This is the memoir of one of the most respected codebreakers of World War II. After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1924, Dyer served in the battleship New Mexico (BB-40). During this duty his talent at puzzle-solving came to the attention of communications experts. He was stationed in Pearl Harbor from 1936 to 1945 as head of the Navy's cryptanalytic unit. In an engaging style, Dyer discusses the successes of the unit, including their ability to provide intelligence to the fleet prior to the Battle of Midway. Alas, the communications intelligence community was divided by a good many jealousies, which Dyer discusses candidly, including the relegation of respected analyst Joseph Rochefort to jobs which did not take advantage of his talents. Captain Dyer was one of the first to use an IBM tabulator in his work, and has been called the "father of machine cryptanalysis." After the war he worked at the National Security Agency until his retirement in 1955. Dyer's memoir is particularly valuable for its behind-the-scenes look at the work of a group of men who were unsung heroes of the Pacific War but were long denied appropriate credit because of security restrictions.
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Edwards, Frederick A., Sr., Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in February 1992 and March 1992. The volume contains 387 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1992 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

The majority of this memoir is devoted to Edwards's often detailed recollections of service as a naval engineer. Following graduation from the Naval Academy in 1923 he was a junior officer in battleships and the four-stack destroyer Henshaw (DD-278). He did postgraduate study in naval engineering, then was in the commissioning crews of the cruiser Augusta (CA-31) and destroyer Mahan(DD-364) and taught at the academy. In 1937 he relieved Hyman Rickover as assistant engineer in the battleship New Mexico (BB-40). After duty at Puget Sound Navy Yard, he was the first chief engineer of the battleship North Carolina (BB-55), then spent virtually all of World War II on the destroyer-destroyer escort desk in the Bureau of Ships. In the late 1940s Edwards was on the Atlantic Fleet staff under Marc Mitscher and William Blandy. He later served in the New York Navy Yard, then wound up his career in BuShips before retiring in 1954. In 1953, Hyman Rickover, rather than Edwards, was selected as an EDO rear admiral.
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Eller, Ernest M., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on five interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from November 1972 through July 1974. The volume contains 375 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1986 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

In the first of three planned volumes by a former Director of Naval History, Admiral Eller discusses his boyhood, midshipman years leading to graduation from the Naval Academy in 1925, duty in the battleships Utah (BB-31) and Texas (BB-35), and the submarine S-33 (SS-138). In the 1930s, he served two tours on the faculty of the Naval Academy, where he made the study of leadership a project. A characteristic of this volume is the admiral's ability to place events in the narrative into the broader context of history. For instance, in his discussion of duty with the U.S. Asiatic Fleet, he provides detailed descriptions of various places he visited while on leave in the Far East. In telling of his Utah service, he discusses the ship's role in enhancing fleet antiaircraft gunnery as World War II approached.

Volume II

Based on seven interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from December 1974 through August 1978. The volume contains 456 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1990 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

The focus of nearly all of this second volume of Admiral Eller's oral history is World War II. He began with a tour of duty as an observer with the Royal Navy, including service on board the Hood and Prince of Wales before they fought the German Bismarck. When hostilities began for the United States he was gunnery officer of the aircraft carrier Saratoga (CV-3) and was on board when she was torpedoed. In the spring of 1942 he reported to the Pacific Fleet staff of Admiral Chester and served there throughout much of the rest of the war, working mostly in the gunnery section. He was both eyewitness and participant in a great deal of the planning and execution of the South Pacific and Central Pacific campaigns. Besides operating with Admiral Nimitz in Hawaii he made several trips to the forward area to see battle conditions firsthand. At war's end he commanded the attack transport Clay (APA-39). In the postwar period he had public information duty in San Francisco and then in the Navy Department in Washington.
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Engen, Vice Admiral Donald D., U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on nine interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from August 1994 to December 1994. The volume contains 553 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2004 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee placed no restrictions on its use.

After growing up in California in the 1920s and 1930s, Engen entered the Navy through the V-5 aviation cadet program and was designated a naval aviator in June 1942. In 1943-44 he flew an SB2C Helldiver in Bombing 19 (VB-19) and took part in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In 1944-45 he flew in Bombing-Fighting 19 (VBF-19). Shortly after World War II he worked briefly as a civilian test pilot for Consolidated Vultee and was a student at the University of California at Los Angeles. In the next few years, as a fighter pilot, he was in Fighting 212 (VF-212), Fighter Squadron 52 (VF-52), and Fighter Squadron 51 (VF-51). In the summer of 1950, during the Korean War, he was part of the U.S. Navy's first-ever jet sortie in combat. Other tours in the 1950s included General Line School at Monterey, California; Bureau of Aeronautics representative in Dallas; the Empire Test Pilots' School in Britain; and Air Development Squadron Three (VX-3). He served 1955-57 as executive officer of Fighter Squadron 21 (VF-21) and in 1957-59 at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River. In 1959-61 he was PCO and skipper of Fighter Squadron 21 (VF-21). Early 1960s duties included command of Carrier Air Group 11 and as operations officer in the aircraft carrier Coral Sea (CVA-43). In 1964-65 Engen commanded the ammunition shipMount Katmai (AE-16), was a student at the Naval War College in 1965-66, and in 1966-67 commanded the aircraft carrier America(CVA-66). In the late 1960s he completed his bachelor's degree at George Washington University, headed the Aviation Plans Branch of OpNav, and was selected for flag rank. He served 1969-71 in the Strategic Plans Division of OpNav, then commanded Carrier Division Four, 1971-73. From 1973 to 1976 he was Deputy Commander in Chief U.S. Naval Forces Europe (CinCUSNavEur) in London. During the latter part of 1976 he was Assistant DCNO (Plans and Policy) and from 1976 to 1978 was Deputy Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet. After Engen retired from active naval service in 1978, he was general manager of Piper Aircraft, Lakeland, Florida, and later worked with Ketron, Inc. On reentering government service in 1982 he was on the National Transportation Safety Board, and later served 1984-87 as Federal Aviation Administration Administrator. His post-retirement activities included flying and work at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum.
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Faulk, Captain, Roland W., U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in November 1974. The volume contains 465 pages of interview transcript plus an index and numerous appendices. The transcript is copyright 1990 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

In a career which was marked by a great deal of administrative work rather than parish duty, Faulk is probably best known for his spirited - and eventually successful - campaign against compulsory church attendance in the Navy. Among his varied duties were service in the battleship Idaho (BB-42) in the late 1930s, at the Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines as World War II approached, in the battleship Missouri (BB-63) at the end of the war and immediate postwar period, as chaplain at the Recruit Training Center, Bainbridge, Maryland, as fleet chaplain for the Pacific Fleet, and at the Eleventh Naval District. His recollections of service during World War II are important because of his observations concerning Rear Admiral Robert Workman, wartime Chief of Chaplains, and because of Faulk's role in recruiting chaplains through the V-12 program. He has much to say also on collateral duties of chaplains and on the Navy Relief Society.
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Felt, Harry D., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in March 1972. The volume contains 354 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1974 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

First volume covers career up to assignment as CinCPac in 1958. Served five years in battleships and destroyers. In 1929 was designated naval aviator and served with Scouting Squadron Three in the Lexington (CV-2). Was nearby when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Transferred to the Saratoga (CV-3) and as air group commander participated in first offensive action of the war at Guadalcanal. After a year in Moscow as a member of the U.S. Military Mission to the Soviet Union, returned to the Pacific in command of the Chenango and participated in the Okinawa campaign and occupation of Japan. After war served on CNO's staff; commanded the Franklin D. Roosevelt; was commander, Middle East Force in Persian Gulf; Carrier Division 15, Carrier Division Three, and the Sixth Fleet. Upon promotion to four stars, he was Vice Chief of Naval Operations.

Volume II

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in March 1972. The volume contains 286 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1974 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

Second volume covers Admiral Felt's recollections during the years 1958-1964 when he served as Commander in Chief, Pacific. Among the subjects discussed are: Chinese bombardment of Quemoy and Matsu; goodwill trips in the Far East; dealings with Military Assistance Groups; strategic location of troops in the Pacific; early involvement in Vietnam; establishment of joint strategic planning staff at SAC headquarters in Omaha; SEATO; political upheaval in Laos, 1959-1961; Taiwan Defense Command; relationship of U.S. and Nationalist Chinese in Taiwan; U.S. military assistance in the Philippines. Some personal notes pertaining to Admiral Felt's command in the Pacific and to developments in Vietnam are in the appendices.
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Foley, Francis D., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on six interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from December 1984 through June 1985. The volume contains 470 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1988 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral Foley, a navy junior, is an engaging storyteller, and his oral memoir benefits from this strength. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1932. After brief surface duty in the cruiser Detroit (CL-8), he entered flight training, earning his wings in 1936. Prior to World War II he served in scouting, observation, and patrol squadrons, participating in the search for Amelia Earhart in 1937. He was a flight instructor at the new Jacksonville Naval Air Station when the United States joined the war. In June 1942 he was assigned as air operations officer in the Hornet (CV-8), and recalls in great detail when he and other survivors were forced to abandon ship when this carrier was sunk that October. Other wartime duties included service on the staffs of Commander Task Force 65, Commander Air Solomons, and Commander Fleet Air South Pacific, and as head detailer of the officer flying section in OpNav. Volume I ends with his duties in the precommissioning crew of the Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42) in early 1945.

Volume II

Based on nine interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from June 1985 through October 1985. The volume contains 496 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1988 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral Foley continues with his duties in the Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42) in the mid-1940s. He served consecutively as navigator, air officer, and executive officer. From 1947-49 he served on the staff of the Chief of Naval Air Training. He was one of the Navy's early helicopter pilots, learning to fly them and commanding a helicopter squadron within a 1½-year period. He commanded theSalisbury Sound (AV-13) and the Shangri-La (CVA-38) in the mid-1950s, and Carrier Division One from 1960-61. He was Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, Plans and Policy at SHAPE headquarters and then Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Fleet Operations and Readiness). From 1967-71 he served as Commandant Third Naval District. His final tour was as the senior member of the U.N. Command Military Armistice Commission in Seoul, Korea. He retired in July 1972.
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Frankel, Samuel B., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on ten interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from August 1970 through April 1971. The volume contains 478 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1972 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

In early career served in the Trenton (CL-11), Augusta (CA-31), Chester (CA-27), and Chaumont (AP-5). Following this sea duty, he was Russian language student in Riga, Latvia, 1936-1938. He then served in the Ellet as gunnery officer and XO; was Assistant Naval Attaché, Moscow, and Assistant Naval Attaché for Air, Murmansk-Archangel - service in connection with Lend-Lease shipments to USSR, directing repairs to U.S. vessels, salvaging stranded and abandoned vessels, and supervising hospitalization and repatriation of survivors. Served on staff of CinCPac and officer in charge, Joint Intelligence Center Pacific Ocean Area; Assistant Chief of Staff, CinCPac; Deputy Director for Security, ONI; Deputy Director, Naval Intelligence; and Chief of Staff, DIA from 1961 until his retirement in 1964.
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Gallery, Daniel V., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from August 1970 through September 1974. The volume contains 212 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1976 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Designated naval aviator in 1927, he was CO at U.S. Navy Fleet Air Base in Iceland when World War II began. Then took command of the Guadalcanal and staged the first bombing and capture of an enemy naval vessel since 1815 - the capture of German submarineU-505 off Cape Blanco, French West Africa in 1944. Was CO of the Hancock (CV-19) during surrender ceremonies in Tokyo Bay; assistant CNO (Guided Missiles); Commander Carrier Division Six, 1951; and Commander Hunter-Killer Force in 1952. After a tour as Commander Naval Air Reserve Training Command, he assumed command of Caribbean Sea Frontier. While in Puerto Rico, organized "Admiral Dan's Pandemaniacs," a steel drum band that played at world fairs in Brussels and New York. Served briefly at BuPers before retirement in 1960.
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Gayler, Noel A. M., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on nine interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell between October 1983 and July 1984. The volume contains 345 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2012 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee placed no restrictions on its use.

Gayler grew up in a Navy family and thus was exposed to a variety of locales as a youth. He attended a West Point prep school in Hawaii before entering the Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1935. As a junior officer, he served in surface ships: the battleship Maryland (BB-46), 1935-38; destroyer Maury (DD-401), 1938-39; and the destroyer Craven (DD-382), 1939-40. He received flight training at Pensacola, Florida, in 1940, and then was in Fighting Squadron Three (VF-3) and Fighting Squadron Two (VF-2) from 1940 to 1942. He was one of the Navy's first fighter aces in World War II; his carrier, the Lexington (CV-2), was lost in the Battle of the Coral Sea. Subsequently, he served 1942-44 as a test pilot, commanded Fighter Squadron 12 (VF-12) in 1944-45, and from May to September 1945 was on the staff of Vice Admiral John S. McCain. Gayler served 1946-48 as executive officer of the Special Devices Center, Office of Research and Inventions, Fort Washington, New York, and as operations officer of the escort carrierBairoko (CVE-115), 1948-49. From 1949 to 1951 was in the Fighter Design Branch, Bureau of Aeronautics and from 1951 to 1954 commanded Air Development Squadron Three (VX-3). Tours in the mid-1950s included the Air Warfare Division, Military Requirements Branch, of OpNav; command of the seaplane tender Greenwich Bay (AVP-41); and as operations officer on the Pacific Fleet staff. From 1957 to 1959 he was aide to Secretary of the Navy Thomas S. Gates Jr., then commanded the aircraft carrier Ranger(CVA-61) in 1959-60. In 1960-62 he was U.S. Naval Attache in England; in 1962-63 commanded Carrier Division 20; and from 1963 to 1967 served as Assistant DCNO (Development). Gayler was Deputy Director of the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff (JSTPS) from 1967 to 1969 and from 1969 to 1972 was Director of the National Security Agency. His final active duty tour, 1972-76, was as Commander in Chief, Pacific, during the end of the Vietnam War. The oral history is noteworthy for Admiral Gayler's discussion of nuclear weapons. Early in his career he was involved in developing tactics for delivering such weapons; later he campaigned for the abolition of them.
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Gracey, James S., Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.)

Based on interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr.. The volume contains 745 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2004 by the U.S. Naval Institute.

Gracey's 41 years in uniform spanned the period from the end of World War II to the era of Ronald Reagan's presidency. In that time he learned about going to sea on board the square riggers Danmark and Eagle, and he later practiced his seagoing craft in the cutterBarataria and in command of the buoy tender Mariposa. The transcript includes descriptions of such Mariposa experiences as breaking ice in the Hudson River, racing pell-mell down Manhattan's East River, and colliding with a lighthouse.

It was, however, in billets ashore that he made his greatest contributions to the service. Part of his development included postgraduate education at the Harvard Business School, and he often applied lessons learned there to the benefit of the Coast Guard. Throughout his career he stressed the importance of communication and interpersonal relations.
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Gravely, Samuel L., Jr, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy. (Ret.)

Based on seven interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from June 1986 through January 2003. The volume contains 416 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2003 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This oral history is of particular significance because it contains the recollections of one of the early line officers commissioned by the U.S. Navy and later the Navy's first black commander, captain, rear admiral, and vice admiral. Gravely was commissioned in 1944 through the college V-12 program and served in World War II on board the patrol craft PC-1264. After a postwar stint of civilian life, he was recalled to active duty in 1949 as a recruiter and remained in active service until his retirement in 1980. He had Korean War service in the battleship Iowa (BB-61). Later tours of duty in the 1950s included the heavy cruiser Toledo (CA-133), staff of the Third Naval District, and the attack cargo ship Seminole (AKA-104). In the 1960s he was executive officer and acting commanding officer of the destroyer Theodore E. Chandler (DD-717), commanded the radar picket destroyer escort Falgout (DER-324), helped integrate the Naval War College, served in the Defense Communications Agency in the Pentagon, commanded the destroyer Taussig (DD-746), and was coordinator of the Navy's satellite communications program. While in command of the guided missile frigate Jouett (DLG-29), he was selected for flag rank in 1971. Both the Taussig and Jouett had Vietnam War service during his time as skipper. His flag commands included Naval Communications Command, Cruiser-Destroyer Group Two, the Eleventh Naval District, Third Fleet, and the Defense Communications Agency. When he became Commander Third Fleet in 1976 he was promoted to vice admiral, another first for an African American. Admiral Gravely's post-Navy activities included work with the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association.
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Griffin, Charles D., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on nine interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from January 1970 through July 1970. The volume contains 458 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1973 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Covers his early career up to his command of the Seventh Fleet. Was designated naval aviator in 1930 and served as scouting pilot in the Chester, then Scouting Squadron Six in the Enterprise (CV-6). In 1949 was Commander Carrier Group Nine aboard the Essex, participating in attacks on Marcus Island, Wake Island, Gilbert islands, and Kwajalein. In 1945 reported to Washington to be a member of Joint War Plans Committee of JCS - planning operations in the Pacific. Later duty included: CO of the Croatan; Ops officer,Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42); Assistant Chief of Staff, CinC Atlantic Fleet; Plans Officer, Commander Air Force U.S. PacFlt; CO,Oriskany; and Commander Carrier Division Four.

Based on eight interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from November 1970 through January 1972. The volume contains 335 pages of interview transcript plus an index and numerous appendices. The transcript is copyright 1975 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Covers his Seventh Fleet command, his duty as Deputy CNO for Fleet Operations and Readiness, his CinCUSNavEur command, and his CinCSouth (NATO) command. Discussions cover trips to Vietnam, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaya, Philippines, Taiwan, and Okinawa; McNamara and the "Whiz Kids;" defending the Navy's construction budget; Operation Deep Freeze; Cuban crisis; first round-the-world cruise of nuclear-powered task force; early 1960s buildup of Soviet naval forces in the Mediterranean; visits to NATO countries. Appendices contain records and notes of visits to Turkey, Iran, Belgium, and Spain.
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Hamilton Thomas J., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen in April 1978. The volume contains 124 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1983 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This memoir concentrates on the two major aspects of Admiral Hamilton's career - in athletics and in naval aviation. He played for the Naval Academy's national championship football team in 1926 and was later coach and athletic director for the Academy. After retirement he was athletic director for the University of Pittsburgh and commissioner of the Pacific Eight Conference. As an aviator, he flew several types of aircraft: torpedo, scout, patrol, and transport. During World War II, he was air officer and executive officer of the famous carrier Enterprise and then commanded the escort carrier Savo Island at war's end. At the beginning of the war, he combined his two interests while heading the Navy's pre-flight training program, which placed heavy emphasis on athletics.
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Harralson, Richard A., Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on three interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in May 1997. The volume contains 367 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2000 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

As he grew up in California, Harralson developed a great love for radio. Following his enlistment in the Navy in 1937, he attended boot camp and then radio school. Early assignments included the aircraft carrier Saratoga (CV-3) and the flag allowance of Commander Aircraft Battle Force (RADM Ernest J. King) on board the Lexington (CV-2). In 1940-41 he served as a radioman in the Asiatic Fleet flag allowance on board the Augusta (CA-31) and later the Houston (CA-30). In 1941 he moved ashore to the naval radio station at Cavite in the Philippines. He was captured on Corregidor in the spring of 1942, transferred to Japan, and imprisoned for the rest of World War II. After release he went to electronics technician school, later was commissioned as an ensign in 1946. In the late 1940s he was radio officer at the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Naval Base and then attended electronics maintenance school at Great Lakes, Illinois. During the Korean War he served in the escort carrier Sicily (CVE-118) under the command of Captain John S. Thach. Later assignments in the 1950s included instructor duty at the electronics maintenance school at Great Lakes, as officer in charge of a Black Sea listening post in Turkey, communication officer in the missile test ship Mississippi (EAG-128), and electronics maintenance at the combat information center school at Glynco, Georgia. He retired from active duty in 1957 and subsequently worked in California for Aerojet.
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Hawkins, Arthur R., Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in July 1983. The volume contains 100 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1996 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After enlisting in the Naval Reserve in April 1942, Hawkins went through cadet training in Texas prior to being designated a naval aviator and commissioned in January 1943. During World War II, as a fighter pilot in VF-31, he flew in combat from the light carriersCabot (CVL-28) and Belleau Wood (CVL-24). In all, he shot down 14 Japanese aircraft. He became a regular Navy officer in 1946, subsequently serving as a floatplane pilot in the cruiser Portsmouth (CL-102). He had two tours with the Blue Angels flight demonstration team, sandwiched around Korean War duty in Fighter Squadron 101, which operated from the carrier Princeton (CV-37). As skipper of the Blue Angels in 1953 he made the first through-the-canopy ejection from a jet aircraft, an F9F-6 Cougar. Subsequently, interspersed with tours of shore duty, Captain Hawkins commanded Attack Squadron 46, served as air officer on board the Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42), commanded Air Group One, and the oiler Caloosahatchee (AO-98). He became a programming specialist during the McNamara years in the Pentagon, and he had a satisfying tour as commanding officer of the U.S. Naval Air Station, Atsugi, Japan. He retired in June 1973.
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Hayward, Thomas B., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell. The volume contains 506 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2009 by the U.S. Naval Institute

From the time of his youth in Southern California, Admiral Hayward has maintained a fascination with aviation. As he was growing up, he made model airplanes, sneaked into cockpits to pretend he was flying, saved money earned from chores to go up for rides, and attended an aviation high school. While still a young man, he helped build airplanes in a Lockheed plant and joined the Naval Reserve V-5 program in World War II with the goal of becoming a naval aviator. He took a temporary hiatus to attend the Naval Academy and, after graduating, served initially in an aircraft carrier before returning to flight training. As a young officer, he flew the Navy's hottest propeller-driven fighter, the F8F Bearcat, and then was among the earliest to fly jets in combat when he had two tours of duty in the Korean War. As his career advanced even further, he ascended the aviation pyramid to become a test pilot and was even chosen as one of the nation's first astronauts.

Fate often has a way of intervening in lives, and so it did in Hayward's. Because the Navy dominated the initial group of astronauts, a few were dropped out, Hayward among them. At that point, as the space age dawned, he opted to stay on the regular Navy career path of alternating sea and shore tours. As a result, his path led him in the highest office in the uniformed Navy - that of Chief of Naval Operations. In one sense, the astronauts were participants in the long-running Cold War against the Soviet Union. Hayard's service was along the more traditional path, for he was indeed a warrior when the conflict turned hot.

During the action in Korea he flew dozens of missions in the cold of Korean winters and in one instance had to make a crash landing. Since North Korea offered little in the way of fighter opposition, Hayward and his squadron mates often used their F9F panthers as bombers. One war later, in Vietnam, he again demonstrated a desire to be where the action was. As an air wing commander, he led his pilots in attack after attack. He returned to Vietnam again as skipper of a fleet stores ship and still later as commanding officer of the attack aircraft carrier America. In between, he flew the service's newest jet aircraft to test their limits of performance and determine their suitability to carry out the Navy's missions.

Along with the action-oriented portions of his career, Hayward demonstrated competence in less-exciting but still necessary administrative billets. His first tour in Washington made him administrative aide to the Secretary of the Navy and gave him a firsthand view of Washington bureaucracy. It also left him with a great distaste for the methods of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and his coterie of systems analysts. Later, he ran the Office of Program Appraisal for the Secretary of the Navy and still later was the Navy's chief budget officer as Director of Program Planning. It was a fatiguing job, both physically and mentally, so he welcomed the chance to go back to sea.

As Commander Seventh Fleet, he oversaw the transition from the Vietnam War era to the uneasy peace of the continuing Cold War. That meant updating war plans for possible conflict against the Soviet Union. He continued that updating on a broader scale during a tour as Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet. There, he and his staff developed the Sea Strike strategy designed as an offensive means of taking the fight to the Soviets should hot war come.

Admiral Hayward's hope was that he could continue in the Pacific Fleet job and then fleet up to become Commander in Chief Pacific, a billet with both military and diplomatic ramifications across a broad area of the world. Fate again stepped in, and he reluctantly agreed to become Chief of Naval Operations. As the head of his service, Hayward made an impact in a number of areas, including helping to mature Sea Strike into what became heralded as the U.S. Maritime Strategy. As head of his service, he faced continual battles of the budget; standardized Navy uniforms; helped return to traditional leadership practices after the changes instituted by Admiral Elmo Zumwalt early in the 1970s; participated in the planning for an attempt to rescue hostages held in Iran; and fought for more support for the Navy at a time when budget woes dramatically reduced its readiness to operate and fight. In the area where he made perhaps his most lasting contribution to the culture of the service, Admiral Hayward declared war on drug use in the Navy. His policy of zero tolerance dramatically changed the ethic; where peer pressure had previously encouraged the use of drugs, now the peer pressure was turned on its head.
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Hedding, Truman J., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on three interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen from February 1971 through May 1971. The volume contains 216 pages of interview transcript. The transcript is copyright 1995 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use. This is a revised version of the original, which was issued in 1972. The new version has been completely retyped, annotated with footnotes, and given a detailed index.

Served in the Maryland after USNA graduation, and in 1926 was designated naval aviator. He then received his MS degree from MIT in 1931; served in the Saratoga; was in Bureau of Aeronautics in Washington; commanded Fighting Squadron 2-B based in theLexington (CV-2) ; was air officer and XO in the Essex (CV-9). In 1943 became Chief of Staff, Commander Carrier Division Three, participating in raids on the Gilberts, Kwajalein, Marianas, Truk, and Palau. Then was CO of the Valley Forge (CV-45); was on the Joint Staff of JCS; Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, CinCPac; Commander Formosa Patrol Force in 1953; Department Director, Joint Staff Office, JCS; Commander Carrier Division Three in 1955; and Bureau of Aeronautics General Representative, Western District, until his retirement in 1959.
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Hooper, Edwin B., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on nine interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from June 1970 through April 1978. The volume contains 508 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1978 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After graduated from the Naval Academy in 1931, served for seven years in the Pensacola (CA-24) and Cushing (DD-376); then attended MIT and received MA in electrical engineering. In 1942 was gunnery officer in the Washington, participating in the Solomons and Gilbert campaigns, then on staff of Commander, Service Force, Pacific. In 1947 served with Atomic Energy Commission, playing a key role in planning Eniwetok tests. In 1950, during tour of duty with Bureau of Ordnance & AEC, initiated development of first nuclear anti-submarine weapon and later as Assistant Chief of BuOrd was involved with development of ASROC and ASW torpedoes. In 1959 was first director of Institute of Naval Studies at Naval War College. Was Commander Amphibious Group, Western Pacific which landed Marines in Thailand during Laos crisis in 1962. Commanded Service Force, Pacific Fleet, providing logistic support in early stages of buildup in Vietnam. Was Director of Naval Historical Center from retirement until 1976.
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Hustvedt, Olaf M., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on ten interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from November 1973 through June 1974. The volume contains 297 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1975 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After graduation from the USNA in 1909, he served in the armored cruiser West Virginia (ACR-5), cruising from the West Coast to many ports in the Orient. Following studies at George Washington University, he received a Master of Science degree in 1914. He then joined the Utah, and in 1916 he was transferred to duty as aide on the staff of Commander Battleship Division Six, Atlantic Fleet. This division operated with British Grand Fleet during World War I. Served as gunnery officer in the Oklahoma (BB-37) until 1919; after that was chief of the experimental section, BuOrd; was CO of the Burns (DD-171), and in 1927 was gunnery officer of the Colorado(BB-45). Later served in the California (BB-44), Louisville (CA-28), Detroit (CL-8), Pennsylvania (BB-38), and was the first CO of the battleship North Carolina (BB-55). Was commander of a battleship division in Pacific, in Truk Island area and vicinity of Saipan, Tinian and Guam islands. Served as member of General Board until retirement in 1946.
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Hyland, John J., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in March 1972 and one interview conducted by Paul Stillwell in May 1984. The volume contains 354 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1989 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Hyland was designated a naval aviator three years after his graduation with the Naval Academy class of 1934. He was with Patrol Squadron 102 at the outbreak of World War II, and participated in the defense of the Philippines, engagements in the Netherlands East Indies, and in the final retreat to Australia. From 1942-44 he was the assistant operations officer at the Naval Air Station, Anacostia, D.C., and in this position served as the private pilot to CNO Admiral Ernest J. King. He finished out the war as Commander Air Group Ten. He had two tours at the Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River, first as assistant director of flight test (1946-49), then as director of the tactical test division (1951-53). During a 1948 flight demonstration before a crowd of dignitaries, his plane collided with an osprey and he was forced to bail out. He commanded the Saratoga (CVA-60) in 1958-59 and Carrier Division Four in 1962-63.

Volume II

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in May and June 1984. The volume contains 263 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1989 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

In this concluding volume Hyland recalls his tours as Commander Seventh Fleet from 1965-67 and Commander in Chief U.S. Pacific Fleet from 1967-70, both during the peak intensity of the Vietnam War. Among many topics covered are the Market Time Operation, conduct of the air war in North Vietnam, control of the war from Washington, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt and his Z-grams, Admiral Hyman Rickover, and Secretary of the Navy John Chafee. Of special interest is his involvement in the 1968 Pueblo (AGER-2) incident. A letter he wrote to the Secretary of the Navy endorsing the outcome of the court of inquiry into the capture of this ship is included as an appendix.
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Irvin, William D., Rear Admiral U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 11 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from March 1978 through October 1978. The volume contains 673 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1980 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After Naval Academy graduation in 1927, served in Atlantic and Asiatic fleets. In 1932 attended submarine school and then reported to S-48, in which Lieutenant H.G. Rickover was XO. Served in various submarines in late 1930s and early 1940s; commanded USSNautilus (SS-186) during three war patrols in middle of World War II. She provided photo reconnaissance of beaches of Tarawa, Apamama, and Makin before invasions. Later commanded Submarine Squadron Two; was CO, Service School Command at Great Lakes; attended Naval War College; served on SubPac staff; liaison between CinCNELM and Commanding General U.S. Forces Austria. Commanded command ships Adirondack and Northampton. While Commander Service Force Pacific Fleet he initiated automatic data processing and was involved in planning for Naval Support Activity Danang. From 1965 to 1967, commanded Pacific Area of Military Sea Transportation Service.
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Jackson, Andrew McBurney, Jr., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on ten interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from November 1971 through April 1972. The volume contains 385 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1978 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Designated naval aviator in 1932, he was attached to the Milwaukee (CL-5) and Lexington (CV-2) and Patrol Squadron One at Pearl Harbor. In 1939 he served in the Enterprise and in 1941 became project officer in design of the Grumman F6F Hellcat at Bureau of Aeronautics. During World War II he was with Fighter Squadron Eight, participating in operations at Palau, Woleai, Hollandia, and Truk; then as operations officer with Carrier Division Six was involved in strikes against Saigon, Hong Kong, Formosa, Kyushu, Shikoku, Luzon, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. He subsequently served at Bureau of Aeronautics; as CO of the Timbalier (AVP-54); with Atomic Energy Commission; with Task Force 77 during operations in the Korean area; was CO of the Ticonderoga (CV-14). In 1960 he became Commander Middle East Force; then in 1964 Assistant CNO (Plans and Policy). In 1967 became Naval Representative and Vice Chairman (later Chairman) of U.S. Delegation to UN Military Staff Committee, retiring in 1969.
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Jackson, Harry, Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on three interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in September 1998. The volume contains 283 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 2002 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After enlisting in the Naval Reserve in 1935 and being educated at the University of Michigan, Jackson went on active duty with the Navy in 1941 as an engineering duty officer. During World War II he was at the Boston Navy Yard, did ship design work in the Bureau of Ships, and was assigned to ABSD-3, a floating dry dock in the Western Pacific. After involvement in the 1946 tests of nuclear weapons at Bikini Atoll, he was one of the earliest officers in the Navy's nuclear power program. While at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in the 1950s and 1960s he contributed to submarine designs, particularly the teardrop hull of the USS Albacore (SS-218), the first Polaris submarines, and the Thresher class. He later served at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and was supervisor of shipbuilding in Groton, Connecticut. In the late 1960s he was a technical adviser in the examination of the remains of the lost submarine Scorpion and in the 1970s rode the Glomar Explorer in Project Jennifer, the attempt to raise a lost Soviet submarine.
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Jackson, Wilma Leona, Captain, Nurse Corps, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on a single interview conducted by Paul Stillwell in September 1986. The volume contains 113 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendix. The transcript is copyright 1999 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This was originally intended as a full-length oral memoir, but a decline in Captain Jackson's health prevented further sessions beyond the first one. Nonetheless, it provides valuable insights into the character and achievements of an individual who eventually reached the pinnacle of her profession as director of the Navy's Nurse Corps. After civilian nursing training in Ohio, Jackson entered the Navy in 1936 and had initial tours of duty at the naval hospitals in Philadelphia and Brooklyn. Her transcript discusses the relationship between nurses and other Navy health care providers, including physicians and enlisted pharmacist's mates. She provides a number of examples of the ways to treat patients and to ensure high standards in their care. In 1941 she was transferred to Guam, where she was captured by the Japanese when the island fell in December 1941. After a few months' imprisonment in Japan, she was repatriated as part of a diplomatic exchange of internees in 1942. She later had the satisfaction of returning to Guam with the invading American forces in 1944.
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James, Ralph K., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 13 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from January 1971 through May 1972. The volume contains 437 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1972 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After serving in the New York (BB-34) and Utah (BB-31), he received a master of science degree from MIT. Was assigned as Construction Corps officer at Bremerton, Washington, then served in the Whitney (AD-4) as construction officer. In 1942 was sent to French West Africa as BuShips representative at U.S. Military Mission, during which time he also served briefly on staff of Commander, U.S. Forces Europe at Algiers, and in January 1943 attended part of the Casablanca Conference. Later duty included: maintenance officer at Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides; staff of Commander Service Squadron Ten at Manus Island; officer in charge of ship parts control center, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; Repair and Building Superintendent at Mare Island; and Chief of Bureau of Ships and Coordinator of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair for the Department of Defense.
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Johnson, Felix L., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from August 1971 through February 1972. The volume contains 278 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1974 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use. Following graduation in 1919, he served in the battleship Delaware (BB-28) during Haitian Campaign. Joined thePenguin (AM-33) in 1923 when she ordered on Yangtze Patrol. In 1928 was ordered to Asiatic Station and while en route to China served as navigator of schooner yacht Atlantic in the Spanish ocean race, New York to Santander. In 1929 served as aide and flag lieutenant to CinC U.S. Asiatic Fleet. Following duty with CNO, reported in 1936 as member of Naval Mission to Brazil. During World War II was CO of the President Adams (APA-19) in South Pacific, landing troops at Cape Torokina, Bougainville, and Solomon Islands. In 1945 was CO of the Springfield (CL-66), providing escort protection for President Roosevelt to Yalta, then joining Fifth Fleet in Pacific campaign. He was Director of Naval Intelligence until his retirement in 1952.
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Johnson, Roy L., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on three interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in December 1980. The volume contains 350 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1982 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

Designated as naval aviator in 1932, he served in scouting squadrons in the Salt Lake City (CA-25), Enterprise (CV-6), and Yorktown(CV-5). In 1941 he was at the Bureau of Aeronautics when U.S. entered World War II - was transferred as Commander Carrier Air Group Two in the Hornet (CV-8). Later was CO of the Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) in the Korean area, then CO of the Forrestal (CV-59). He was Commander Seventh Fleet when the Gulf of Tonkin incident occurred and in 1965 became CinC U.S. Pacific Fleet until his retirement in 1967. Among topics covered are: training of night fighters; U.S. development of Cam Ranh Bay; study of seaplane as a weapons system; effectiveness of PBYs.
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Jones, Glyn, Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from October 1975 through October 1977. The volume contains 390 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1978 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

A good deal of the chaplain's career was spent with the U.S. Marines. From time to time he was involved in such controversial issues as compulsory chapel attendance, civil liberties, the rule of law in society, the draft, freedom of the press, and the position of the chaplain in the hierarchy of command. He was graduated from Andover Newton Theological Seminary in 1940 and joined the Navy in 1942. His duties included: Third Marine Regiment in Samoa, New Zealand, Guadalcanal, Truk, Bougainville; in the Los Angeles to the Orient, station chaplain at Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island; First Marine Division, FMF Pac in Korea; senior chaplain, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island; director, Marine Corps Educational Center at Quantico; staff of Chief, U.S. Naval Forces Europe; and Assistant for Administration, Office of the Chief of Chaplains.
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Jurika, Stephen, Jr., Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on 14 interviews conducted by Paul B. Ryan from October 1975 through April 1976. The volume contains 507 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1979 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Captain Jurika grew up in the Philippines and attended schools not only in the islands but in Japan and China. A large part of this volume is concerned with the Far East. He became a Navy pilot in 1936 and spent the next two years in torpedo squadrons attached to the Saratoga (CV-3). In 1939 he commenced a two-year tour as assistant naval attaché for air in Tokyo, where his command of Japanese and other Far Eastern languages aided his intelligence gathering for the Office of Naval Intelligence prior to World War II. In 1941 he put the Hornet CV-8) in commission and was intelligence and operations officer when she carried Jimmy Doolittle's bombers for the famous Tokyo Raid. Volume I concludes with a description of the Battle of Midway.

Volume II

Based on 13 interviews conducted by Paul B. Ryan from April 1976 through July 1976. The volume contains 533 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1979 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Volume II continues with service in the Hornet in the occupation of Guadalcanal until her demise at Santa Cruz. Captain Jurika then became gunnery officer on staff of Commander Fleet Air Noumea. Dodging Japanese and crocodiles, he led a three-man scouting party to pick a landing field site in Munda, New Georgia. In 1945 he became navigator in the carrier Franklin (CV-13), and at war's end was operations officer on staff of Carrier Division One. In 1946 he was with OpNav and then returned to the Far East as assistant naval attaché for air in Melbourne, Australia. Duties that followed were: XO at Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas; 1951 returned to the Pacific on staff of Carrier Division One; liaison with U.S. Air Force in Japan; special missions in Pacific Fleet for Admirals Radford and Stump; Commander Fleet Air Wing 14; and in 1959, before his retirement, he was assigned to Stanford University as both teacher and student, getting his doctorate.
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Kaine, Francis R., Captain, U.S. Naval Reserve (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen in November 1981. The volume contains 317 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendix. The transcript is copyright 1990 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

Few of the Naval Institute's oral history volumes are as specialized as this one. Kaine essentially made a career of service in the Navy's underwater demolition teams (UDTs) and training its sea-air-land (SEAL) teams. After commissioning through the V-7 program in 1942 he took bomb disposal training, then was in the first group trained by Draper Kauffman for underwater demolition. He and his team were assigned to the Seventh Amphibious Force for more than a dozen operations in the Pacific in World War II. After return to civilian life, he was recalled to active duty during the Korean War and subsequently served in several UDTs in the Atlantic, including command of two teams in the 1950s. After service on the staff of Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery, Commandant of the 10th Naval District in Puerto Rico, he was involved from 1964 until his retirement in 1970 in the training of UDTs and SEALs. His last duty was as Commander Naval Special Warfare Group Pacific.
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Karpeles, Leo M., MD (ex-Electricians Mate, Third Class, USN)

Based on one interview conducted by Paul Stillwell in May 1995. The volume contains 66 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1995 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

In 1941, Leo Karpeles graduated from the University of North Carolina with a bachelors degree in physics. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor he was attending the Carnegie Institute of Technology as a graduate student. Within a few weeks he had volunteered to work for the Navy and found himself in the Bureau of Ordnance working on degaussing ships. The bulk of the transcript describes this work as conducted by Karpeles, first at Washington, D.C, then at Boston, and finally at Pearl Harbor. After being drafted in 1945 and briefly attending electronics school, Karpeles requested sea duty and was assigned to USS Alabama (BB- 60) where he [had] service in the electrical division. After leaving the Navy in 1946, Karpeles attended Johns Hopkins University and briefly worked as a service engineer before entering the University of Washington School of Medicine in 1950.
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Kauffman, Draper L., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on six interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from May 1978 through May 1979. The volume contains 648 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1982 by the U.S. Naval Institute; permission must be obtained from Draper Kauffman, Jr., in order to quote from or cite portions of his father's transcript in published works.

After graduation from the Naval Academy in 1933, Kauffman was forced to resign because of poor eyesight. He was employed by the U.S. Lines Steamship Co. until 1940 when he joined the French Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Subsequently was a bomb and mine disposal officer in Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. Resigned to accept appointment in U.S. Naval Reserve and in 1946 was transferred to regular Navy. During World War II he set up a Bomb Disposal School, later set up a school in Ft. Pierce for training underwater demolition teams (UDTs). Commanded a unit of UDTs in Pacific, taking part in landings on Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. After war was aide to SecNav Gates and for SecNav Korth set up the Office of Program Appraisal.

Volume II

The volume contains 528 pages of transcript plus index. It includes three interviews with Admiral Kauffman conducted in August 1979 by John T. Mason, Jr.. Permission must be obtained from Draper Kauffman, Jr., in order to quote from or cite portions of his father's transcript in published works. The volume also includes memoirs from Admiral Kauffman's associates: Alejandro Melchor, Jr., interviewed by Mason in May 1980; Chase Untermeyer, interviewed by Mason in September 1980 and June 1981; Rear Admiral Horace Robertson, interviewed by Mason in August 1981; Captain George Hauge, interviewed by Paul Stillwell in July 1983; and Lieutenant Commander Bruce Wertz, interviewed by Stillwell in July 1983. There are no restrictions on the transcripts from Kauffman's associates. The volume is copyright 1983 by the U.S. Naval Institute.

Admiral Kauffman's thorough discussion of his years as superintendent of the Naval Academy in the mid-1960s covers everything from alumni pressure on the athletic program to the handling of radical faculty members to presidential orders to beef up minority enrollment. His enthusiasm for this duty is evident throughout as he tackled each new situation. Because of his untimely death before the final tours of his career could be recounted, this concluding volume is supplemented with the insightful reminiscences of those who knew and worked with him. Transitioning with Kauffman from the Academy to his next duty as Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Philippines, and then to Great Lakes where he was Commandant, Ninth Naval District until his retirement in 1973, was longtime writer and aide Bruce Wertz who shares his observations on his boss's work habits and handling of returning prisoners of war at Great Lakes. Philippine official Alejandro Melchor, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, discusses the admiral's rough road with Philippine-American relations. Legal officer Horace Robertson, supply officer George Hauge, and aide Chase Untermeyer recount Kauffman's involvement with rest and recreation depots in Asia during the winding down of the Vietnam War and with the investigation of the commandeering of the merchant vessel Columbia Eagle by her crew in 1970.
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Keith, R.T.S., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret)

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in January 1987. The volume contains 134 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1996 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

A 1928 graduate of the Naval Academy, Admiral Keith spent much of his active career in battleships and destroyers: Utah (BB-31),Arizona (BB-39), Overton (DD-239), and Aylwin (DD-355). He was the commanding officer of the destroyer Nicholas (DD-449) during combat in the Pacific in World War II. A substantial part of the memoir recounts his command of the battleship Missouri (BB-63) in 1954. He spent three tours on the staff of the Naval Academy, including duty as commandant of midshipmen in the mid-1950s. As a flag officer, he commanded the naval base at Subic Bay, the Pacific Fleet Cruiser-Destroyer Force, and the First Fleet.
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Kelso, Frank, Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 16 interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from October 2001 to May 2002. The volume contains 772 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2008 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee placed no restrictions on its use.

A native of Tennessee, Kelso entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1952 and graduated in the class of 1956. His first service as a commissioned officer was in the amphibious cargo ship Oglethorpe (AKA-100) from 1956 to 1958. During the first half of 1958 he was a student at Submarine School and then served 1958-59 as a junior officer in the diesel submarine Sabalo (SS-302). After completing his studies as a student in the Navy's Nuclear Power School he was held over to be an instructor in the school. He then had successive tours in the attack submarine Pollack (SSN-603), as engineer officer of the ballistic missile submarine Daniel Webster(SSBN-626), and as executive officer of the attack submarine Sculpin (SSN-590). On behalf of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, he ran the Nuclear Power School, 1968-71. In 1971 Kelso went through a training period in the Nuclear Reactors office prior to commanding his first submarine, the USS Finback (SSN-670), in 1972. In 1972-73 he served on the ComSubLant staff and from 1973 to 1975 commanded the submarine Bluefish (SSN-676), including a voyage to the North Pole. He served 1975-77 as executive assistant to Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, Jr., CinCLantFlt-CinCLant-SACLant, and commanded Submarine Squadron Seven, 1977-78. In 1978-80 he was submarine detailer in the Bureau of Naval Personnel. From 1980 to 1983 Kelso was assigned to Submarine Directorate, OP-21, in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations. From 1983 to 1985, as a rear admiral, he was director of the Secretary of the Navy's Office of Program Appraisal. In 1985-86, as a vice admiral, he commanded the Sixth Fleet during combat operations in the Mediterranean area. As a four-star admiral, he served as Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet, 1986-88 and from 1988 to 1990 was double-hatted as Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic and Commander in Chief Atlantic Command. Admiral Kelso was Chief of Naval Operation from 1990 to 1994 and from January to July 1993 was Acting Secretary of the Navy. During his tenure as CNO he presided over the reorganization of the OpNav staff in response to the Goldwater-Nichols Act, directed large-scale reductions in the size of the fleet at the end of the Cold War, provided resource support for the successful U.S. efforts in the 1990-91 Desert Shield/Desert Storm operations against Iraq, and dealt with the effects of the 1991 Tailhook scandal.
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Kenyon, A. Prentice, Naval personnel-Naval Training

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from November 1972 through March 1973. The volume contains 219 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1973 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Mr. Kenyon retired in 1973 after serving the Navy since 1941, first as an officer and later as a civil servant. In this memoir, he reviews the history of education and training in the Navy, the organization within the Navy, transition from old to the current systems, some problems encountered along the way, tools of teaching, educational incentives, some officers who have been influential in the educational programs, and the future outlook for Navy education and training.
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Kerr, Alex A., Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on seven interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from December 1983 through February 1984. The volume contains 588 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1984 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the transcript requires written permission from the interviewee (or his wife, upon his death) to quote or cite in published works.

The Australian-born Kerr went to great lengths to become an American citizen and to graduate from the Naval Academy, which he did in 1944. That same year he narrowly escaped death when his ship, the USS Honolulu (CL-48) was torpedoed at Leyte Gulf. He later served in submarines, the Sea Fox (SS-402) and Clamagore (SS-448) before a medical problem forced him to give up sea duty and become a Navy law specialist. He relates experiences from various billets in this capacity, including service in Naples and on the staff of Commander Submarine Force Pacific. In his work, Kerr displayed a considerable knack for finding imaginative solutions to difficult problems. Some of the most fascinating tales in this well-told oral memoir are from the period in the 1960s when he was special counsel to four different Secretaries of the Navy: John Connally, Fred Korth, Paul Nitze, and Paul Ignatius. Kerr provides an inside view on his work in connection with the Bay of Pigs operation, the Tonkin Gulf incident, the shooting of an individual known as "Ruben the Cuban," the controversy over flags of convenience shipping, and, most thoroughly, the TFX squabble of the early 1960s. Kerr also tells of his service on the staff of Commander Seventh Fleet at the beginning of the Vietnam War. In 1968, Kerr retired from the Navy to become a civilian counsel for General Electric. Following the death of his first wife, Kerr remarried and became a cruising sailor. The narrative concludes with a description of his leisurely cruising life.
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King, Cecil S., Jr., Chief Warrant Officer, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from July 1986 through October 1989. The volume contains 402 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1990 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

King is a delightful storyteller with a fine sense of humor and a knack for conveying the atmosphere of the time and place he is describing. He served in the Navy from 1934 until his retirement in 1957, spending approximately one-third as a white hat, one-third as a chief petty officer, and one-third as a warrant ship's clerk. He served in the heavy cruiser Portland (CA-33), NAS Coco Solo, destroyers Davis (DD-395) and Warrington (DD-383), and as a yeoman on Admiral Thomas Hart's Asiatic Fleet staff. As the fleet disintegrated in early 1941, King had several near brushes with death. Thereafter he served in a number of aircraft carriers, including the Hornet (CV-12), Princeton (CV-37), Midway (CVB-41), and Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42). Ashore he was assigned to the Commander Air Force Pacific Fleet, Chief of Naval Air Advanced Training, Chief of Naval Air Training, and in the front office of three successive CNOs: William Fechteler, Robert Carney, and Arleigh Burke. He had a post-retirement career in the Atomic Energy Commission.
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King, Jerome H., Vice Admiral U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in January 1998. The volume contains 449 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendix. The transcript is copyright 1999 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

In 1941 King graduated from Yale University and received his naval commission through the NROTC program. He is perhaps the first NROTC graduate to achieve three-star rank in the U.S. Navy. He spent most of World War II serving in two light cruisers, the Trenton(CL-11) and Mobile (CL-63). Later in the 1940s he was officer in charge of a school for gunner's mate training in Anacostia, D.C., executive officer of the destroyer Moale (DD-693), and attended postgraduate school to learn about nuclear weapons. In the 1950s served on the staff of the Surface Antisubmarine Development Detachment of the Operational Development Force, commanded the destroyer Bache (DDE-470), was the nuclear weapons requirements officer on the OpNav staff, and a student in at the Naval War College. While on the staff of Commander Carrier Division Six, he served under two future CNOs, George Anderson and Thomas Moorer. Later he commanded Destroyer Division 601, Nuclear Weapons Training Center, Atlantic, and the destroyer tenderYellowstone (AD-27). He was planning officer on the Seventh Fleet staff when the Vietnam War began in earnest in the mid-1960s. Later in that decade he was executive assistant to CNOs David McDonald and Thomas Moorer, Commander Destroyer Squadron One and Commander Antisubmarine Warfare Group One. In the latter capacity he presided in 1969 over the international inquiry into the collision between the Australian carrier Melbourne and U.S. destroyer Frank E. Evans (DD-754). Following duty in OpNav, in the spring of 1970 he succeeded Vice Admiral Elmo Zumwalt as Commander Naval Forces Vietnam. He had a difficult, frustrating tour as the war was winding down. He concluded his career in Washington as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Surface Warfare) and as J-3 on the Joint Staff. He retired from active duty in 1974. The oral history contains a detailed description of his battle against lung cancer in the 1990s. King passed away in 2008.
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Kretz, Charles H., Jr., Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

The interviews with Captain Kretz were conducted for the US naval Institute by Captain Paul B. Ryan, USN (Ret.).

The Asiatic Fleet, which for many years represented U.S. national interests in China, now exists only in memory. In that fleet of the pre-World War II years, there grew a breed of officers and enlisted men known as old China hands. Though officially part of the U.S. Navy, they necessarily developed a number of practices and ways of life which were distinctly different from those in the U.S. Fleet which operated off the coasts of the United States. In this memoir, one of the old China hands recalls what it was like to serve in the USS Panay and the USS Bulmer in the later 1930s, shortly before the U.S. entrance into World War II. From the vantage point of a then-junior officer, Captain Kretz was a firsthand observer of the Sino-Japanese War which started more than four years before the United States was brought into the conflict by the attack on Pearl Harbor. Combining that perspective with his recollections of the Chinese culture provides a fascinating memoir of a time now past.
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Lawrence, William P., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 22 interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell between September 1990 and March 1991. The volume contains 612 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2011 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee placed no restrictions on its use.

This memoir reveals a great deal about the character and personality of an individual who lived his life with a thoroughgoing sense of honor. As a midshipman he was a leader in devising the Naval Academy's honor concept. During his five and a half years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, he was stalwart in his resistance to his captors. His achievement has been honored by the naming of the guided missile destroyer William P. Lawrence (DDG-110). The oral history is a treasure trove of material on the Naval Academy, both during Lawrence's midshipman years and in his tenure as superintendent, during which the first women graduated. Throughout the volume, the values of his native Tennessee come through. Admiral Lawrence told his story with integrity and candor. After his graduation from Annapolis in 1951, Lawrence took flight training and became a member of Fighter Squadron 193 (VF-193), 1952-55, during pioneering work in night carrier operations by jets. Among his shipmates was future astronaut Alan Shepard. He was subsequently a test pilot for the F8U-3 Crusader III and, on the staff of Commander Carrier Division Six, served as flag lieutenant to future Chief of Naval Operations Thomas H. Moorer. After duty in 1960-61 in Fighter Squadron 101 (VF-101) to prepare for the fleet introduction of the F-4 Phantom II, Lawrence took a break from naval aviation to serve as navigator of the heavy cruiser Newport News (CA-148). While he was in Fighter Squadron 14 (VF-14), 1962-64, it transitioned from the F3H Demon to the F-4. He served 1964-66 as executive assistant to Commander in Chief Strike Command, Army General Paul D. Adams. Lawrence was XO and then CO of Fighter Squadron 143 (VF-143) from 1966 until he was shot down over North Vietnam in 1967, then was a POW until his release in March 1973. After being repatriated, he spent a year at the National War College, was selected for flag rank, and in 1974-75 commanded Light Attack Wing Pacific Fleet. From 1975 to 1978 he was in OP-05, the office of the DCNO (Air Warfare) in the Pentagon. From 1978 to 1981, as a vice admiral, Lawrence was superintendent of the Naval Academy. He commanded the U.S. Third Fleet, 1981-83, including running two multi-carrier exercises in the North Pacific. His final tour of active duty, 1983-85, was as Chief of Naval Personnel when John F. Lehman Jr. was Secretary of the Navy. Lawrence retired on disability because of a case of depression that lasted until his cure in 1989. The oral history discusses his illness openly. His post-retirement activities included writing, teaching, speaking, and serving as president of the Association of Naval Aviation.
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Layton, Edwin T., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen in May 1970. The volume contains 292 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1975 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

After 1924 graduation from the Naval Academy, Admiral Layton had shipboard duty before reporting to Tokyo for study of the Japanese language. In 1932 was assistant naval attaché in Peiping, China, then reported to Office of Naval Intelligence in Washington. He later served as Pacific Fleet Intelligence officer on several occasions, most notably throughout World War II; he helped predict the planned Japanese attack on Midway. He was director of the U.S. Naval Intelligence School; intelligence officer for Commander Naval Forces Far East during the initial stages of the Korean War; and Deputy Director of Intelligence, JCS. He provides candid reports of intelligence gathering before and after the Pearl Harbor attack and discusses the subsequent investigations about the surprise attack.
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Lee, Fitzhugh, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen in July 1970 and August 1970. The volume contains 308 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1972 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

Was designated naval aviator in 1929. Joined Fighting Squadron Five based in the Lexington (CV-2). Further duties were: War Plans Division of CNO and aide at the White House; Asiatic Fleet in the Heron (AM-19) and Augusta (CA-31); naval attaché for Air, Caracas, Venezuela. Air officer and later XO of the Essex (CV-9), which participated in action against Marcus Island, Wake, Rabaul, Tarawa, Kwajalein, and Truk. In 1944 was CO of the Manila Bay, involved in the invasions of Leyte, Mindoro, and Lingayen Gulf. In 1945 was Public Relations Officer for CinCPac, then Naval Aide to Hon. John Sullivan, remaining with him when he became SecNav. Was Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, CinCPac during first year of Korean War. In 1951 was CO of the Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42). After stateside duty, in 1955 he was Commander Fleet Air, WestPac. He served as Commandant of National War College from 1964 until his retirement in 1967.
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Lee, John W., Jr., Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in November 1992. The volume contains 416 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1994 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Commander Lee's transcript is notable because he was the first black officer to be commissioned in the regular Navy. He grew up in Indianapolis and attended college before enlisting in the Naval Reserve in 1944. He was commissioned in July 1945 through the V-12 program and served briefly in the fleet before returning to civilian life. He was later recalled to active duty and awarded a regular Navy commission in March 1947. Lee served in the carrier Kearsarge (CV-33) and was later in the heavy cruiser Toledo (CA-133) during the Inchon landing in the Korean War. After recruiting duty and postgraduate education, he served in the aircraft carrier Wright(CVL-49) and destroyer Cotten (DD-669). The oral history provides a fascinating description of Lee's duty as commanding officer of Oceanographic Detachment Two in 1960. His unit conducted ocean-bottom surveys in preparation for the first deployments by Polaris submarines. Lee later served as executive officer of the Aeolus (ARC-3) and on the NATO staff in Paris before retiring in 1966. He subsequently worked more than 20 years for the Naval Avionics Center in Indianapolis.
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Lee, Kent L., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from September 1987 through November 1987. The volume contains 351 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1990 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee must give permission for material from the oral history to be quoted or cited in a published work.

Coming from a rural background in South Carolina, Lee enlisted in the Navy in 1940 and became an aviation mechanic before entering pre-flight training. He became a naval aviator in 1943 and the following year joined the carrier Essex (CV-9), from which he flew first as a bomber pilot, then in an F6F fighter. In the postwar period, he returned to the attack role, flying SB2Cs and ADs. He completed his college education in the late 1940s, then served two combat tours in the Korean War. After postgraduate education in nuclear weapons effects, he had a tour in experimental squadron VX-3, then taught senior officers about nuclear weapons. He commanded VA-46, an A4D squadron, was on the staff of the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff in Omaha, and was air group commander in the USS Enterprise (CVAN-65). He was selected for the Navy's nuclear power program by Admiral Hyman Rickover and underwent training. He commanded the amphibious warfare ship Alamo (LSD-33) just as the United States was getting involved in the Vietnam War.

Volume II

Based on four interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from 1987 through November 1988. The volume contains 371 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendix. The transcript is copyright 1990 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee must give permission for material from the oral history to be quoted or cited in a published work.

In the mid-1960s Lee served in the Pentagon as executive assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research and Development). From 1967 to 1969 he was commanding officer of the nuclear-powered carrier Enterprise (CVAN-65). A considerable part of this volume is devoted to his command of that ship, including two fatiguing combat tours off Vietnam, the Pueblo (AGER-2) crisis, the demands of Admiral Rickover, and a visit from President Lyndon Johnson. Afterward he served as head of the Office of Program Appraisal for Secretary of the Navy John Chafee. As a three-star admiral, Lee was the top-ranking naval officer at the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff. The bulk of Lee's time as a flag officer was spent in the Naval Air Systems Command, first as assistant commander for maintenance and fleet support, finally as overall commander. In the latter job, as he explains, he had an instrumental role in the development of the F/A-18 Hornet. He retired in 1976. Lee's openness and candor throughout his oral history make it a particularly valuable one.
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Libby, Ruthven E., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen from February 1970 through June 1970. The volume contains 245 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1984 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral Libby finished third in the Naval Academy's class of 1922, even though he attaches no great importance to the achievement in his oral history. Indeed, he is often overly modest during the course of this memoir. He hits only the highlights of his years as a junior officer. He served in destroyers and got postgraduate education in ordnance. The bulk of the transcript deals with Admiral Libby's service during World War II and the years immediately thereafter. He began the war on the immediate staff of Admiral Ernest J. King and provides insights into the admiral's personality. He then commanded Destroyer Squadron One and Destroyer Squadron 56 in the Aleutians and Central Pacific campaigns before returning to Washington to serve on the Joint War Plans Committee. After the war he commanded the heavy cruiser Bremerton and served on the staffs of Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations. During the Korean War he commanded a division of heavy cruisers and then was on the team of U.S. negotiators which encountered a great deal of frustration in trying to deal with the North Koreans. During the mid-1950s he again served in OpNav and commanded the Atlantic Fleet Battleship-Cruiser Force. Prior to his retirement in 1960, he rounded out his career by serving as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Plans and Policy) and as Commander First Fleet.
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Logue, Elda E., Electricians Mate, U.S. Navy (WWII)

Based on a single interview conducted by Paul Stillwell in December 1995. The volume contains 124 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1999 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

The Great Depression of the 1930s created a great many hardships, as Logue describes in his story of growing up in California and Kansas. The Navy proved to be a salvation. He enlisted in 1940, attended boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois, and then machinist's mate school at the Ford Motor Company plant in Dearborn, Michigan. The bulk of the transcript deals with his experiences as an electrician's mate on board the battleship New York (BB-34) throughout World War II. He describes the ship's convoy escort roles, participation in operations in Europe, shore bombardment as the Pacific campaign wound down, and eventual return to the United States for Navy Day in New York City in October 1945. Logue remained on board after the war as the crew dropped dramatically in size during postwar demobilization. Throughout his discussion of service in the New York, Logue provides a great many descriptions of what shipboard life was like for enlisted men. Included are interactions with fellow crew members and recollections of various liberty ports the battleship visited. He wound up his service in the ship when she was a target for the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in July 1946. He had brief service in two other ships before returning to Kansas to resume life as a civilian.
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Long, Robert L. J., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on three interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from January 1993 through March 1993. The volume contains 427 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1995 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Following graduation from the Naval Academy in 1943, Long was in the crew of the battleship Colorado (BB-45) during Pacific combat. He completed submarine school, then served in a succession of diesel boats: Corsair (SS-435), Cutlass (SS-478), and Sea Leopard(SS-483), including command of the latter, 1954-56. Ashore he was in the NROTC unit at the University of North Carolina, a student at the Naval War College, and in the submarine readiness section of OpNav. After serving on the staff of ComSubLant, he went through the Navy nuclear power program, then commanded two Polaris submarines, the Patrick Henry (SSBN-599) and the Casimir Pulaski(SSBN-633). He served next in the Special Projects Office, dealing with Polaris-Poseidon, then was aide to the Under Secretary of the Navy. His first flag billet was as Commander Service Group Three in the Western Pacific during the Vietnam War. Subsequently he served in the Naval Ship Systems Command, as ComSubLant, Deputy CNO (Submarine Warfare), and in two four-star billets: Vice Chief of Naval Operations and Commander in Chief Pacific. In retirement he chaired the Long Commission, which investigated the 1983 bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.
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Loughlin, Charles E., Rear Admiral U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on seven interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from August 1980 through October 1980. The volume contains 355 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1982 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

While at the Naval Academy, Admiral Loughlin was all-American basketball player and top-flight in tennis as well. Graduated in 1933 and served in battleship New Mexico, part of the time as an assistant to Lieutenant H.G. Rickover. Then went to submarine school and served in various boats before taking command of the S-14 in the Panama area. Was CO in USS Queenfish (SS-393) during four war patrols, including wolf pack operations. Involved in controversial sinking of Japanese merchant ship Awa Maru in 1945. Served on various staffs, was XO of tender Orion (AS-18), commanded submarine division and squadron. Was Naval Academy director of athletics and commanding officer of the oiler Mississinewa (AO-59) and cruiser Toledo CA-133). He was plans officer on SACLant staff, Commander Submarine Flotilla Six during the buildup of the Polaris force, and Commandant Naval District Washington. Also discusses post-retirement service as director of Naval Academy Foundation.

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Lyon, Waldo K., PhD, Director, Arctic Submarine Laboratory

Based on three interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen from January 1971 through March 1971. The volume contains 279 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1972 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Dr. Lyon, a 1962 presidential award winner for pioneering development that made possible submarine operations under the ice cap in the Arctic, discusses his work in that field beginning in 1941 when he first was with the Radio and Sound Laboratory. Over the years his research has taken him afloat in many subs including: the Sennet in the Antarctic; the Bearfish, then Carp in the Chukchi Sea, north of the Bering Strait; the Nautilus when she crossed the Arctic Ocean; and the Skate and Sea Dragon in the Arctic. In 1951 he was instrumental in starting the Arctic Submarine Laboratory and in 1955 was advisor to amphibious forces installing the DEW line. The years of testing conventional and nuclear subs resulted in developments of special sonars, strengthened fins, and many adaptations to make submarines navigable in the Arctic waters.
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MacDonald, Adm. Donald J., Rear Admiral U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on seven interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from May 1974 through December 1979. The volume contains 505 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1986 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral MacDonald had a varied career that included tours as an aide at the White House just prior to U.S. involvement in World War II and as a special naval observer at the American Embassy in London, where he witnessed the Battle of Britain and the bombing of London. He served as executive officer of the O'Bannon (DD-450) during the capture and defense of Guadalcanal, and later commanded the ship. During the rest of the war he held positions on the staffs of Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet, Commander U.S. Naval Forces France, and finally served on the staff of Commander Naval Forces Germany. After his return, he commanded the presidential yacht Williamsburg (AGC-369), which provided him a great deal of insight into the personality of President Harry Truman. Later tours included head of the foreign language department at the Naval Academy, command of a destroyer squadron, and duty as assistant director of the undersea warfare department of OpNav, from which position he retired in October 1959.
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Mack, William P., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on six interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from February 1979 through March 1979. The volume contains 413 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1980 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral Mack was gunnery officer in the John D. Ford on the Asiatic station when World War II began. He was involved in early battles of Makassar Strait, Badoeng Strait, Java Sea, and Coral Sea. He tells of pioneering responsibilities in amphibious warfare in the Aleutians; of his duty as XO of the Preston (DD-795) during strikes on Japan, the Philippines, and Formosa; his command of theRichard B. Anderson ( DD-786) in 1946, bringing her standing from the bottom to the top of the force in less than a year; his duty as aide to Secretaries of the Navy Gates, Franke, and Connally; his planning of the naval review for President Kennedy in 1962; his tour with General Krulak in counterinsurgency during Cuban Missile Crisis and the early days of involvement in Vietnam. In 1963 he served as Chief of Information for the Secretary of the Navy. He relates experiences when the F-111 was in the news and when the Tonkin Gulf was an issue.

Volume II

Based on six interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from March 1979 through May 1979. The volume contains 435 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1980 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed restrictions on a few pages that are not to be released until after his death.

Admiral Mack continues his discussion of duties as Chief of Information and his dealings with McNamara. Highlights in this volume include: Commander Amphibious Group Two, conducting training with Marine Corps, and also recovery commander for various space-recovery shots; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower & Reserve Affairs), working with Secretary of Defence Laird; in 1971, under Zumwalt, Commander Seventh Fleet (the first post-World War II non-aviator in that job), conducting mining of Haiphong Harbor and operations against the North Vietnamese; and in 1972, Superintendent of the Naval Academy until his retirement in 1975.
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Martin, Graham E.

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in October 1986 and July 1988. The volume contains 199 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1989 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

The hallmarks of Graham Martin's life have been scholastics and athletics. He had a master's degree in history when he enlisted in the Navy in 1942. He was the only black player on the top-notch Great Lakes Naval Training Center football team. In early 1944 he was tapped for officer training and commissioned in March of that year. He then served as a battalion commander at Great Lakes, on board a yard patrol craft and a yard oiler at San Francisco, as athletic training officer in Hawaii and in Eniwetok, and as a public information officer. After leaving the service in 1946 he earned another master's degree in education, and embarked on a career of teaching and coaching at both collegiate and high school levels. Like others in the Golden Thirteen series, Martin recalls the training, camaraderie among the group, and the racial attitudes of the time.
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Martin, William I.

Based on seven interviews conducted by John T. Mason between October 1979 and January 1980. The volume contains 317 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2013 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee placed no restrictions on its use.

Two of the main contributions of this oral history are in describing Admiral Martin’s work as a naval aviation pioneer, particularly in the area of night and all-weather flying, and his repeated contacts with Admiral Arleigh Burke. Martin served as the latter’s executive assistant during Burke’s tenure as Chief of Naval Operations and thus observed him on a daily basis. After Martin graduated from the Naval Academy in 1934, he served 1934-37 in the battleship Idaho (BB-42), then received flight training at Pensacola Naval Air Station, 1937-38. Subsequent aviation assignments: 1938-40 in Scouting Squadron Two (VS-2); 1940-42 as a flight training instructor at Pensacola and Corpus Christi. During World War II combat action, he was executive officer, then commanding officer of Scouting Squadron 10 (VS-10); commanding officer of Torpedo Squadron Ten (VT?10), and Commander Night Air Group 90—all on board the carrier Enterprise (CV?6). In the summer of 1945 served on the U.S. Fleet staff for anti-kamikaze experimental work. From 1945 to 1948 he was a test pilot at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River; served 1948-50 as executive officer of the Fleet All-Weather Training Unit Pacific (FAWTUPAC); and was a student at the Naval War College, 1950-51. From 1951 to 1953, Martin was all-weather flight coordinator in OP-05W, the Air Warfare Division of OpNav, then served 1953-55 as commanding officer of FAWTUPAC. He commanded the aircraft carrier Saipan (CVL-48) in 1955-56, notably in providing rescue and relief following a 1955 hurricane that hit Tampico, Mexico. In 1956-57 Martin was CNO Arleigh Burke’s executive assistant. He served 1957-58 as chief of staff to Commander Carrier Division Five; in 1958-59 commanded the Airborne Early Warning Wing at Argentia, Newfoundland; and commanded Carrier Division 19 in the Pacific, 1959-60. In 1960-61 he was deputy chief of the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group in West Germany. After a tour from 1961 to 1963 as Chief of Naval Air Reserve Training, he commanded Carrier Division Two, leading the planning for Operation Sea Orbit, an around-the-world cruise by the world’s first nuclear-powered task force. He served as Assistant CNO (Air) from 1964 to 1967; commanded the Sixth Fleet, 1967-68; and was deputy and chief of staff for Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet, 1968-71. After his retirement from active naval service, Admiral Martin worked for Grumman Aerospace Corporation.
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Masterson, Kleber S., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on seven interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from November 1972 through April 1973. The volume contains 493 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1973 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral Masterson was assigned to the Arizona before World War II, and fortunately was ashore when she was sunk at Pearl Harbor. He was then transferred to the Pennsylvania (BB-38) and was involved in the Aleutians campaign. In 1944 was in Ship Characteristics and Fleet Requirements Branch of BuOrd; later head of Engineering Planning of that bureau. Further duties were: Readiness and Training Officer with CinCLant Fleet; Commander Destroyer Division 102; CO of transport Lenawee (APA-195) during Korean conflict; Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, Albuquerque; CO of the first guided missile cruiser Boston (CAG-1); executive member of Navy Ballistic Missiles Committee, which played major role in developing Polaris; Chief of Bureau of Naval Weapons; Commander of the Second Fleet; and Director of Weapons Systems Evaluation Group, OSD, until retirement in 1969.
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McCain, John S., Jr., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on one interview conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in January 1975. The volume contains 46 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendix. The transcript is copyright 1999 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This one interview was intended as the first in a series that would cover Admiral McCain's entire life and naval career chronologically. Unfortunately, the admiral did no further interviews after this one. It is devoted largely to the early years of his naval service, starting with his time at the Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1931. Other tours he discussed included duty in the battleship Oklahoma (BB-37), as a student in Submarine School, as an instructor at the academy, in the Bureau of Naval Personnel, and as CinCPac. Sometimes he departed from the time sequence to talk about his father, who was an admiral in World War II, and his son John S. McCain III, who was a naval aviator in the Vietnam War. Some of the material in the oral history was used in a book titled Faith of My Fathers, written by the admiral's son, Senator John McCain.
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McCampbell, David, Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in July 1987. The volume contains 369 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2010 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee placed no restrictions on its use.

This oral history is notable in that it contains the candid recollections of the U.S. Navy's all-time top fighter ace; McCampbell had 34 kills. He earned the Medal of Honor for his exploits during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944. He was one of the few pilots to receive the nation's top award for actions during aerial combat. He was a 1933 graduate of the Naval Academy; his commissioning was delayed by a year because of limited opportunities during the Great Depression. Following initial service as an officer in the heavy cruiser Portland (CA-33), he underwent flight training and received his wings in 1938. From 1938 to 1940 served with Fighting Squadron Four (VF-4), based on the aircraft carrier Ranger (CV-4), and from 1940 to 1942 was landing signal officer of the aircraft carrier Wasp (CV-7). He survived the Wasp's sinking in 1942 during the Guadalcanal campaign. After serving at the landing signal officer school in Melbourne, Florida, he was briefly the commanding officer of Fighting 15 (VF-15) in 1943-44 and then commanded Air Group 15 in 1944 during that ship's successful combat tour on board the carrier Essex (CV-9). In early 1945 received the Medal of Honor from President Franklin Roosevelt. After the war, McCampbell served at Oceana Naval Air Station and in 1946-48 was a student and later a staff member at the Armed Forces Staff College. Subsequent duties were from 1948 to 1951 as senior aviation advisor to the Argentine Navy; executive officer of the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB-42) in 1951-52; and in 1952-53 on the staff of Commander Aircraft Atlantic. He commanded the Naval Air Technical Training Center in Jacksonville, 1953-54, and from 1954 to 1956 served as flight test coordinator at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland. He served 1956-58 as operations officer on the staff of Commander Sixth Fleet; commanded the fleet oiler Severn (AO-61), 1958-59; and commanded the aircraft carrier Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31), 1959-60. He served 1960-62 in the plans division of the Joint Staff and in his final tour of active duty, 1962-64, was on the staff of the North American Air Defense Command in Colorado Springs.
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McCollum, Arthur H., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on nine interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from December 1970 through March 1971. The volume contains 444 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1973 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral McCollum was born in Nagasaki, Japan, the son of Baptist missionaries. After his graduation from the Naval Academy in 1921, he spent three years of study in Japan, qualifying him as an interpreter and translator of the Japanese language. He commanded the submarine O-7; was assistant naval attaché in Tokyo; served in the battleship West Virginia (BB-48); special liaison officer with CinC Asiatic Fleet; liaison officer in the John D. Ford; and head of the Far East Section of the Office of Naval Intelligence. Admiral McCollum gives the background and buildup of the Japanese, culminating in the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He details the intelligence reports that came across his desk at the ONI.

Volume II

Based on ten interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from March 1971 through September 1971. The volume contains 402 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1973 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Volume II continues with duties and expansion of ONI's Far Eastern division following Pearl Harbor. In 1942 Admiral McCollum developed the concept of Fleet Intelligence Centers and designed and assisted in installation of first one at Pearl Harbor. He served on the staff of Commander Allied Naval Forces, Southwest Pacific Area and Commander Seventh Fleet, concurrently being Commander of the Seventh Fleet Intelligence Center. In 1945 he was assigned to special duties in the Navy Department, then CO of the heavy cruiser Helena, serving first as flag captain to CinC US Naval Forces Europe, later taking the ship to the Far East. Following sea duty, he was assigned to work with the Central Intelligence Group, later the CIA. In 1948 he was Commander of Fleet Training Group, Norfolk. In 1950 he became Commander Military Sea Transportation Service until his retirement in 1951. He was immediately recalled to active duty as consultant to CIA and served four years.
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McCrea, John L., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on one interview conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in May 1981 and two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in October 1982. The volume contains 360 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1990 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Even though in his 90s when the interviews were completed, McCrea demonstrated a remarkable memory for details in telling of his naval career. He was a Naval Academy midshipman in 1914 when his ship, the USS Idaho (BB-24) was sold to Greece on the eve of World War I. After graduating in 1915 he served in the USS New York (BB-34) and was present when the German fleet surrendered following the war. In the 1920s and 1930s he matured as a naval officer, serving in a number of destroyers and taking time to get a law degree. He served a tour in Guam in the 1930s, then was executive officer of the battleship Pennsylvania. In 1941, as an aide to CNO Harold Stark, he made a trip to the Pacific to deliver revised war plans to the top commanders. At the beginning of the war he served a year as naval aide to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, then was first skipper of the battleship Iowa (BB-61). After the war he held a series of positions, including DCNO (Administration) and Deputy Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet. After duty as Commandant First Naval District, he retired in 1953 and worked for John Hancock Insurance Company.
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McDonald, David L, Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on six interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from November 1974 through June 1976. The volume contains 440 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1976 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral McDonald served as Chief of Naval Operations from 1963 to 1967 - a most difficult period and one of increasing involvement of U.S. forces in Southeast Asia. His career includes a number of strategic assignments prior to his duty as CNO. He served as Flight Training Officer on the wartime staff of Naval Air Operational Training Command, Jacksonville, working under General Norstad, and as Commander of the Sixth Fleet (1961-1963). Discussions cover the Vietnam War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Admiral Rivero and the Office of Program Planning, the "Whiz Kids," and the relationship of President Johnson and SecDef with the JCS. Interspersed are bits of personal philosophy.
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Melhorn, Kent C., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.) & Charles M. Melhorn, Commander, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on one interview with Admiral Melhorn conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen and Charles Melhorn in February 1970 (77 pages) and one with Commander Melhorn conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen in February 1970 (76 pages). The volume contains 153 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1983 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewees have placed no restrictions on its use.

This volume comprises one interview each with a Navy father and a Navy son. The father was a doctor who served on active duty from 1907 through 1946. He had a variety of duties both at sea and ashore, and he describes them in a fascinating manner: with the Marines in Santo Domingo in 1915, two tours as a public health official in Haiti in the 1920s, two tours on the staff of Commander in Chief U.S. Fleet, and a stint as attending physician to the U.S. delegation to the World Disarmament Conference at Geneva in 1932. During World War II, Admiral Melhorn commanded the Navy Medical Supply Depot in Brooklyn.

Commander Melhorn led a charmed life from the time of his enlistment in the V-7 program in 1940 until his retirement in 1961. His PT boat was blown up at Guadalcanal in 1942; he then survived a plane crash during flight training, a midair collision, attacks on the Japanese fleet in 1945, a tour on Rear Admiral Jocko Clark's Carrier Division Four staff in 1949-1950, and a night ditching at sea in the Mediterranean in the 1950s. Through all of that, he managed to retain the delightful sense of humor which is evident in his oral history.
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Melson, Charles L., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 13 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from February 1971 through June 1972. The volume contains 413 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1974 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After serving in the Dickerson (DD-157), Northampton (CA-26), and Pennsylvania (BB-38), Admiral Melson was commanding officer of the Champlin (DD-601), deployed in the Mediterranean and Atlantic war areas in 1942-1943. Subsequent duties included: Chief of Staff to Commander Battleship Division Five; Operations and Plans Officer to Sixteenth Fleet; Staff Officer at the Naval War College; Commander Destroyer Squadron Twenty; and Administrative Aide to the Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy. In 1952-1953 he served as commanding officer of the New Jersey (BB-62) during the Korean War. He then commanded Cruiser Division Four; became the Superintendent of the Naval Academy; Commander of First Fleet, after which he commanded the U.S. Taiwan Defense Command. In 1964 he reported as President of the Naval War College and remained there until his retirement in 1966.
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Merdinger, Charles J., Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from December 1971 through March 1972. The volume contains 299 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1974 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Escaped injury as an ensign in the Nevada when she was bombed at Pearl Harbor. Transferred to the Alabama and was in Murmansk Run and later participated in bombardment of Nauru and Tarawa in the Pacific. He then studied at Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute in preparation for entering the Civil Engineer Corps. Then handled construction for the CEC in Panama Canal Zone. In 1947 was appointed a Rhodes Scholar and spent two years in Oxford, England, studying and producing a dissertation which was published as a book entitled Civil Engineering Through the Ages. Later duties were: NAS Miramar, California, Point Hueneme, Fleet Activities, Yokosuka, Japan; head of English, History and Government Department, USNA. He headed Seabees and Multinational Force in Vietnam in 1967-68, and was CO Western Division, NavFac Engineering Command in San Bruno, California, before retirement in 1970.
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Merrill, Grayson, Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on three interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from October 1996 to January 1997. The volume contains 189 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 1997 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Following graduation from the Naval Academy in 1934, Merrill served in the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) and destroyers Brooks(DD-232) and Dorsey (DD-117). In 1937 he became a naval aviator, subsequently serving in Torpedo Squadron Three in the carrierSaratoga (CV-3) and in Utility Squadron One. In early 1942, after Merrill took an abbreviated postgraduate course in electrical engineering, Commander Delmar S. Fahrney selected him for the Special Design Branch of the Bureau of Aeronautics, where the Navy's first guided missiles were being developed. Throughout the war they were involved in a number of pilotless aircraft projects, including assault drones. After the war, Merrill traveled to Germany and brought back a number of rocket scientists to aid postwar U.S. development. Merrill was instrumental in the late 1940s in the establishment of the Naval Air Missile Test Center at Point Mugu, California, where a building is now named in his honor. Early tests included the Loon, a copy of the German V-1 buzz bomb, and the Lark, a surface-to-air missile developed by the Bureau of Aeronautics. In the mid-1950s Merrill was selected as the first technical director for the Polaris program. His oral history offers candid comments on the difficulties he had in working for Rear Admiral Red Raborn, who headed the Polaris program. Following his 1957 retirement from the Navy, Merrill worked in the defense industry and edited a series of books on guided missiles.
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Meyer, Wayne E., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 18 interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from October 2007 to March 2009. Contains 643 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2012 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral Meyer is known as the "Father of Aegis," the revolutionary combat system now standard in U.S. Navy surface warships for air and missile defense. Meyer grew up during the Depression on a farm near Brunswick, Missouri. He enlisted in 1943 when he was 17 years old and was commissioned through the Naval Reserve V-12 officer training program at the University of Kansas. His initial assignment as an ensign was to begin his postgraduate education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His first tours of sea duty were in the destroyer Goodrich (DD-831), 1947-48; the light cruiser Springfield (CL-66), in 1948-49; and the destroyer tender Sierra (AD-18), 1950-51. In 1951-52 he attended Guided Missile School at Fort Bliss, Texas, and from 1952 to 1954 taught in Nuclear Weapons School in Norfolk, Virginia. After being a student at General Line School, Monterey, California, in 1954-55, he served in 1955-56 as executive officer of the radar picket destroyer escort Strickland (DER-324) and 1956-58 on the staff of Commander Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet (DesLant). He attended the Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, 1958-60, and did further postgraduate work at MIT, 1960-61. His final shipboard tour was in 1961-63 as fire control officer and weapons officer in the guided missile cruiser Galveston (CLG-3). From there he reported to the Surface Missile Systems Project in Washington, D.C., 1963-67, and served 1967-70 at the Navy Surface Missile Systems Engineering Station (NSMSES), Port Hueneme, California. His longest tenure, 1970-83, was in the Advanced Surface Missile System, which became Aegis. From 1976 to 1983 he was project manager for the Aegis Shipbuilding Project in the Naval Sea Systems Command (NavSea). His final tour of active duty, 1983-85, was as NavSea-06, Deputy Commander for Weapons and Combat Systems. Following retirement from active naval service he continued to work in Aegis-related activities.
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Michaelis, Frederick H., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from November 1981 through April 1982. The volume contains 172 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1996 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

A 1940 graduate of the Naval Academy, Michaelis reported to the fleet flagship Pennsylvania (BB-38) and became involved in an early installation of radar. After surviving the attack on Pearl Harbor, he went to flight training in Pensacola and qualified as a naval aviator. In the latter part of World War II he was in VF-12, which he eventually commanded. After postgraduate education in aeronautical engineering, he was involved in nuclear weapons development, commanded Air Group 11 in the Kearsarge (CVA-33), served on the AirPac staff and with the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air. He was executive officer of the Randolph (CVA-15), skipper of the oiler Tolovana (AO-64), underwent nuclear power training, served in the Plans and Policy section of OpNav and in 1963 became second CO of the nuclear-powered carrier Enterprise (CVAN-65). As a flag officer he was ComCarDiv 9, on the staff of DCNO (Air), as deputy of the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff, as Commander Naval Air Force Atlantic Fleet from 1972 to 1975, and finally as the four-star Chief of Naval Material from 1975 until his retirement in 1978.
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Miller, George H., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 13 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from January 1971 through January 1974. The volume contains 520 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1975 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

His early years in the Navy included service in the California (BB-44), Tuscaloosa (CA-37), Zane (DD-337), Goff (DD-247, Gilmer(DD-233), and St. Louis (CL-49). Was damage control officer in the light cruiser Houston (CL-81) in 1944 when she was twice torpedoed off Formosa. He tells a harrowing tale of the survival of the Houston and her crew - the ship took more water aboard than had been taken aboard any ship that survived in World War I or World War II. He was then XO of that ship the latter period of the war. Later tours were: plans officer for President of Naval War College; CO of the Hollister during Korean War; plans officer, Commander Joint Task Force 7; Head, Strategic Studies Board, CNO; Commander Surface Striking Forces, Seventh Fleet; and several positions in strategic warfare, finally as continued on active duty as Naval Advisor to Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Maritime Affairs.
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Miller, Gerald E., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from January 1976 through April 1976. The volume contains 417 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1983 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

In order to get into naval aviation, Admiral Miller took a long route. He enlisted in the Navy in 1936 and served in the fleet for two years before getting an appointment to the Naval Academy, from which he was graduated in late 1941. He then spent two years of wartime duty in the light cruiser Richmond before he could go to flight training. He didn't get an opportunity for wartime air combat. After the war, he went to postgraduate school at Stanford and continued his flying career. Throughout his aviation experiences, he placed particular emphasis on night-time flight operations. During the Korean War, he served on the staff of Rear Admiral E. C. Ewen, Commander Task Force 77, and then commanded a fighter squadron. During a mid-1950s tour in the Bureau of Naval Personnel, he was instrumental in the installation of computers and reorganizing the distribution of enlisted personnel. After commanding a carrier air group, he was sent to Omaha, Nebraska, to work with the Air Force in joint strategic target planning. In the early 1960s, he commanded the ammunition ship Wrangell (AAE-12) and the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42). In discussing the latter, he stresses Mediterranean operations and the role of the commanding officer as leader.

Volume II

Based on five interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from May 1976 through October 1976. The volume contains 375 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1984 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

In the first volume of his oral history, Admiral Miller covered his career through command of the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt in the mid-1960s. This concluding volume picks up his story when he was serving as aide to the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Horacio Rivero, during which time he indoctrinated the admiral in naval aviation. In his next duty, as Director, Aviation Plans Division in OpNav, Miller played a role in the knockdown of the controversial F-111B program. He also pushed for the purchase of RA-5 reconnaissance aircraft, a decision he subsequently came to regret. He concedes he was given little role in the Vietnam War but did participate in a satisfying electronic silence naval exercise off Korea. Following duty as Assistant DCNO (Air), he became Commander Second Fleet and observed what he felt were the negative effects of Z-grams. Miller considers his Second Fleet duty to have been perfect preparation for his subsequent tour as Commander Sixth Fleet. Facets covered from this service were dealings with the Soviet ships in the Mediterranean, racial tensions, and the deterioration of discipline and appearance among the fleet's sailors. Miller sought to reverse the trend resulting from Z-grams and says he considered the possibility Admiral Zumwalt would fire him for his efforts. In his final tour, Admiral Miller was Deputy Director of the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff in Omaha, and he made it a project to familiarize U.S. civilian and military leaders with operational plans for nuclear war. Throughout his narrative, Miller's strong leadership style is evident, and he offers opinions on the application and failure of leadership skills.
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Miller, Harold B., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from April 1981 through September 1981. The volume contains 290 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1995 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Following graduation from the Naval Academy in 1924, Miller spent two years in the crew of the battleship California (BB-44) before going to flight training. As an aviator, he was initially in the battleship West Virginia (BB-48) and carrier Langley (CV-1). He served as a scout plane pilot from the Navy's last two rigid airships, the Akron (ZRS-4) and Macon (ZRS-5). His memoir includes a description of the Macon's loss in 1935. After floatplane duty in cruisers, he served with Patrol Squadron 16 in Alaska and commanded Patrol Squadron Five in Panama. He was subsequently on the staff of Rear Admiral Arthur Bristol, Commander Support Force, Atlantic Fleet. In 1942-43 Miller headed the Training Literature section of the Bureau of Aeronautics, commanding a talented group of artists, writers, and photographers. After a stint as naval attaché in London, Miller headed the public relations staff of Admiral Chester Nimitz in the Pacific in 1944-45, then was spot-promoted to rear admiral to serve as the Director of Public Information for the entire Navy. After retirement in 1946, Miller served in public relations capacities for TWA, the American Petroleum Institute, Pan American, and Hofstra University.
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Miller, Henry L., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from March 1971 through May 1971. The volume contains 304 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1973 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral Miller was designated a naval aviator in 1938. He was assigned as flight instructor at NAS, Ellyson Field, Florida, where he trained Colonel Doolittle's "Tokyo Raiders" in carrier takeoffs and accompanied them in the Hornet (CV-8) in 1942. He then commanded Air Group 23 in the Princeton (CVL-23) and Air Group Six in the Hancock (CV-19). After graduation from the Industrial College in 1953, he was assigned to the CNO's Strategic Plans Division. He then was Commander Fleet Air, Philippines, followed by tours as Director of the Progress Analysis Group, CNO, and CO of the Hancock. This volume concludes with a discussion of the scope of his command of Carrier Division Fifteen, an antisubmarine hunter-killer task group, in 1961 and 1962.

Volume II

Based on five interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from April 1971 through August 1971. The volume contains 243 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1973 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

The second volume picks up the admiral's career in 1961 when he was assigned as Chief of Staff for Plans Joint Staff, CinCPac at the time of the buildup in Vietnam. In 1964 he had command of Carrier Division Three and Task Force 77 of the Seventh Fleet in Vietnam. As CTF, he launched the first of a succession of aircraft carrier strikes on North Vietnam from the Ranger (CV-61), Coral Sea (CV-43), and Hancock. In 1966 he returned to Washington to serve as Navy Chief of Information and tells of his efforts and programs to project a better image of the Navy. In 1968 he reported as Commander, Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, with additional duty as Fleet Air, Patuxent and Naval Air Systems Command Test and Evaluation Coordinator. His last interview is concerned with drug abuse and his attendance at the White House Youth Conference in 1971.
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Minter, Charles S., Jr., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on seven interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from May 1979 through October 1979. The volume contains 424 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1981 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the transcript requires the written permission of the interviewee to quote or cite in published works.

Designated as naval aviator in 1941, Admiral Minter served as a bomber pilot in antisubmarine patrols and convoy coverage flights in the North Atlantic. Later was XO of patrol squadron in Trinidad and XO of Headquarters Squadron Nine at Quonset Point, Rhode Island. In 1944 was assistant air officer in the Randolph when saw action in raids on Tokyo and in the Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns. After serving as assistant director for Tactical Test at Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, he assumed command of Patrol Squadron 28 which engaged in reconnaissance missions and antisubmarine patrols against Korean forces. He was CO of theAlbemarle (AV-5), in 1958. Volume I concludes with his duty as Assistant Chief of Staff for Readiness to Commander Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet

Volume II

Based on six interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from November 1979 through January 1980. The volume contains 208 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1981 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the transcript requires the written permission of the interviewee to quote or cite in published works.

Volume II picks up Admiral Minter's career in 1961 when he was selected to be Commandant of Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy, and then Superintendent in 1964. These were years when compulsory chapel attendance was challenged and a new curriculum implemented to allow each student to select a major. In 1965 he was assigned Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Plans and Policy, Supreme Allied Commander Europe. In 1967 he assumed the Command of Carrier Division Sixteen, contributing to improved antisubmarine warfare capabilities of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. He then became Commander Fleet Air Wings Pacific, with additional duty as Commander Antisubmarine Warfare Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet. His last assignment before retirement in 1974 was Deputy Chairman of the NATO Committee in the Navy Department.
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Moorer, Thomas, H. Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on 11 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from February 1975 through September 1975. The volume contains 568 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1981 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

Designated a naval aviator in 1936, the Admiral served in the Langley (CV-1), Lexington (CV-2), and Enterprise (CV-6). During World War II he was with Fleet Air Wing Ten in the southwest Pacific and was shot down in a PBY in 1942, receiving the Purple Heart. In 1944 he commanded Bombing Squadron 132 operating in Cuba and Africa, then gunnery and tactical officer on the staff of Commander Air Force Atlantic. Subsequent duty included: XO Naval Aviation Ordnance Test Station; Ops officer of the Midway; Staff of Commander Air Force Atlantic; Aide to Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Air); CO of the Salisbury Sound; Assistant CNO (War Gaming Matters) in 1958; Commander Carrier Division Six; and CinC Pacific Fleet.

Volume II

Based on eight interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from October 1975 through November 1976. The volume contains 359 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1982 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

The admiral continues discussion of his career and world events beginning in 1965 and including: Dominican Republic Crisis; tours as CinCLant and SACLant; NATO conferences. Became CNO in 1967 - covers: selection board; personnel policies; Pueblo incident; Tonkin Gulf; missile types; Vietnam War; POWs; drug problems; Cambodia cross-border operations; Operation Deep Freeze; women in the Navy; and threat of submarine base in Cuba. Became chairman of the JCS in 1970 - discusses characteristics of a chairman; decisions made; increased unity of JCS during Vietnam War.
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Moran, Edmond J., Rear Admiral, U.S. Naval Reserve (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from May 1977 through September 1978. The volume contains 166 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2004 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

A principal focus of this memoir is Admiral Moran's service with the Navy and the Maritime Commission during the 20th century's two great World Wars. In World War I he was an enlisted man and junior officer; he made several trips to Europe on board a Navy refrigerated cargo ship. During World War II he worked with the Maritime Commission in taking over private vessels for government duty and served on the staff of the Navy's Commander Eastern Sea Frontier in connection with the rescue of damaged ships. Particularly noteworthy was his duty in Europe to oversee the towing of artificial harbor components from Britain to France to facilitate off-loading operations following the Allies' D-Day landings at Normandy. Interspersed are the admiral's descriptions of his long civilian career with Moran Towing. He began riding tugboats as a youth and learned much from his stepfather, Thomas Reynolds. Moran himself started as an office boy with the company and eventually became its president and chairman. He retired in 1984 after 69 years with the company. The oral history includes a good deal of discussion of the design, construction, of operation of tugboats over the years.
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Morton, Thomas H., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on seven interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from September 1975 through February 1976. The volume contains 484 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1979 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

Highlights of the admiral's career were: when he served as gunnery officer in the battleship North Carolina (BB-55) during many crucial engagements in the Pacific (1944-1945); when he served in destroyers, first as skipper of the Compton (DD-705), then as commander of a destroyer division, and later as commander of the famous Destroyer Squadron 23; when he served with Admiral R. Kelly Turner on the United Nations' Staff Committee (1945-1947); and when he served as Commander, Naval Weapons Laboratory at Dahlgren, Virginia (1960-1961). He later became disillusioned in assignments at the Pentagon during the McNamara regime and tells of his dealings with the "Whiz Kids" before his retirement in 1964.
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Mumma, Albert G., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from October 1986 through September 1988. The volume contains 297 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2001 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This is one of the most technical oral histories in the Naval Institute's collection because of Admiral Mumma's long service as an engineering duty specialist. After his graduation from the Naval Academy in 1926, he served in the light cruiser Richmond (CL-9) and armored cruiser Seattle before becoming a member of the first crew of the aircraft carrier Saratoga (CV-3) when she was commissioned in 1927. In the 1930s he served in the destroyers Waters (DD-115) and Clark (DD-361), sandwiched around postgraduate study in engineering in Annapolis and France. As a result of his training, he decided to leave the unrestricted line and become an engineering specialist. He served in 1939-43 at the David Taylor Model Basin in Carderock, Maryland, and subsequently in the Bureau of Ships, where he ran the propeller desk. In 1944-45 Mumma was part of the Alsos Mission and Naval Technical Mission to ascertain German progress during World War II in technical development. In BuShips after the war he was involved with the origins of the Navy's nuclear power program; this oral history contains many candid comments about his relationship with Admiral Hyman Rickover. In the 1950s Mumma served at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard, later commanded the David Taylor Model Basin and the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. From 1955 to 1959 he was Chief of the Bureau of Ships and oversaw the development of many new ships, particularly the adaptation of the teardrop-shaped hull to nuclear attack submarines and the design of the first ballistic missile submarines.
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Murray, Albert K., Commander, U.S. Naval Reserve (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from September 1980 through July 1988. The volume contains 244 pages of interview transcript plus an index and photo copies of a number of Commander Murray's paintings. The transcript is copyright 1994 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Unlike most of the Naval Institute's oral histories, which contain the recollections of seagoing line officers, this memoir is from a skilled artist who painted the portraits of many of the line officers. In addition to providing interesting anecdotes about the artistic process, Commander Murray also supplied candid insights into the personalities of the individuals. For instance, in painting Admiral William Halsey and Admiral Thomas Kinkaid, Murray rekindled their acrimonious feelings about the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Many of the other top naval leaders of World War II were the subjects of Murray's brush: Chester Nimitz, William Leahy, Ernest King, James Forrestal, Marc Mitscher, Arleigh Burke, Thomas Sprague, Jonas Ingram, Arthur Radford, Charles McMorris, Richmond Kelly Turner, and Raymond Spruance. More recent leaders included Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gates and CNO Admiral Elmo Zumwalt. Copies of the Murray portraits of these individuals are included in the volume so the reader can compare the artist's verbal descriptions with the images he created. In addition, Murray talked about his role as a combat artist, particularly in connection with the Allied invasion of southern France in August 1944.
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Murray, Stuart S., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on eight interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen from May 1970 through May 1971. The volume contains 450 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2001 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use. This is a revised version of the original, which was issued in 1974. The new version has been retyped, annotated with footnotes, and given a detailed index.

An early submariner, Murray was involved in the construction of the submarine base at Pearl Harbor in the early 1920s. He commanded the submarines R-17 (SS-94), L-8 (SS-48), R-13, and S-9 (SS-114). In the 1920s he served in the battleships Arkansas(BB-33) and New York (BB-34) and was an instructor at the Naval Academy. In the 1930s he commanded the submarine S-44, served at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, commanded the submarine Porpoise (SS-172), was damage control officer in the heavy cruiser Portland(CA-33), and was a submarine detailer in the Bureau of Navigation. When the Japanese attacked in 1941, he was commander of Submarine Division 15 at Manila, participating in the defense of the Philippines and Netherlands East Indies. His next assignment was chief of staff and aide to Commander Submarine Force, Southwest Pacific. In 1943 he became chief of staff to Charles Lockwood, Commander Submarine Force Pacific Fleet. In 1944-45 Murray was commandant of midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy. In the spring of 1945 he took command of the battleship Missouri (BB-63), flagship of Admiral William Halsey, Commander Third Fleet. After relating the ship's wartime activities, including bombardments against Honshu, Hokkaido, and Okinawa, he then provides a marvelously detailed description of the events leading up to and during the Japanese surrender ceremony on board the Missouri on 2 September 1945. In November 1945, as a newly selected rear admiral, he was ordered to Commander Seventh Fleet for duty with the survey for forming the U.S. Advisory Group to China. Subsequent flag billets included the following: 1948-49, Pearl Harbor Naval Base; in 1949-50 Commander Amphibious Training Command Atlantic Fleet; 1950-52, Commander Submarine Force Atlantic Fleet; 1952-54, Commandant of the 14th Naval District in Hawaii; 1954-56 as Naval Inspector General. He retired from active duty in 1956 and later worked as a consultant for the Rand Corporation.
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Mustin, Lloyd M., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 21 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from August 1972 through August 1973. The volume contains 817 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2003 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Volume I

This is the longest oral history, in terms of number of interviews and number of words, ever conducted by the Naval Institute. Between the two volumes, the transcript comprises nearly 600,000 words of text. The first volume begins with a discussion of the Mustin family background. The admiral's father, Captain Henry C. Mustin, was a pioneer in U.S. naval aviation. Lloyd Mustin graduated from the Naval Academy in the class of 1932 and embarked on a career that was rich in surface warfare experience. He served from 1932 to 1936 in the crew of the heavy cruiser Augusta (CA-31); one of the skippers during that time was Captain Chester Nimitz. Mustin served from 1936 to 1938 in the destroyer Lamson (DD-367), then was a postgraduate student in ordnance and fire control, 1938-40. In 1940-41 he was at the Dahlgren Proving Ground and the Naval Gun Factory in ordnance development. As the nation embarked in World War II, Mustin was in the crew of the light cruiser Atlanta (CL-51) in 1941-42, during her entire commissioned service. He describes his experiences in the night surface battle off Guadalcanal in November 1942 that resulted in the sinking of the cruiser. After that, 1942-43, he served on the staff of Commander Naval Bases, Solomon Islands. Returning to sea duty, he served in early 1943 in the light cruiser San Diego (CL-53). In 1943-44 he was gunnery officer in the commissioning crew of the light cruiserMiami (CL-89) and was on board during combat operations in the Pacific.

Volume II

Based on 16 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from September 1973 through January 1975. The volume contains 684 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2003 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This volume begins in late 1944 when Mustin transferred to the staff of Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee, Jr., Commander Battleship Squadron Two, during the course of combat operations in the Western Pacific. In the spring of 1945 Lee and Mustin returned to the United States to establish Composite Task Force, Atlantic Fleet, in order to devise methods for dealing with Japanese kamikazes. After Lee's death, the command transformed into the Operational Development Force, and Mustin remained on the staff of the new organization. He subsequently served in 1946-48 in the research division of the Bureau of Ordnance. From 1948 to 1950 he commanded the destroyer Keppler (DD-765). Subsequent duties were heavy on destroyer experience: 1950-51, on the staff of Commander Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet; 1951-54, Weapons Systems Evaluation Group; 1954-55, command of the destroyer tender Piedmont (AD-17); 1956-57, command of Destroyer Squadron 13; 1957-58, chief of staff to Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Force Pacific Fleet; 1958-59, command of Destroyer Flotilla Two. While serving as the flotilla commander as a rear admiral, Mustin was in command of Project Argus high-altitude nuclear weapons tests in the South Atlantic. In 1959-60 he commanded Key West Naval Base; the transcript contains interesting stories about the flag quarters, which had served as Little White House for President Harry S. Truman. In 1960-61 Mustin headed the Antisubmarine Warfare Readiness Executive in OpNav. Then, from 1961 to 1964 he was as Deputy Commander and later Commander Joint Task Force Eight during nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific. The tests were the last conducted in the atmosphere by the United States before the adoption of a nuclear weapons testing ban that President John F. Kennedy had pushed for.
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Navy Wives

Based on two interviews of Frances Smalley Mitscher conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen in January 1971 and two interviews of Mary A. Smith conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in March 1978 and October 1978. The volume contains 227 pages of interview transcript (63 for Mrs. Mitscher and 164 for Mrs. Smith). The transcripts are copyright 1986 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewees have placed no restrictions on their use.

Both Frances Smalley Mitscher and Mary Alger Smith married ensigns from the Naval Academy class of 1910, but they describe in strikingly different tones the lives they led in the demanding and important role of Navy wives. Mrs. Mitscher's perspective of her famous husband offers glimpses of a public figure that only a wife can see. Through her discussion of Admiral Mitscher's habits and idiosyncrasies, she presents a picture of his private side that greatly shaped her own life. Both Commander and Mrs. Smith were Navy juniors whose family lines are punctuated with illustrious naval figures. In a feisty style, Mrs. Smith recalls her childhood spent on the Naval Academy grounds at the turn of the century, being courted by midshipmen in her teens, and 35 years of moving her family from place to place to follow her husband. Her account of living in China in the mid-1920s while Commander Smith served in the Noa (DD-343) is both frightening and hilarious.
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Niedermair, John Charles (naval architect)

Based on six interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from June 1975 through April 1976. The volume contains 349 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1978 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Among the most noted U.S. naval architects of this century, Mr. Niedermair gained early recognition for his role in the salvage of the submarines S-51 and S-4 during the 1920s. He was an expert in the design and stability of merchant ships. Particularly noteworthy was his long service in the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Ships in the area of preliminary design. He was involved in the design of many types of ships and is credited with the conception and development of the tank landing ship (LST), a workhorse vessel in World War II.
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Nimitz, Chester W., Fleet Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Recollections by various naval officers and friends

Based on three interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr. Altogether, the volume contains 229 pages of interview transcript plus indices. The transcripts are copyright 1970 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewees have placed no restrictions on their use.

Recollections of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as given by:

  • Rear Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Jr., USN (Ret.), and his wife Joan; interviewed in April 1969; 65 pages
  • Daughter Catherine Nimitz Lay and her husband, Captain James T. Lay, USN (Ret.); interviewed in February 1970; 123 pages
  • Daughter Sister M. Aquinas Nimitz, O. P. ; interviewed in June 1969; 42 pages

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., and E. B. Potter. Altogether, the volume contains 314 pages of interview transcript plus indices. The transcripts are copyright 1972 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewees have placed no restrictions on their use.

Recollections of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as given by:

  • Rear Admiral Waldo Drake, Pacific Fleet public relations officer during much of World War II; interviewed by Mason in June 1970; 60 pages
  • Admiral James Fife, a long-time submarine officer who commanded in Australia during the war; interviewed by Mason in May 1969; 35 pages
  • Rear Admiral Edwin Layton, Pacific Fleet intelligence officer throughout the war; interviewed by Potter in March 1970; 116 pages
  • H. Arthur Lamar, Nimitz's aide and flag lieutenant before the war and throughout its progress; interviewed by Mason in June 1970; 103 pages

Based on six interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr. Altogether, the volume contains 251 pages of interview transcript plus indices. The transcripts are copyright by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewees have placed no restrictions on their use.

Recollections of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as given by:

  • Rear Admiral Chester Bruton, administrative aide to Chief of Naval Operations Nimitz after World War II; interviewed in June 1969; 27 pages
  • Rear Admiral J. Wilson Leverton, Jr., junior officer in the cruiser Augusta in the 1930s; interviewed in August 1969; 62 pages
  • Captain Samuel P. Moncure, junior officer in the cruiser Augusta in the 1930s; interviewed in July 1969; 41 pages
  • Vice Admiral Lloyd M. Mustin, USN (Ret.), junior officer in the cruiser Augusta in the 1930s; interviewed in March 1970; 76 pages
  • Rear Admiral Odale D. Waters, Jr., junior officer in the cruiser Augusta in the 1930s; interviewed in July 1969; 20 pages
  • Vice Admiral F. E. M. Whiting, first lieutenant and executive officer in the cruiser Augusta in the 1930s; interviewed in September 1969; 25 pages

Based on 12 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., Etta-Belle Kitchen, and E. B. Potter. Altogether, the volume contains 248 pages of interview transcript. The transcripts are copyright 1972 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewees have placed no restrictions on their use.

Recollections of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as given by:

  • Rear Admiral Eugene B. Fluckey, submarine skipper and later Nimitz's aide; interviewed by Mason in October 1971; 29 pages
  • Mr. J. Emott Caldwell; naval aviator who served as Nimitz's pilot; interviewed by Kitchen in January 1970; 52 pages
  • Mr. Robert R. Gros, journalist who interviewed CNO Nimitz after World War II about Pacific Trust Territories; interviewed by Kitchen in July 1970; 34 pages
  • Mr. John A. Sutro; Navy League official involved in Nimitz's 75th birthday celebration; interviewed by Kitchen in July 1970; 20 pages
  • Mr. Herman Toepperwein; Texas relative; interviewed by Potter in March 1970; 18 pages
  • Mr. Max O. Reinbach; Texas relative; interviewed by Potter in March 1970; 16 pages
  • Mrs. Charles Kiehne; last surviving aunt; interviewed by Potter in March 1970; 10 pages
  • Mrs. Milton Durst and Mr. Guenther Henke; Texas relatives; interviewed by Potter in March 1970; 24 pages
  • Mr. Louis Schreiner; Texas relative; interviewed by Potter in March 1970; 8 pages
  • Mrs. Dora Nimitz Reagan; Texas relative; interviewed by Potter in March 1970; 20 pages
  • Mr. John Leavell; boyhood friend in Texas; interviewed by Potter in March 1970; 17 pages

Based on 12 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., Etta-Belle Kitchen, and Paul Hopper. Altogether, the volume contains 333 pages of interview transcript plus indices. The transcripts are copyright by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewees have placed no restrictions on their use.

Recollections of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as given by:

  • Captain James Bassett, Jr., Pacific Fleet public relations officer in 1941-42; interviewed by Kitchen in May 1969; 32 pages
  • Rear Admiral George W. Bauernschmidt, SC, neighbor of the Nimitzes in the 1920; interviewed by Mason in August 1969; 25 pages
  • Vice Admiral William Callaghan, member of Pacific Fleet war plans staff in World War II; interviewed by Mason in June 1969; 25 pages
  • Mr. H. Joseph Chase, member of the NROTC unit at University of California in the 1920s; interviewed by Kitchen in October 1969; 33 pages
  • Captain Alvah B. Court, Naval Academy classmate; interviewed by Mason in May 1969; 19 pages
  • Admiral M. E. Curts, Pacific Fleet communication officer in World War II; interviewed by Hopper in June 1969; 17 pages
  • Rear Admiral Onnie P. Lattu, member of the NROTC unit at University of California in the 1920s; interviewed by Mason in July 1969; 20 pages
  • Rear Admiral Preston V. Mercer, flag secretary to Nimitz in the late 1930s and during World War II; interviewed by Mason in July 1969; 53 pages
  • Rear Admiral Mell A. Peterson, Pacific Fleet assistant gunnery officer in World War II; interviewed by Kitchen in May 1969; 33 pages
  • Captain David W. Plank, CHC, chaplain at Yerba Buena Island, near San Francisco, in the mid-1960s; interviewed by Mason in July 1969; 21 pages
  • Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Wheeler, Jr. neighbors of the Nimitzes on Long Island in the late 1940s; interviewed by Mason in August 1969; 20 pages

Based on nine interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., E. B. Potter, and Etta-Belle Kitchen. Altogether, the volume contains 359 pages of interview transcript plus indices. The transcripts are copyright by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewees have placed no restrictions on their use.

Recollections of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as given by:

  • Rear Admiral Thomas C. Anderson, MC, Pacific Fleet medical officer, 1943-45; interviewed by Kitchen in July 1969; 44 pages
  • Mr. James W. Archer, member of the NROTC unit at University of California in the 1920s; interviewed by Kitchen in August 1969; 44 pages
  • Mr. and Mrs. Edward V. Brewer, Jr., neighbors of the Nimitzes in California after World War II; interviewed by Kitchen in January 1970; 58 pages
  • Mr. George E. Cozard, Marine Corps driver for Nimitz during his time as Chief of Naval Operations; interviewed by Kitchen in January 1970; 66 pages
  • Captain Tracy D. Cuttle, MC, member of the NROTC unit at University of California in the 1920s; interviewed by Mason in August 1969; 16 pages
  • The Honorable Charles M. Fox, Jr., communication officer on the Third Fleet staff in October 1944; interviewed by Potter in March 1970; 8 pages
  • Captain George S. Perkins, Naval Reserve officer commissioned by Nimitz in 1926; interviewed by Kitchen in December 1969; 18 pages
  • Rear Admiral Allen G. Quynn, member of Pacific Fleet Service Force staff in World War II; interviewed by Mason in December 1969; 50 pages
  • Vice Admiral John R. Redman, Pacific Fleet communication officer in World War II; interviewed by Mason in June 1969; 55 pages.

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Nimitz, Chester W., Fleet Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Recollections by his widow Catherine Freeman Nimitz

Based on two interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in June 1969 and one interview conducted by E. B. Potter in March 1970. The volume contains 170 pages of interview transcript plus indices. The transcript is copyright 1970 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewees have placed no restrictions on its use.

Recollections of the late Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as given by his widow, Catherine Freeman Nimitz.

Also...

Based on two interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr. Altogether, the volume contains 119 pages of interview transcript plus indices. The transcripts are copyright 1970 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewees have placed no restrictions on their use.

Recollections of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as given by:
* Nancy Nimitz, daughter of Admiral; interviewed by Mason in June 1969; 68 pages,
* Nancy Nimitz and her mother, Catherine Freeman Nimitz, in a joint interview by Mason in June 1969; 51 pages.
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Noel, John Vavasour, Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen in August 1984. The volume contains 237 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1987 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Captain Noel, a prolific writer and avid tennis player, was graduated from the Naval Academy in 1936. His World War II service included duty in the light minelayer Sicard (DM-21) at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked, and command of the destroyerLamson (DD-367) during the Leyte Gulf and Ormoc Bay landings of late 1944. Among his postwar commands was the cruiserSpringfield (CLG-7), Sixth Fleet flagship of two future CNOs, Admirals George Anderson and David McDonald. Subjects discussed include moral leadership in the Navy, civilian-versus-military control of the Judge Advocate General's Corps, and the early use of helicopters in underway replenishment. Various articles by Noel, discussed in the text, are included as an appendix.
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O'Neill, Admiral Merlin, Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by Peter Spectre from January 1970 to March 1971. The volume contains 139 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2004 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee placed no restrictions on its use.

In 1921 O'Neill graduated from the Coast Guard Academy after a three-year shortened course resulting from World War I. In the 1920s he served in several cutters during the anti-rumrunner patrols of the Prohibition era: Gresham (WPG-85), Haida (WPG-45),Algonquin (WFG-75), and Mojave (WPG-47). In 1925-27 he was executive officer and later commanding officer of the destroyerEricsson (CG-5). He served on the staff of the Coast Guard Academy from 1927 to 1930, had brief duty in other destroyers in the early 1930s, and commanded the cutter Apache, 1933-35. O'Neill had a long stretch in Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington from 1935 to 1942, during which time he helped establish the Coast Guard Reserve and Coast Guard Auxiliary. He commanded the Navy attack transport Leonard Wood (AP-25/APA-12) from 1942 to 1944, during World War II amphibious operations. After that he headed the Baltimore subsection of the Fifth Coast Guard District and then commanded the entire Fifth Coast Guard District. O'Neill served 1946-49 as Assistant Commandant of the Coast Guard and from 1950 to 1954 was the seventh Commandant of the Coast Guard.
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Ogden, Capt. James R., Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in March 1982. The volume contains 127 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1982 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

In early career as naval aviator he served in the Northampton. In 1938 was assigned to PBY squadron in San Diego - participated in mass non-stop flight to Coco Solo, Canal Zone. First USN patrol plane pilot to take off from Pearl Harbor when Japanese attacked. Participated in Battle of Midway and landings at Guadalcanal. Was first CO of the seaplane tender Floyds Bay, later navigator of the carrier Philippine Sea during Operation Highjump exploration of Antarctica. Served as Chief of Staff for Commander Carrier Division 15 and as Deputy Chief of Staff, U.S. Taiwan Defense Command. Discussions focus particularly on his experiences in PBY patrol planes. Other tours of duty are covered in much less detail.
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Olsen, Clarence E., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on a single interview conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in June 1970. The volume contains 53 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1972 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Covers his service from 1942 to 1945. In 1942 served at Headquarters, Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, Washington, D.C., where one duty was making a study of the Northern Passage from Japan, around northern Russia to Murmansk to see what prospects of developing it might be. Was then assigned as Chief of the Naval Division of the U.S. Military Mission to USSR. Handled naval activities in Soviet ports in connection with Lend-Lease shipments; established a complete exchange of weather information between USSR and US; made arrangements for American delegation at the Yalta Conference. Worked closely with Ambassador Averell Harriman.
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Osborn, Oakley E., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in March and October 2000. The volume contains 154 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2002 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

One of the few patrol plane aviators in the Naval Institute's oral history collection, Osborn is the first graduate of Aviation Officer Candidate School to achieve flag rank in the Navy. After completing the various stages of flight training in 1957, he held billets of increasing responsibility in several squadrons, Patrol Squadron 17, Patrol Squadron 31, Patrol Squadron 19, and Patrol Squadron 40. In VP-31 he was an instructor as the P-3 Orion entered the fleet; he served as executive officer and commanding officer of VP-40. In the mid-1960s he served on the staffs of Commander Anti-Submarine Warfare Group Five and Commander Patrol Force Seventh Fleet. After that he was a student at the Naval Postgraduate School, attended a course in POW survival, and was a student at the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. OpNav tours in the 1970s included ASW readiness and training officer and executive assistant to the Director of ASW and Ocean Surveillance, Vice Admiral Ed Waller. After duty in the early 1980s in the Naval Military Personnel Command, he was promoted to rear admiral and had several flag tours: in OP-01; as deputy director for operations in the National Military Command Center; as Commander Patrol Wings Pacific Fleet; and as Deputy Director, Defense Mapping Agency.
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Parker, Jackson K., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from November 1985 through September 1986. The volume contains 500 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1987 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This is an extraordinary memoir, both because of Parker's long period of active duty in the Navy - 1942 to 1987 - but also because of his achievement of flag rank without benefit of college education. As a machinist's mate, Parker served in the destroyer Mervine (DD-489/DMS-31) in World War II, attack transport Fremont (APA-44), and destroyer Trathen (DD-530) in the Korean War. Interspersed were tours of recruiting duty. He was a warrant officer in the ammunition ship Great Sitkin (AE-17) in the 1950s. After becoming a commissioned officer he put the engineering plants of the Charles F. Adams (DDG-2) and Josephus Daniels (DLG-27) into service and was later exec of the Conyngham (DDG-17) under skipper Harry Train. He commanded the Macdonough (DLG-8) and Richard E. Byrd(DDG-23) and spent a year with Task Force 116 in country in Vietnam. In addition to commanding Destroyer Squadrons 26 and 10, Parker was instrumental in fleet maintenance improvements and set up the Propulsion Examining Boards which were designed to bring 1,200-psi steam plants up to high standards. His final tour of duty was as Commander Naval Base Norfolk.
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Peet, Raymond E., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on seven interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen from May 1978 through July 1978. The volume contains 548 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1984 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the transcript requires the written permission of the interviewee to quote or cite in published works.

Following graduation from the Naval Academy in 1942, Peet had several wartime tours in destroyers, including duty in the USSConverse (DD-509), one of the "Little Beavers" of Destroyer Squadron 23. Following postgraduate education in ordnance and duty with the Operational Development Force and Naval Proving Ground Dahlgren, Peet was gunnery officer of the New Jersey (BB-62) and then commanding officer of the Barton (DD-772). He did so well in the latter that he was tapped to become aide to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Arleigh Burke. He provides a detailed description of his difficulties in working with Burke. Peet then won in a competition against Commander E.R. Zumwalt to become commissioning skipper of the first nuclear-powered destroyer, the USSBainbridge (DLGN-25). Peet's frequent conflict/competition with Zumwalt crops up time and again in the oral history. Peet later served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and was fired from his first flag assignment - the DX-DXG program - because he would not bend to the political will of his civilian seniors. Following two amphibious assignments, including one which oversaw survival training for Vietnam, Peet became director of the SecNav's Office of Program Appraisal. As Commander First Fleet in the early 1970s, Peet experimented with the concept of operating a numbered fleet from a headquarters ashore. In his final active duty tour, Admiral Peet was Director Security Assistance Agency, concerned with foreign military sales. This memoir is candid throughout and offers interesting insights on such topics as Admiral Hyman Rickover, naval nuclear power, and the disadvantages of early promotion in the Navy.
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Pirie, Robert B., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on eight interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from May 1972 through May 1974. The volume contains 352 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1974 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

Designated naval aviator in 1929, Admiral Pirie served in the LexingtonLangley, and Raleigh. In 1942 he was Assistant Air Operations Officer for Commander Air Force Pacific Fleet. In 1945 he was Commander Carrier Division Four, participating in assault and capture of the Marianas, Palau, the initial raid on the Philippines; Okinawa and Formosa; the Battle of Leyte Gulf; and South China Sea Raid. During final months of the war, he was Air Ops Officer on staff of Fleet Admiral King. He served as Commandant of midshipmen at the Naval Academy in 1952. Subsequent duties included: CO of the Coral Sea; Chief of Staff to CinC, U.S. Naval Forces Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean; Chief of Staff and Aide to CinC U.S. Atlantic Fleet; Commander Carrier Division Six, Commander Second Fleet; and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air) until retirement in 1962.
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Polaris, Series of Interviews

Based on seven interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from September 1972 through February 1974. The volume contains 334 pages of interview transcript. The transcript is copyright 1982 by the U.S. Naval Institute; any restrictions originally placed on the transcripts by the interviewees have since been removed.

Raborn, Vice Admiral William F., Jr., USN (Retired), Director of Special Projects Division to develop Polaris. Raborn discusses the background, personnel, and progress of this project on which he was given carte blanche by CNO Arleigh Burke. Interviewed in September 1972; transcript contains 71 pages.

Burke, Admiral Arleigh A., USN (Retired), Chief of Naval Operations, 1955 to 1961. Burke discusses the political overtones surrounding the program, and dismisses the idea that we were racing to develop submarine-launched missiles in response to Soviet advances in that area. Interviewed in September 1972; transcript contains 36 pages.

Gates, Thomas S., Jr., Secretary of the Navy from 1957 to 1959. Gates discusses objections to this program that came mostly from within the Navy and the surprising support from the Bureau of Aeronautics. He also covers the safeguards used to ensure a monitoring of the success of the program and proper managing of funds. Interviewed in October 1972; transcript contains 39 pages.

Shugg, Carleton, Head of Electric Boat Company. Among other facets of the submarine construction aspect of the Polaris project, Shugg talks about security, shipyard logistics, and Admiral Rickover's role. Interviewed in November 1973; transcript contains 25 pages.

Dunlap, Dr. Jack, Member of civilian steering committee for Polaris. Dunlap discusses the background of his selection to this committee, the role of the committee, and its proceedings. Interviewed in October 1972; transcript contains 32 pages.

Pehrson, Gordon, Head of planning staff for Polaris project. Pehrson came to the Polaris program in 1956 as a high-ranking civilian in the Army Department, and describes the bureaucratic aspect of the beginning of the project from a civilian standpoint. His planning group was tasked with laying out program plans for creating the military capability needed for the project. Interviewed in February 1974; transcript contains 66 pages.

Watson, Clement, Presentation/public relations contractor for Polaris. Watson was recruited to promote the Polaris project to Congress, the military, and President Eisenhower. He discusses the strategy used to overcome concerns about engineering feasibility, cost, and the length of time necessary for development. Interviewed in November 1972; transcript contains 65 pages.
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POW Interviews

Based on two interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in August 1975. Fellowes's portion of the volume contains 278 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1976 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Fellows, John H., Commander, USN

Fellowes, pilot in squadron VA-65, was shot down in August 1966 while flying an A-6A Intruder on a bombing mission from the aircraft carrier Constellation (CVA-64). His target was Vinh in the panhandle area of North Vietnam. Fellowes's back was broken by the time he was captured on the ground by militiamen. His bombardier-navigator, George Coker, was also captured. The oral history describes Fellowes's six-and-one-half-year ordeal in North Vietnamese hands, recounting incidents concerning many of his fellow prisoners. He particularly cited the leadership qualities of POWs James Stockdale, Jeremiah Denton, and Robinson Risner. Included is discussion of such issues as the quality of military survival training and the importance of moral development; interrogation and torture; minimum medical treatment; meager food rations; usefulness of cigarettes; physical fitness exercise; camp policies; deaths of other prisoners; communication procedures; entertainment the POWs devised for each other; visits to North Vietnam by war protesters such as Jane Fonda; being paraded in public in Hanoi; the futile Son Tay raid of 1970; B-52 raids on Hanoi; concerns about his family members back home and limited correspondence with them. Fellowes was released from captivity in early 1973. The oral history tells of his return, a description supplemented by his article "Operation Homecoming," which appeared in the December 1976 issue ofProceedings.

Based on one interview conducted by Paul B. Ryan in September 1975. Stratton's portion of the volume contains 144 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1976 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee's permission is required to cite or quote the material in a published work.

Stratton, Richard A., Commander, U.S. Navy

Stratton, a member of squadron VA-192, flew off the carrier Ticonderoga (CVA-14) in an A-4E Skyhawk on 5 January 1967. He was on a combination reconnaissance and weather hop when he was shot down that day near Thanh Hoa, North Vietnam. He spent the next six years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese. From his experiences, he discussed the leadership structure among the prisoners and the North Vietnamese fear of that leadership; the role of officers such as James Stockdale and William Lawrence as leaders; communications methods; interrogation and torture; attempts to get him to defect; the value of religion; descriptions of the guards; the famous incident in which Stratton bowed stiffly to imply he had been drugged before being put on display for the media; his forced confession; the importance of returning with honor; escape attempts; Stratton's assessment of President Lyndon Johnson's handling of the war; the role of neutral countries; U.S. media coverage of POWs; comparison of the POW experience to Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's book On Death and Dying; no early releases were sanctioned except that of Seaman Apprentice Douglas Hegdahl in 1969 to carry prisoners' names back to the United States; and some of the common traits of the American prisoners. Stratton's wife Alice told the story from the family point of view in a July 1978 Proceedings article titled "The Stress of Separation."

Denton, Jeremiah A., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy

Based on two interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in October and November 1976. Denton's portion of the volume contains 147 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1977 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee's permission is required to cite or quote the material in a published work.

Denton was shot down on 18 July 1965 near Thanh Hoa, North Vietnam, while flying an A-6A Intruder from squadron VA-75, based on the carrier Independence (CVA-62). In addition to covering his personal ordeal of torture, he assessed the rationale for the U.S. intervention in Vietnam and the methods employed there; positions of President Richard Nixon and advisor Henry Kissinger on conduct of the war; Communist versus democratic value systems; the Code of Conduct; views on marriage and the family; Communist propaganda; the importance of the command structure among prisoners, led by individuals such as James Stockdale and Robinson Risner; forced confessions; the difficulties of solitary confinement; religious activities in captivity, national security; and speeches to the public following his release. Denton was the first American prisoner freed in the normal release procedure and thus was called upon to speak to the media when he reached the Philippines in early 1973. The oral history interviews are intended to supplement Denton's book When Hell was in Session.

Alvarez, Everett, Jr., Commander, U.S. Navy

Based on two interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen in March 1976. Alvarez's portion of the volume contains 134 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendix. The transcript is copyright 1977 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has removed previous limitations on the use of the material.

Alvarez was the first U.S. pilot shot down in the Vietnam War. On 5 August 1964 he was lost while flying an A-4C Skyhawk of squadron VA-144 from the carrier Constellation (CVA-64). The mission was a retaliation strike on Hon Gay, North Vietnam, for the Gulf of Tonkin incident a few days earlier. In the oral history he discussed the lack of preparation at that time for rescuing shot-down airmen; injuries sustained in ejection; makeshift nature of the early captivity; varying attitudes of different guards; initial period of solitary confinement; the Code of Conduct; his belief that visits by American protesters such as Ramsay Clark and Jane Fonda kept the war going; the value of prayer; propaganda and punishment meted out by the enemy; interrogation details; communication with his wife until he learned that she had divorced him; the limited food and medical treatment available; ways in which political events affected the treatment of the prisoners; gradual improvement of conditions in the early 1970s; opportunities for sports and exercise; interaction among prisoners; the effect of U.S. B-52 raids on North Vietnam; and eventual release and delivery to the Philippines in early 1973. The interviews are a supplement to Alvarez's book Chained Eagle.
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Pownall, Charles A., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen in April 1970. The volume contains 216 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1989 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the transcript requires the written permission of Admiral Pownall's daughter to quote or cite in published works.

Following graduation from the Naval Academy in 1910, Pownall served briefly in the Mississippi (BB-23), Missouri (BB-11), Ammen(DD-35), and Reid (DD-21). During World War I he commanded the Roe (DD-24) and Vedette (SP-163), and after the war, the John D. Ford (DD-228). After flight training, he was designated a naval aviator in 1927. He then served as navigator in the Saratoga (CV-3), air officer in the Lexington (CV-2), and had duty on the staffs of Commander in Chief Battle Fleet and Commander Aircraft Squadrons Battle Fleet. He was executive officer of the Ranger (CV-4), and skipper of the Enterprise (CV-6) from 1938-41. During World War II he served as Commander Patrol Plane Replacement Squadrons, Patrol Wings, Pacific Fleet; Commander Fleet Air, West Coast; Commander Carrier Division Three; Commander Air Force Pacific Fleet; and Chief of Naval Air Training Command. His final tours, before retirement in 1949, were as Commander Marianas and naval governor of Guam.
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Price, Arthur W., Jr., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen from May 1978 through July 1978. The volume contains 642 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1980 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral Price enlisted in the Navy in November 1939 and became an aviation metalsmith in 1940. After various tours of duty in World War II - in the USS Wright and Patrol Squadron 14 at NAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii - he entered the Navy aviation flight program and became a pilot, receiving a commission as ensign in 1944. After various tours of duty in night fighter squadrons and fighter bomber squadrons, his designation was changed to that of an unrestricted line officer. Ultimately his career gravitated to amphibious warfare. He served in many areas, especially in Vietnam where he became Deputy Commander of U.S. Naval Forces and finally Commander in June 1972.
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Pride, Alfred M., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on three interviews conducted by Peter Spectre from January 1970 through April 1970 and one interview conducted by Paul Stillwell in January 1984. The volume contains 234 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1984 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Pride's early interest in aviation was followed by enlistment in Naval Reserve for World War I in 1917, aviation training, and brief overseas duty in France. Pride augmented to regular Navy in 1921, later became one of the first flag officers who was not a Naval Academy graduate. He served in the scout plane detachment of battleship Arizona (BB-39) in 1920 and then joined the commissioning crew of the first carrier Langley (CV-1) as one of her aviators. Pride describes in some detail his work in developing flight deck arresting gear. In 1927 he was in commissioning crew of USS Lexington (CV-2) and made first landing aboard. As a test pilot, he flew a number of experimental planes and made first autogiro landing on carrier deck. Suffered a serious injury in plane crash, nearly ending his career. Served in Bureau of Aeronautics and in patrol plane operations with Marc Mitscher. Pride was exec of the Saratoga(CV-3) at the outbreak of World War II and then put light carrier Belleau Wood (CVL-24) in commission as the first skipper and took her to combat in Pacific. Served with Kelly Turner in amphibious air support at the end of the Pacific War. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Pride commanded carrier divisions in the Sixth Fleet, sandwiched between a tour as Chief of Bureau of Aeronautics. The BuAer period is covered in some detail as Pride talks about the aircraft acquisition process and various manufacturers he dealt with. His career wound up with tours as Commander Naval Air Test Center, Commander Seventh Fleet, and Commander Air Force Pacific. As fleet commander he had dealings with Japanese and Nationalist Chinese.
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Pyne, Schuyler N., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 14 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from June 1970 through July 1971. The volume contains 512 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1972 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1925, Admiral Pyne continued his studies, receiving a master of science degree at MIT in 1930. He served in the Construction Corps and in 1940 was designated for engineering duty. In World War II he was in charge of auxiliary vessels' construction and conversion at BuShips; then became Industrial Manager at the Naval Operating Base, Guam. After the war his duties included: Deputy Director, David W. Taylor Model Basin; Chief of Staff and Engineer Officer with the Naval Group of U.S. Mission for Aid to Turkey; Superintendent of Shipbuilding; Commander Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard; Assistant Chief, BuShips for Field Activities. In 1958 he became Commander New York Naval Shipyard until his retirement in 1961. He describes in detail the fire on board the carrier Constellation while she was being built at the New York Naval Shipyard.
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Quigley, Robin L. C., Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

This volume contains the transcript of some taped interviews with Captain Quigley in June 1976 at her home in San Diego, California. The interviews were conducted by Comdr. Etta Belle Kitchen, USN (Ret.) for the Oral History Office in the US Naval Institute. Captain Quigley has made corrections to the original typescript. The manuscript was re-typed and indexed afterwards. Two brief documents are attached (1) the Z-gram 116 on Women in the US Navy and (2) Captain Quigley's remarks in San Diego at the time of her retirement (1974).

The Captain's many tours of duty reveal her exceptional standards for military conduct; they reveal also her outstanding ability as an officer. Here is an activist with ideas and convictions. These convictions, as they pertained to the position of women in the Navy, brought her into conflict with the Chief of Naval Operations (Admiral Zumwalt). Captain Quigley had always stated that she was willing to 'stand and be counted' and this is precisely what she did under most difficult circumstances. The story is as engrossing as fiction in its complexity and drama.
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Ramage, James D., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on three interviews conducted by Barrett Tillman and Robert Lawson in February and March 1985. The volume contains 383 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1999 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Known throughout the service by his nickname "Jig Dog," this officer takes great pride in his achievements in combat. He liked to go where the action was, and in this memoir he is frequently candid to the point of bluntness in expressing his feelings. After graduation from the Naval Academy in 1939, he served in the aircraft carrier Enterprise (CV-6) and later returned to that ship after undergoing flight training brief duty in the heavy cruiser Salt Lake City (CA-25). He was in a number of combat actions during the war, notably the Battle of the Philippine Sea in 1944. He served as CO of Bombing Squadron 98, as a student at the Naval War College, as navigator of the escort carrier Bairoko (CVE-115), and on the staff of ComAirPac. In the 1950s he was with the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, commanded Carrier Air Group 19 and Fleet Composite Squadron Three, served in the Pentagon in OP-05W, was a student at the National War College, and commanded Heavy Attack Wing One as the Navy built up its nuclear bombing capability. In the early 1960s Ramage commanded the seaplane tender Salisbury Sound (AV-13), served as head of Special Weapons Plans on the OpNav staff, commanded the aircraft carrier Independence (CVA-62), served on the staff of Joint Task Force Two, which tested low-altitude bombing alternatives, and was chief of staff to Commander Task Force 77 during the bombing of North Vietnam. As a flag officer he was Commander Fleet Air Whidbey, deputy chief of staff for plans and operations on the staff of CinCPacFlt, Commander Carrier Division Seven, Commander Naval Air Reserve, and Commander Tenth Naval District/Caribbean Sea Frontier. He retired from active duty in 1975.
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Ramage, Lawson Paterson, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 12 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from August 1973 through June 1974. The volume contains 560 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1975 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

An intrepid submarine skipper in World War II, Ramage was awarded the Medal of Honor for a daring predawn surface attack while in command of the USS Parche (SS-384) in July 1944. He won Navy Crosses while commanding the Trout (SS-566) and Parche. Admiral Ramage also recalls witnessing Pearl Harbor attack while a member of the staff of Commander Submarines, Scouting Force, Pacific Fleet. After the war, he commanded a submarine division, submarine squadron and the attack transport Rankin, as well as holding staff positions and attending war colleges. He discusses his flag officer assignments, which included the following: special assistant to the CNO (Admiral Arleigh Burke); Assistant CNO for Fleet Operations and Readiness; Commander First Fleet; and Commander Military Sea Transportation Service during the Vietnam War.
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Reagan, John W., Member of the Golden Thirteen

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in January 1987 and April 1989. The volume contains 225 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1991 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

As a youth, Reagan demonstrated his abilities as a top-flight athlete in football, wrestling, and track. His education at Montana State University was interrupted by World War II. After an attempt to become a pilot in the Army Air Forces, he enlisted in the Navy in 1942 and began training as an electrician's mate. In early 1944 he was one of 16 men who underwent officer training at Great Lakes, Illinois. He was commissioned an ensign in March of that year, thus becoming one of the first black officers on active duty with the U.S. Navy. He served initially at Hampton Naval Training School in Virginia, then overseas on Okinawa and Guam. After completing his college education, he played professional football in Canada, then was recalled to active service to help recruit blacks into the Navy. He remained on duty during the Korean War and eventually became executive officer of an amphibious boat unit before returning to civilian life. In Southern California area, he worked for the state, the local chapter of the Urban League, and developed a successful career in real estate. His only son, John W. Reagan, Jr., was killed in the Vietnam War.
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Reich, Eli T., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on 11 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from April 1978 through January 1979. The volume contains 520 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1982 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Volume I covers Admiral Reich's career prior to 1963. He was graduated from submarine school in 1939 and assigned to the submarine Sealion. In Manila in December 1941, he was lunching on a ship in the harbor, when the Sealion (SS-195), which he had left moments before, was demolished by Japanese bombs. His descriptions of submarine experience in the Pacific and Sea of Japan are graphic and detailed as are his experiences in destroyers. He concludes his volume with his command of the missile cruiserCanberra (CAG-2) and his fight to uncover the flaws in the Terrier missile system. It was this experience that led him inevitably to the job as "czar" of the investigative study of the 3-Ts - Tartar, Terrier, and Talos - which continues in Volume II.

Volume II

Based on 15 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from February 1979 through January 1980. The volume contains 681 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1982 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Continues career in 1963 when the admiral was Director, Surface Missile Systems Project, followed by his tour as Commander Antisubmarine Warfare Group Five in Southeast Asia. He then was assigned to Washington as Director of the Logistic Plans Division and as Acting Comptroller of the Navy. Prior to his retirement in 1973 he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Production, Engineering and Material Acquisition). Later he was appointed Administrator of the Office of Petroleum Allocation in the Department of Interior and then was a consultant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense where he was given special cognizance over shipbuilding problems and contracts.
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Richardson, David C., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on three interviews by Paul Stillwell, conducted in March and April 1992. The volume contains 316 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 1998 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After growing up in Mississippi, Richardson attended the Naval Academy, where he was on the boxing team. Following his graduation in 1936, he served as a junior officer in the battleship Tennessee BB-43, and was on board when she went aground in San Francisco in 1937. He completed flight training in 1940 and reported to Fighting Squadron Five; the squadron was at times in CV-3, CV-4, CV-5, and CV-7. He flew F3Fs and F4Fs, including combat in the latter during the Guadalcanal campaign in 1942. Later in the war he was involved in tactical aviation training in Florida and carrier group readiness training in Hawaii. After the war Richardson studied at the Royal Navy Staff College in London, later at the U.S. Naval War College, where he helped write analyses of wartime battles. He commanded Carrier Air Group 13 in the Princeton (CV-37), helped plan for the NATO military structure, and then was XO of the escort carrier Badoeng Strait (CVE-116) off Korea. After duty in aviation planning for ComAirPac and OP-05, he was on the CinCSouth staff in Naples, then commanded the oiler Cimarron (AO-22) and ASW carrier Hornet (CVS-12). He had a tour from 1961 to 1964 in the OP-06 organization in OpNav, then served as Commander Fleet Air Norfolk during his first flag tour. In 1966 Admiral David McDonald, the CNO, chose Richardson to command Task Force 77 during carrier air strikes against North Vietnam. In that billet, Richardson did much to integrate intelligence, planning, and operations. After a tour as Assistant DCNO (Air), he served as Commander Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, 1968-70. That tour was notable for Richardson's role in creating the Ocean Surveillance Information System to monitor Soviet naval operations. His final active tour was as Deputy CinCPacFlt prior to his retirement in 1972. Since that time he has remained quite active in various roles in connection with the naval intelligence community.
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Richmond, Alfred C., Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.)

Based on three interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in November 1975. The volume contains 405 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1976 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

After graduation from the Coast Guard Academy in 1924, Richmond served in a number of ships involved in enforcing U.S. anti-smuggling laws during Prohibition. He had other shipboard service as a junior officer and in the mid-1930s passed a three-year course toward a law degree from George Washington University. On the eve of World War II, he assisted in writing the laws which established the Coast Guard Reserve. In 1941, he was involved in fitting out the Coast Guard training vessel American Sailor. During the war, he commanded the cutter Haida, was involved in merchant marine inspections, and then set up a Coast Guard hearing unit in London to aid in enforcement of laws and regulations. After the war, he reported to Coast Guard headquarters in Washington and for the next 16 years was involved in presenting the service's budget to Congress. During that time he had a four-year term as Assistant Commandant and two four-year terms as Commandant prior to his retirement in 1962.
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Riley, Herbert D., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 14 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from April 1971 to May 1972. The volume contains 562 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2004 by the U.S. Naval Institute; permission is required from Lynne L. Riley, the admiral's daughter, in order to cite or quote the oral history in published works.

This memoir focuses heavily on the interviewee's experiences in naval aviation. Once he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1927, Riley served in the battleship New Mexico (BB-40) and had to be persistent to get into flight training. Aviation assignments in the 1930s included service in Scouting Squadron Six (VS-6) with the cruiser Cincinnati (CL-6), Scouting Squadron Five (VS-5) with the cruiser Richmond (CL-9), Patrol Squadron One, Patrol Squadron Ten, Fighting Squadron Three (VF-3) in the Ranger (CV-4), the aviation unit of the heavy cruiser Portland (CA-33), and Anacostia Naval Air Station. In the billet at Anacostia he was a pilot for VIPs and married the daughter of Rear Admiral John Towers, Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics. In 1940-41 Riley served on the staff of Commander Carrier Division One and on the staff of Commander Patrol Wings. He had temporary duty in 1942 on Guadalcanal and in 1943-44 served in the Bureau of Aeronautics. In 1944-45 he commanded the escort carrier Makassar Strait (CVE-91) and at war's end in 1945 was operations officer on the staff of the prospective Commander First Carrier Task Force, Vice Admiral Frederick Sherman. In 1946 Riley was on the staff of Joint Task Force One, during Operation Crossroads. Shore duty in the late 1940s included service in the Strategic Plans Section of OpNav, as an assistant to two Secretaries of Defense, James Forrestal and Louis Johnson, and as a student at the National War College. In the early 1950s he was assistant chief of staff for plans on the staff of CinCLant-CinCLantFlt-SACLant, commanded the aircraft carrier Coral Sea (CVA-43), and was chief of staff to Commander Carrier Division Two, Rear Admiral Hugh H. Goodwin. After duty in the International Affairs Division of OpNav, Riley served as Commander Carrier Division One and from February 1958 to May 1961 was Chief of Staff of the Pacific Command serving Admiral Felix B. Stump and Admiral Harry D. Felt. The oral history concludes with Riley's service in the early 1960s as Deputy CNO (Operations and Readiness), OP-03, and as Director of the Joint Staff.
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Russell, James S., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in November 1974. The volume contains 369 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1976 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Designated a naval aviator in 1929, Admiral Russell had the normal tours both aboard ship and ashore and earned a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering while in postgraduate training. During World War II he led VP-42 in action against the Japanese in the Aleutian Islands campaign. After a short tour back in the States, he was chief of staff to Commander Carrier Division Two. In 1945 and 1946 he served as a member of the Strategic Bombing Survey in Japan. Later he commanded the Coral Sea (CVA-43) in the Med; in 1955 was Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics; was awarded the Collier Trophy in 1956 for development of the supersonic Crusader Navy fighter; was Deputy CinC of the Atlantic Fleet; Vice Chief of Naval Operations (1958-1961); and CinC Allied Forces Southern Europe until retirement in 1965.
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Salzer, Robert S., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 15 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from February 1977 through November 1977. The volume contains 712 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1981 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

Admiral Salzer was in the thick of the fray in Vietnam, in command of riverine warfare from 1967-1968. He set up Operation Sealords. Again in 1971-1972 he returned as Commander U.S. Naval Forces, Vietnam. He recounts details of logistics support, fiscal management, ship repairs, and the awareness of what was necessary to assist the Vietnamese in building a viable naval force. This memoir which also includes a good deal on Admiral Salzer's pre-Vietnam service, is a wide-ranging story with observations on many areas where he served - amphibious operations, mine warfare, intelligence, command of destroyers and cruisers, statistical analysis, logistics, and manpower requirements.
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Schneider, Richard W., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in July 2003. The volume contains 421 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2004 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Schneider has had an unconventional career. He set out to be an active-duty career officer in the Coast Guard. But the illness and death of his first wife led him into the Coast Guard Reserve and a new career in higher education while rearing the couple's daughters. The memoir thus details his active Coast Guard service, career in higher education, and his role in reshaping the fundamental nature of the Coast Guard Reserve. Schneider graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1968 and was on board the cutter Dallas (WHEC-716) during Vietnam War service. Subsequently, he was an instructor at Officer Candidate School, a graduate student at Wesleyan University, and taught at the Coast Guard Academy before transferring to the Coast Guard Reserve in 1977. He worked 1977-85 as executive officer, University of Delaware-College of Marine Studies and in 1985 earned a Ph.D. from the University of Delaware. He served in a variety of administrative positions at Drexel University from 1985 to 1992. His reserve duty was at Indian River, Delaware, the Philadelphia Marine Safety Office, and the New York Marine Safety Office. He has served as president of Norwich University, a private military institution in Northfield, Vermont, since 1992. As a senior reserve officer in the 1990s Schneider was involved in the transformation of the Coast Guard Reserve.
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Schoeffel, Malcolm F., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on six interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from January 1979 through June 1979. The volume contains 368 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1979 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1918, Admiral Schoeffel had duty with the Destroyer Force in the Atlantic during World War I. Designated a naval aviator in 1921, he served in air squadrons in the Pacific Fleet. After duty as navigator in the carrierSaratoga, he was Assistant Director for Aviation Ordnance where he served on various committees dealing with aircraft armament matters affecting the Navy Department. In 1943 he assumed command of the carrier Cabot which took part in many air strikes in the Pacific. In 1945 he was Deputy Chief of Staff to CinC Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas. The apex of his career came when he became Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance in 1950, the first naval aviator to serve as chief of that bureau.
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Schratz, Paul R., Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on three interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from November 1984 through December 1984. The volume contains 313 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1996 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This memoir covers the life and career of an officer who distinguished himself as a submariner and as a writer and educator. He was also an accomplished violinist, playing in a number of symphonies, depending on where his naval career took him. After graduation from the Naval Academy in 1939, he served until late 1941 in the heavy cruiser Wichita (CA-45), which was involved in neutrality patrol in the Atlantic. He was a student in submarine school in early 1942, then performed wartime service in the submarinesMackerel (SS-204), Scorpion (SS-278), Sterlet (SS-392), and Atule. After hostilities ended in 1945, Schratz became officer in charge of the captured Japanese submarine I-203 and delivered her to Hawaii. He then served the Bureau of Naval Personnel before a stint as temporary skipper of the submarine Burrfish (SS-312) when she was reactivated in 1948. He then commanded the submarinePickerel (SS-524) during Korean War reconnaissance missions and a long submerged transit from Hong Kong to Pearl Harbor. After duty in the political-military policy division of OpNav in the early 1950s, he served as executive officer of the submarine tenderNereus (AS-17) under skipper Dusty Dornin and was later Commander Submarine Division 52. Subsequent billets were on the staff of Commander Anti-Submarine Defense Force Atlantic Fleet, as a student and staff member at the Naval War College, and as commanding officer of the submarine tender Fulton (AS-11) in the early 1960s. During this period, Schratz believed, he lost his opportunity for major command because he published a facetious story in 1963 about Vice Admiral H. G. Rickover's burial plans. He had duty from 1962 to 1964 on the Joint Staff, including service as a delegate to the 18-nation disarmament conference in Geneva, Switzerland, then served in the Department of Defense. After earning a doctorate from Ohio State University in 1966, he was on the faculty of the National War College, 1966-68. He retired from active duty in 1969, then ran an international studies program at the University of Missouri. Other post-retirement jobs were in education, including giving instruction at the various war colleges and at Georgetown University. He also wrote widely, both books and articles.
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Sebald, William J., Captain, U.S. Navy Reserve (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on seven interviews conducted by James Plehal from March 1977 through May 1977. The volume contains 569 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1979 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Volume I covers the early history of Ambassador Sebald, his Naval Academy days, his language study in Japan, his subsequent study of law, and his practice of law in Japan; his wartime duty as a reserve officer, first with the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) and then in a special section of Combat Intelligence on the staff of Admiral E.J. King; his subsequent duty with the State Department and with General MacArthur in Japan where he became Ambassador, Chairman of the Allied Council, and political advisor to Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP).

Volume II

Based on five interviews conducted by James Plehal from May 1977 through June 1977. The volume contains 505 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1979 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Volume II continues with the Ambassador's tour of duty in Japan during the occupation (1947-1952). There are accounts of the peace treaty with Japan; of the Security Treaty and the Administrative Agreement. There are also significant remarks about General Douglas MacArthur, General Matthew Ridgway, Secretary John Foster Dulles, Prime Minister Yoshida, and other governmental officials in Japan. The volume concludes with an account of the two years (1952-1954) that Captain Sebald spent as U.S. Ambassador to Burma. That part of the story recounts the struggles and problems of a newly independent country and the resultant demands placed upon the diplomatic representative of the United States

Volume III

Based on five interviews conducted by James Plehal in July 1977. The volume contains 516 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1980 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Volume III picks up his career in 1954 when he was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Far Eastern Affairs under Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. He relates dealings with SEATO, the McCarthy era and influence on the State Department, his familiarization tour of countries in the Far East, and quotes excerpts from his diary of the events and notable people with whom he was involved. In 1957 he was appointed Ambassador to Australia. He tells of his trip to the Antarctic, the visit of the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and the discussion of a summit meeting with Russia. Also the visit of the queen mother in 1958. After his retirement he published With MacArthur in Japan - a personal history of the occupation of Japan.
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Sharp, U. S. Grant, Jr., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on six interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen from September 1969 through February 1970. The volume contains 331 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The interviewee has placed no restrictions on the use of the transcript but his estate retains the copyright to the literary content of the material.

During World War II, Admiral Sharp was CO of the Hogan on convoy duty in the Western Atlantic and Caribbean as well as in the invasion of North Africa. In 1943 he was CO of the Boyd (DD-544) and took part in many strikes in the Pacific: Wake Islands, Nauru, the Marianas, the Bonins, Mindanao, Cebu, Negros, Luzon, Truk, Okinawa, and Formosa. Among his later assignments were: CO of the Macon; Commander Cruiser Division Three; Director, Strategic Plans Division; Commander Cruiser Destroyer Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet; Commander First Fleet; DCNO (Plans and Policy) during the Cuban crisis; and CinC, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Volume II

Based on five interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen from March 1970 through June 1970. The volume contains 328 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The interviewee has placed no restrictions on the use of the transcript but his estate retains the copyright to the literary content of the material.

Volume II is a detailed chronicle of the admiral's years as Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet. These were years when the United States dealt with a crescendo of involvement in the military and political events of Vietnam. Among the many events he discusses are: 1965 air operations against Vietnam; capture of the Pueblo (AGER-2); and the Inchon landing. He discusses many of the political and military personages of that time who were involved with the Vietnam War.
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Shear, Harold E., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret)

Based on three interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from September 1992 through June 1993. The volume contains 385 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1997 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Since his father died before he was born, Shear was raised in the 1920s and 1930s largely by his stepfather, the skipper of a menhaden fishing ship. The youngster thus developed an early love for the sea. He graduated the Naval Academy shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, then served in both the Atlantic and Pacific on board the destroyer Stack (DD-406). Following submarine school in the early months of 1944, he served to the end of the war in the Sawfish (SS-276). Postwar duty was at the Submarine Administrative Command, San Francisco, as executive officer of the Becuna (SS-319), on the staff of ComSubPac, and in the Bureau of Naval Personnel. In the early 1950s he was executive officer under skipper Ned Beach in the new fast attack submarineTrigger (SS-564). Subsequently Shear commanded the Becuna, was a student at the Armed Forces Staff College, participated in a 1956 nuclear weapons war game while serving in the Strategic Plans Division (OP-60) of OpNav, and was a member of the staff of Commander Submarine Squadron Two. He underwent training for the Navy's nuclear power program in preparation for serving as first blue crew CO of the ballistic missile submarine Patrick Henry (SSBN-599). He later had Polaris duty on the CinCLant staff, studied at the National War College, and commanded the fast combat support ship Sacramento (AOE-1). As a flag officer, he chief of the U.S. naval mission in Brazil, Director of the Submarine Warfare Division (OP-31) in OpNav, Director, Antisubmarine Warfare and Tactical Electromagnetic Programs (OP-095), Commander in Chief U.S. Naval Forces Europe, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, and NATO Commander in Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe. After his retirement from active duty in 1980 he worked in the civilian maritime industry and served from 1981 to 1985, during the Reagan Administration, as civilian administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration.
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Shellenbarger, Franklin F., Captain, U.S. Maritime Service (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell, from March 1997 through November 1997. The volume contains 277 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2003 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This memoir comprises Shellenbarger's service in both the Navy and the merchant marine. He enlisted in the Navy in 1938 and before his enlistment expired in 1941 he was assigned to the old sailing ship Constellation, the battleship Colorado (BB-45), the destroyerHerbert (DD-160), light cruiser Helena (CL-50), and the flag allowance for Commander Battleships Atlantic Fleet. After leaving the naval service, he worked for the Glenn L. Martin Company building aircraft. During World War II he was first a student and then an instructor at the Maritime Officers Training School, New London, Connecticut. He had wartime service on board the Liberty ships John R. McQuiggReverdy Johnson, and Linn Boyd. In the decades that followed he was a deck officer for American South African Lines, American Export Lines, and American Export-Isbrandtsen. In the early 1960s he was chief mate, acting master, and ship superintendent of the nuclear-powered cargo ship Savannah. His experience as master of cargo or cargo/passenger ships included the ExtaviaFlying SprayExiriaExport ChampionExport AmbassadorContainer ForwarderContainer DispatcherFlying Fish,Export Agent, and Export Courier. His seagoing career ended in 1979, and subsequently Captain Shellenbarger testified as an expert witness in legal cases. From 1994 to 2003 he was president of the Marine Society of New York.
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Shelton, Doniphan B., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in February 2000. The volume contains 263 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2003 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Following boyhood in Missouri, Shelton entered the Navy in 1939 as an enlisted man. He served in the battleships New Mexico (BB-40) and California (BB-44) before attending prep school and then the Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1944. He had wartime duty in the light cruiser St. Louis (CL-49) before completing flight training. He was among the Navy's pioneers in night fighter operations and later served as a test pilot. Squadrons over the years included VF-1E, VCN-1, VC-3, and VC-124. He commanded Fighter Squadron 92 and Carrier Air Wing 17; the latter was in the Ranger (CVA-61). He had a role in the introduction of the F7U Cutlass into the fleet. His ship commands during the Vietnam War were the ammunition ship Paricutin (AE-18) and the amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LPH-10). He attended the Naval War College and had several tours of duty on the OpNav staff. Included in the latter was work in the Politico-Military Policy Division, particularly in connection with Pan-American affairs. In 1973-75 he commanded U.S. Naval Forces Philippines and later served as director for plans (J-5) on the CinCPac staff before retiring in 1979. His tour in the Philippines was noteworthy because of the hosting of South Vietnamese refugees at Subic Bay after their country was overrun in the spring of 1975.
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Siler, Owen W., Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in December 2000. The volume contains 348 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2004 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After growing up in California, Siler attended Santa Maria Junior College, 1938-40, and then was a cadet at the Coast Guard Academy. He was in the class of 1944, which graduated in 1943 because of the need for wartime officers. During World War II he served in the attack transports Hunter Liggett (APA-14) and Bayfield (APA-33). Postwar service included Alameda, California; as navigator of the cutter Taney (WPG-37); and shore duty in at the 11th Coast Guard District, Long Beach. He took flight training at Corpus Christi and Pensacola in 1947-48, then had initial duty as an aviator, 1948-52, at Port Angeles, Washington. After instrument training at Corpus Christi in 1952, Siler spent 1952-54 at Coast Guard Air Detachment, Barbers Point, Hawaii. From 1954 to 1959 he was aide and pilot for the Coast Guard Commandant, Admiral Alfred Richmond. From 1959 to 1962 Siler commanded Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi; served 1962-64 in the 17th Coast Guard District office in Alaska; and in 1964-66 was executive officer and then commanding officer of Coast Guard Air Station Miami. After a year as a student at the National War College in Washington, he served 1967 to 1971 in the management division of Coast Guard headquarters. After selection in 1971 as rear admiral, he commanded Second Coast Guard District in St. Louis until 1974. Admiral Siler was Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1974-78. During his tenure he was involved in the recapitalization of the service through procurement of new ships and aircraft; enforcement of fisheries laws in extended economic zones; concerns about pollution; and expanded opportunities for women, including admission to the Coast Guard Academy and service on board cutters.
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Smedberg, William R. III, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from May 1975 through September 1977. The volume contains 475 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1979 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

A man of considerable enthusiasm and energy, Smedberg was in the class of 1926 at the Naval Academy and reported afterward for a year of duty in the USS New Mexico (BB-40). He then spent three years in the destroyer Mullany before reporting to the commissioning crew of the heavy cruiser Northampton (CA-26). After postgraduate education in communications, he served on the staff of Commander Cruiser Division Three and Commander Cruisers Battle Force, Rear Admiral Stark. Stark took Smedberg as aide when he became CNO in 1939, so this memoir contains a closeup view of Stark in the period just before World War II. During the war, Smedberg was commissioning CO of the destroyers Landsdowne and Hudson, both of which operated in the Solomons. He then served as chief of staff to Rear Admiral A.S. "Tip" Merrill in the Solomons campaign before reporting as intelligence officer to Admiral E.J. King's CominCh staff. After the war he was aide to Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, a destroyer division commander, and a Naval Academy department head. He put the battleship Iowa back into commission as skipper during the Korean War and then was chief of staff to Commander Destroyer Force Atlantic Fleet.

Volume II

Based on three interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in December 1978. The volume contains 304 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1979 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This volume begins with a discussion of Smedberg's service in the Politico-Military Division of the OpNav staff. While there, he was selected for rear admiral and moved up to become division director. From 1956 to 1958, he was Superintendent of the Naval Academy, involved in raising funds for a new football stadium and in upgrading both the faculty and methods of instruction. He then spent a few months as Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Force Pacific Fleet and one year as Commander Second Fleet. During the course of the latter command, the fleet was involved in war games against the U.S. Air Force and a NATO exercise. Admiral Smedberg's final tour, as Chief of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, was from 1960 to 1964. His discussion concerns such facets as the introduction of computers to the order-writing process, detailing of flag officers to various billets, interaction between the Navy and political figures, the budgetary process as it concerns naval personnel, and Smedberg's dealings with Admiral Hyman Rickover. Admiral Smedberg's memoir is a particularly interesting one because of his degree of candor.
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Smith, John Victor, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on nine interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from January 1976 through May 1976. The volume contains 556 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1977 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This is a revealing memoir because of the candor with which Admiral Smith discusses his career. Graduated from the Naval Academy in 1934, he served in the destroyer Perry under future CNOs Denfeld and Fechteler and then was in the first crew of light cruiserHonolulu. He makes a point of discussing poor Navy war preparations in the late 1930s. During the war he was in destroyer Shubrickin the Med and commanded DD Brush in Pacific. Served as aide to Fleet Admiral Leahy, including at Yalta Conference. Had ordnance PG training and served at Dahlgren. After staff college, he was on H.M. Martin's Seventh Fleet staff in Korean War. Later commanded destroyer division, transport Rockbridge, and cruiser Newport News. Served in OpNav, helped reorganize Naval Academy curriculum, and headed leadership program at BuPers. As flag officer, he commanded cruiser-destroyer flotilla, was in plans and policy in OpNav, and negotiated with North Koreans after USS Pueblo was seized. Had three-star billets as Commander Amphibious Force Pacific and Industrial College commandant.
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Smith, Leighton W., Jr., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on ten interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from September 2004 to March 2006. The volume contains 927 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2011 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee placed no restrictions on its use.

In this account, which spans a period from working on a farm in Alabama to receiving an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II, Admiral Smith provides an unusual degree of openness in describing his career. His uncle, Admiral Harold Page Smith, was an able role model and mentor, as was Captain William Bringle, who was commandant when Leighton Smith, later known widely by the nickname "Snuffy," was a midshipman at the Naval Academy. Young Smith graduated from the academy in 1962 and shortly afterward married Dorothy McDowell. His recollections of their family life are interspersed throughout the oral history. Smith's early commissioned service was on board the landing craft repair ship Krishna (ARL-38), flight training, and in 1964-65 as an instructor in air intercept control at Glynco, Georgia. All told, Smith made three combat deployments to Vietnam, culminating in 1972 with his successful attack on the Thanh Hoa Bridge in North Vietnam. He flew A-4 Skyhawks and later A-7 Corsairs. Squadron duty included Attack Squadron 44 (VA-44); Attack Squadron 81 (VA-81); Attack Squadron 22 (VA-22); Attack Squadron 174 (VA-174); Attack Squadron 82 (VA-82). In 1975-77 he was XO and then CO of Attack Squadron 86 (VA-86). From 1968 to 1970 he was a production test pilot at the LTV plant in Dallas. In 1977-78 he commanded Carrier Air Wing 15 (CVW-15); in 1978-80 served in the Navy Military Personnel Command; and in 1980-81 was Commander Light Attack Wing One. He commanded the replenishment oiler Kalamazoo(AOR-6) in 1982-83; served briefly on the staff of ComNavAirLant in 1983-84, and commanded the aircraft carrier America (CV-66) in 1984-85. Smith was a member of the Strategic Studies Group at Newport in 1985-86. As a flag officer, he was director of tactical readiness on the OpNav staff; commanded Carrier Group Six, based in Mayport, Florida; and served briefly in 1989 as acting Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Group 12. From 1989 to 1991 he was operations officer for the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany; served from 1991 to 1994 as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Plans, Policy and Operations (OP-06, later N3/5); and served 1994-96 as NATO's Commander in Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe and Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces Europe. In the NATO command he ordered air strikes that led to the conclusion of the Dayton Accords to stop fighting in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in 1995-96 commanded the multinational Implementation Force that carried out the provisions of the Dayton agreement.
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Smith, Willard J., Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.)

Based on three interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in October 1977. The volume contains 650 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1978 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After graduation from the Coast Guard Academy in 1933, Smith served a tour in the cutter Saranac (WPG-164) before reporting to Washington for the first of two tours as aide to long-time commandant Russell Waesche. After flight training, Smith was involved in aerial surveying of Alaska and then served with a Navy patrol plane squadron during World War II. He was again aide as Waesche's tenure ended in 1946. He then commanded a Coast Guard air station and served in the Aviation Division at Coast Guard headquarters before studying at the Armed Forces Staff College. Following duty in Guam, he commanded the icebreaker Mackinaw on the Great Lakes and then served as commandant of cadets at the Coast Guard Academy in New London. Smith's memoir is particularly good in discussing changes made at the Academy during this period by Superintendent Frank A. Leamey. Smith then served in the 13th Coast Guard District before returning to New London as Academy Superintendent himself. After being Commander 9th Coast Guard District, Admiral Smith served as Commandant of the Coast Guard from 1966 to 1970. He describes the transition during this period as the Coast Guard was transferring from its long-time home in the Treasury Department to the newly created Department of Transportation
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Smith-Hutton, Henri H., Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on 31 interviews conducted by Paul B. Ryan from December 1973 through August 1974. The volume contains 370 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1976 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

Anyone with an interest in the operations of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet during the pre-World War II period will find much of interest in this memoir. Following graduation from the Naval Academy in 1922, Smith-Hutton had several tours of duty on the old China Station and then went to Tokyo for study of the Japanese language. He subsequently served in the cruiser Houston and as fleet intelligence officer on the Asiatic Fleet staff. Later tours included attaché duty in Tokyo, serving as exec of the destroyer Lawrence, and communication officer of the cruiser Augusta. Smith-Hutton was U.S. naval attaché, and attaché for air, stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo when World War II broke out. In this volume, he describes the experience of being interned in hostile Japan for the first six months of World War II, then being repatriated to the United States on board the neutral liner Gripsholm.

Volume II

Based on 25 interviews conducted by Paul B. Ryan from August 1974 through March 1975. The volume contains 376 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1976 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

Volume II begins with Smith-Hutton's return to the United States and his service from 1942 to 1944 as fleet intelligence officer on the staff of Admiral E.J. King, who was CominCh. Later in the war, he commanded Destroyer Squadron 15 in the Pacific, later converted to Mine Squadron 21. After the war he had staff duty in the Pacific and then commanded the light cruiser Little Rock. Following temporary duty on the OpNav staff, he had a tour as U.S. naval attaché and attaché for air to France and Switzerland, then retired from active duty in 1952. Following his retirement he remained in Europe to work for Radio Free Europe.
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Smoot, Roland N., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen from November 1970 through March 1971. The volume contains 349 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1972 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After being graduated from the Naval Academy in 1923 and earning his MA in Engineering from Penn State in 1930, Admiral Smoot served in the submarine Narwhal until 1933. During World War II he was CO of the Monssen (DD-436), which was one of the escort ships of the Hornet (CV-8) transporting Colonel Jimmy Doolittle's flyers for their famous strike on Tokyo. His ship later participated in the Battle of Midway; assault and occupation of Guadalcanal; the first battle of Savo Island; and the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. In 1944 he was Commander Destroyer Squadron 56 involved in the Battle of Surigao Strait and assault on Iwo Jima. His later career included duty as: CO Newport News (CA-148) ; Commander Cruiser Division Three; Commander Mine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet; and Commander, U.S. Taiwan Defense Command.
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Smoot, William T.

Based on a single interview conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in April 1973. The volume contains 29 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1996 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Most of the oral histories in the Naval Institute collection deal with the active service of career naval personnel. Mr. Smoot spent only four years on active duty, and this memoir covers only one operation from one tour of duty. But it is a powerful one, because Smoot had an unusual vantage point during the abortive attempt to invade Fidel Castro's Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961. Smoot was an officer in the destroyer Eaton (DDE-510) and watched firsthand the covert support provided to the Cuban rebels. He saw the landing craft and the invasion site, listened to voice radio transmissions, and went ashore in a motor whaleboat to rescue rebels who were stranded there. Smoot's destroyer came under fire on one occasion while in the Bay of Pigs.
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Stevenson, Neil M., Rear Admiral, CHC, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on seven interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from February 1988 through March 1990. The volume contains 346 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1998 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

In telling of his life and career, Chaplain Stevenson made it clear that he wanted to contribute more than just a collection of sea stories. As a result, he emphasized more than a dozen issues while doing the telling. One point that he made repeated was that members of the Chaplain Corps should emphasize institutional ministry rather than limiting themselves to parish ministry. Stevenson was born and reared in Brooklyn and got his undergraduate education at the small Tarkio College in Missouri. He later got his religious training at Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary. He began his active Navy service as a student in 1957 at Chaplain School in Newport, Rhode Island. Subsequent duties were at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, with Destroyer Squadron Ten, at Naval Station Newport, on board the aircraft carrier Saratoga (CVA-60), and at Glenview, Illinois, Naval Air Station. In the late 1960s he was a postgraduate student in at Princeton Theological Seminary, then was involved with the Personal Response Program in South Vietnam. In the early and mid-1970s he was in the training division on the staff of the Chief of Chaplains, a student in the Chaplain School advanced course, senior chaplain at the Naval Training Center, Orlando, Florida. He served in 1976-77 on the staff of John O'Connor, Chief of Chaplains, and provides some superb observations on O'Connor's style and achievements. Stevenson was subsequently Fleet Chaplain, Pacific Fleet/Chaplain, Naval Logistics Command Pacific Fleet, Deputy Chief of Chaplains, and served from 1983 to 1985 as the Navy's Chief of Chaplains. In his post-retirement years he worked as a civilian pastor.
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Strauss, Elliott B., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret)

Based on four interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in October and November 1986. The volume contains 364 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1989 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

The son of four-star Admiral Joseph Strauss, this officer followed his father in the naval profession. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1923 and soon went on the shakedown cruise of the light cruiser Concord (CL-10). He was subsequently in the battleshipArkansas (BB-33), various destroyers, and the cruiser Nashville (CL-43); he commanded the USS Brooks (DD-232). In the mid-1930s he was an assistant naval attaché in Great Britain, later flag lieutenant for Commander Atlantic Squadron, Rear Admiral Alfred Johnson. He became a naval observer in England on the eve of World War II, then was the first American naval officer on the staff of Lord Louis Mountbatten, Chief of Combined Operations. Strauss took part in the Dieppe operation, later served on various staffs in the months leading up to the invasion of France in June 1944. He later commanded the attack transport Charles Carroll (APA-28) and the cruiser Fresno (CL-121). After duty in OpNav he commanded Destroyer Flotilla Six, later served with the U.S. mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. After retirement he was chief of the U.S. aid mission to Tunisia.
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Strean, Bernard M., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 11 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from March 1974 through December 1974. The volume contains 615 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1978 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1933 and being designated a naval aviator, he reported to Patrol Squadron Eleven in San Diego in 1938. In 1940 he was flight instructor at NAS Jacksonville, and then a member of Flight Standardization Board. In 1943 he had duty as Commander of Fighting Squadron One in the Yorktown and received the Navy Cross for personally scoring a direct bomb hit on a Japanese aircraft carrier in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and for action in the Marianas. Later highlights in his career were duty as: CO of the Naval Pre-Flight School at Pensacola; CO of the Randolph (CV-15); Commander Carrier Division Two in theEnterprise in operation Sea Orbit, the first nuclear task force on a good will tour of world ports. Before retirement in 1971, he was Chief of Naval Air Training.
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Streeter, Ruth C., Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., on behalf of Columbia University from April 1979 through July 1979. The volume contains 366 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright by Columbia University; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This is an exceptional volume in the Naval Institute oral history collection in that Colonel Streeter is the only interviewee whose service was with the Marine Corps rather than the Navy or Coast Guard. She tells of her growing-up years when she did a good deal of traveling, provides a woman's perspective on the home front in World War I, and discusses the establishment of the Cheney Award, which honors aviation heroism in memory of her brother, who was killed in a flying accident. She describes her membership on the New Jersey Relief Council during the Depression and her pioneering work as first director of the Women Marines in World War II. She served as an example for those under her leadership and provided reassurance to the populace that their daughters would be well taken care of. After the war, she was a member of the New Jersey Veterans Council as servicemen became readjusted to civilian life.
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Stroop, Paul D., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on eight interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen from August 1969 through January 1970. The volume contains 258 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1996 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use. This is a revised version of the original, which was issued in 1970. The new version has been completely retyped, annotated with footnotes, and given a detailed index.

After graduation and duty in the Arkansas (BB-33), Admiral Stroop competed in gymnastics in the Olympic Games of 1928. He then trained and was designated naval aviator. When Pearl Harbor was bombed, he served as staff officer for Commander Task Force II in the Lexington (CV-2), participating in battles in the Coral Sea until the Lexington was lost. He then became planning officer for Admiral Fitch in the South Pacific. In 1944 he was aviation plans officer for CNO, Admiral E.J. King, accompanying him to the Yalta Conference. Later duties included: CO of the Croatan; Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, CinCPac; CO of the Princeton, patrolling the Korean coast in 1951; Commander, China Lake Naval Ordnance Test Station; Commander, Taiwan Patrol Force; and Commander, Naval Air Force, Pacific Fleet.
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Struble, Arthur D., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 12 interviews conducted by John T. Mason Jr. between May 1976 and February 1977. The volume contains 369 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2011 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee placed no restrictions on its use.

The most significant part of Admiral Struble's memoir is comprised of descriptions of his role in the area of amphibious warfare in World War II and Korea. Struble graduated from the Naval Academy in 1915 and served in several ships as a junior officer, including the refrigerated stores ship Glacier (AF-4) during the early part of World I and soon after commanded the destroyers Stevens (DD-86) and Shubrick (DD-268). In the 1920s he was in the crew of the battleship California (BB-44) and remained on board as a member of the staff of Commander Battleships and later Commander Battle Force. He was involved in amphibious landing exercises in the early 1930s on the staff of Commander Battleship Division Three, 64-65. Duty in the battleship New York (BB-34) and the heavy cruiser Portland (CA-33) was sandwiched around service as communications officer of the 12th Naval District. He had tours in the politico-military Central Division of OpNav in the late 1930s and early 1940s. At the outset of World War II he commanded the light cruiser Trenton (CL-11). In 1943-44 Struble served as chief of staff to Commander Task Force 122 for the American naval portion of the invasion of Normandy, France, on D-Day. Shortly after, he commanded amphibious groups that liberated the Philippine Islands in the war against Japan. He had a number of encounters with Army General Douglas MacArthur during that campaign and a few years later during the Korean War. After the war's end, Struble commanded Mine Force Pacific Fleet and Amphibious Force Pacific Fleet. He served 1948-50 as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Operations) and in 1950-51 was Commander Seventh Fleet at the outset of the Korean War. The oral history contains Struble's detailed recollections of the September 1950 invasion of Inchon, Korea. In 1951-52 he was Commander First Fleet and from 1952 to 1955 was assigned as a U.S. representative to the United Nations.
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Sublett, Frank E., Jr. (Member of the Golden Thirteen)

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in October 1986 and July 1988. The volume contains 200 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1989 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After three years of college, Frank Sublett enlisted in the Navy in 1942. After training at Hampton, Virginia, as a machinist's mate, he was sent to Boston's section base machine shop and operated submarine-detecting sonar on board auxiliary patrol craft in the Atlantic. In early 1944 he was sent to Great Lakes for officer indoctrination, and commissioned in March. As an ensign, he went back to Hampton to be an instructor in small boat handling, and later participated in auxiliary ship yard patrol and served as executive officer of a yard oiler at San Francisco. In mid-1945 he was sent to Eniwetok as executive officer of a stevedore battalion. Though he relished his time in the Navy, he felt the service was making up work for this first group of black officers, rather than utilizing their true potential. In civilian life he enjoyed a career in the automotive industry, and since 1980 has worked as a professional model.
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Tarbuck, Ray, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen from October 1970 through February 1971. The volume contains 267 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1973 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

The bulk of this narrative deals with Tarbuck's World War II experiences - as an instructor for Army Air Forces personnel in such skills as warship recognition; as a member of General Douglas MacArthur's Southwest Pacific staff, including Tarbuck's planning of the Leyte landing in the Philippines; and as chief of staff to Vice Admiral Daniel E. Barbey, Commander Seventh Amphibious Force. Also discussion of prewar experiences: class of 1921A at the Naval Academy; destroyer duty in various ships; temporary command of a company of Marines in Nicaragua; NROTC instruction at the University of California; and writing of shiphandling instructions for the USS West Virginia (BB-48) in mid-1930s. After World War II, Tarbuck served for a time as CO of battleship Iowa and as inspector general for 11th Naval District. This memoir is particularly useful for its view of Army operations as seen by a naval officer. Good personality portraits of MacArthur, Barbey, and Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner.
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Thach, John S., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on five interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen from June 1970 through March 1971. The volume contains 461 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1977 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

This is a delightfully told memoir from the man who was probably the Navy's foremost fighter plane tactician of World War II. He is best known as the inventor of the "Thach Weave" whereby U.S. fighters could successfully combat Japanese Zeros. Thach tells of devising the maneuver at home with kitchen matches. In a series of enjoyable tales, Thach describes his Naval Academy years, graduating in 1927, early experience in patrol planes and fighters, flying with Butch O'Hare, early combat operations against the Japanese, culminating in the Battle of Midway, teaching tactics at the Navy's Operational Training Command, making training films to indoctrinate new pilots, and then acting as operations officer when he returned to the combat theater on the staff of Vice Admiral John S. McCain, Commander Task Force 38.

Volume II

Based on five interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen from May 1971 through August 1971. The volume contains 393 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1977 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

Volume II is based on five interviews from May 1971 through August 1971. 393 pages of transcript plus index and appendices. Transcript is classified open.

This second volume contains Thach's account of service on the staff of CTF 38, culminating with his presence on the deck of theMissouri for the Japanese surrender. After the war, he was director of training at Pensacola and special assistant to Vice Admiral "Black Jack" Reeves in fighting off attempts by the Air Force to take over naval aviation. He commanded the escort carrier Sicily in the early stages of the Korean War as Marine Corsairs provided close air support, then was senior naval aide to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air, John Floberg. Thach commanded the large carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt during a Mediterranean deployment and had a tour as commander of naval air bases in the Sixth Naval District. After serving as senior member of the Weapon Systems Evaluation Group, he commanded Carrier Division 16/Task Group Alfa in hunter-killer ASW Work. As a vice admiral, he commanded Anti-Submarine Warfare Force Pacific Fleet and was Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air). After being promoted to four stars, he served as Commander in Chief U.S. Naval Forces Europe.
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Tolley, Kemp, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on three interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from June 1975 through August 1975. The volume contains 484 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1983 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral Tolley's colorful life and skill as a storyteller make him the perfect subject for an oral history. In Volume I he discusses his early years as an army brat and his midshipmen years leading to graduation in 1929. His career followed relatively normal channels as junior officer with duty aboard FloridaTexasCanopusHouston, and Mindanao in the 1930s. Then came a series of free-form tours as a Russian language student with loose intelligence duties in China, Manchuria, and Eastern Europe. Tolley gives not only a narrative of events during this period before World War II, but also provides the reader with the flavor of the locale. Next came duty aboard the USS Wyoming (BB-32), service as an aide to Commander, South China Patrol on board the USS Mindanao (PR-8), and as executive officer on board the USS Tutuila (PG-44). In the late 1930s Admiral Tolley went back to China for a short period of intelligence work, followed by a year at the Naval Academy in 1940, and then back to Asiatic duty as executive officer on the Yangtze gunboat USS Wake (PR-3), during which time he narrowly escaped capture by the Japanese.

Volume II

Based on three interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from September 1975 through August 1976. The volume contains 370 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1984 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral Tolley begins this brisk-paced concluding volume of his oral history with his speculations on the widespread foreknowledge of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor among our leaders in Washington. He talks about the Roberts Commission and the naval officers whose lives were affected so greatly by the "surprise" attack. After all the offbeat junior officer duties he described so colorfully in his first volume, as Tolley advanced in rank his billets became more ordinary, though his enduring storytelling ability makes them seem anything but. He served as navigator on the North Carolina (BB-55) in the last year of World War II during that ship's participation in action off Leyte, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. After the war, he became intelligence officer on the OpNav staff, commanded the USSVermilion (AKA-107), and directed the intelligence division at the Armed Forces Staff College, where his unorthodox teaching methods were frowned upon although his classes were very popular. Other tours included operations officer on the staff of Commander Amphibious Group Two and command of Amphibious Squadron Five, during which time he was tasked with forming an evacuation plan for Taiwan. He developed such good rapport with the Japanese that, after his retirement in 1959, he was recalled to active duty to participate in the dedication of the Mikasa memorial. In 1967 he was recalled a second time to serve as convoy commander in the Pacific. Throughout his narration, Tolley's engaging sense of humor, complemented by his flair for the dramatic, is in evidence.
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Tomlinson, Daniel Webb IV, Captain, U.S. Naval Reserve (Ret.)

Based on three interviews conducted by Barrett Tillman in September 1985 and one interview conducted by Paul Stillwell in September 1987. The volume contains 283 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1995 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Tomlinson graduated from the Naval Academy in 1917 and became a naval aviator shortly after the conclusion of World War I. In the 1920s he was very much his own man, defying both official regulations and abominable flying weather. His descriptions of flying through ice, fog, rain, and other hazards explain why he put so much emphasis on the importance of instrument flying in its fledgling years. In 1928, while in a fighter squadron, Tomlinson organized the Three Seahawks, the Navy's first aerobatics team. Stifled by Navy bureaucracy, in 1929 Tomlinson resigned from the service and went into the commercial airline business. Employed by a predecessor company of the present TWA, he worked closely with Douglas Aircraft in the development of specifications for the DC-1. He also did test-pilot work for the Army in the 1930s and then was called back to active duty by the Navy for World War II. He became commander of the Naval Air Transport Service Pacific, which transported people and supplies throughout the theater. In the late 1940s, working with the Air Force, he had a role in the Berlin Airlift.
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Train, Harry D. II, Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on seven interviews by Paul Stillwell, conducted from July 1986 to October 1996. The volume contains 534 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 1997 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Because he grew up in a Navy family, Train was imbued from childhood with the goal of attending the Naval Academy. His career as a midshipman included playing center on the football team that played a notable tie against West Point in 1948. After graduation in 1949, he served as a junior officer in the destroyer Harold J. Ellison (DD-864) in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and in the destroyerHarry E. Hubbard (DD-748), which was reactivated for Korean War service. After submarine school in 1951, Train served in the submarine Wahoo (SS-565), whose skippers, Dennis Wilkinson and Bill Anderson, both later commanded the Nautilus (SSN-571). After duty in 1957-58 on the Joint Staff, Train was executive officer of the submarine Entemedor (SS-340) and submarine placement officer in the Bureau of Naval Personnel. In 1962-64, after resisting Admiral Rickover's efforts to draft him into the nuclear program, he was commanding officer of the diesel submarine Barbel (SS-580). After that he was administrative aide to Secretary of the Navy Paul Nitze and developed a close working relationship with Nitze's EA, Elmo Zumwalt. Subsequently, Train commanded the destroyerConyngham (DDG-17) in the Med, served briefly on the Second Fleet staff, and then was executive assistant to Admiral Thomas Moorer, during Moorer's duty as CNO and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As a flag officer, Train commanded Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Eight, headed the systems analysis division of OpNav, and was involved in Incidents at Sea negotiations with the Soviet Union. After service in 1974-76 as director of the Joint Staff, he spent two years as Commander Sixth Fleet, and then served from 1978 to 1982 as SACLant, CinCLant, and CinCLantFlt. Other items in the volume include his analysis of the 1982 Falklands War and discussion of his activities following retirement from the Navy. Included have been hiking the Appalachian Trail, running his own defense consulting firm, and serving in a variety of non-profit pursuits.
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Triest, Willard G., Captain, U.S. Naval Reserve (Ret.)

Based on six interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in July 1982 and August 1982. The volume contains 229 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1977 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Captain Triest joined the Civil Engineer Corps in 1941, and his first assignment was the design and logistics for building a secret base, "Bobcat," as a refueling station in the Christmas Islands. He describes the construction of an airfield, hospital, tank farm, and loading facilities on Ascension Island. In 1942 he headed the work of the Seabees at Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides, and then was sent to Tulagi as a trouble shooter to rebuild the esprit de corps of the 27th battalion that had fallen to pieces. The battalion rejuvenated, they built facilities at Emirau and Guadalcanal - fighter air strips and a base for the Marines. He completes the work of the Seabees during the war with recounts of roads and a supply depot constructed in Okinawa, working behind the lines while the Marines drove the Japanese off the island.
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Turner, Stansfield, Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 20 interviews conducted by John T. Mason Jr. from June 1981 to August 1982. The volume contains 937 pages of interview transcript plus a comprehensive index. The transcript is copyright 2011 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee placed no restrictions on its use.

After growing up in the Chicago area, Turner spent a year at Amherst College prior to entering the Naval Academy in 1943. His class of 1947 graduated a year early because the academy's curriculum was shortened in World War II. After brief service in the escort carrier Palau (CVE-122) and the light cruiser Dayton (CL-105), he was at Oxford University in England from 1947 to 1950 as a Rhodes Scholar. Subsequent duties: 1950-51 as gunnery officer of the destroyer Stribling (DD-867); 1951-52 as aide to the CinCNELM/CinCSouth chief of staff, Rear Admiral Murray Stokes; 1952-53 as operations officer of the destroyer Hanson (DD-832); 1953-54 as aide to Commander Destroyer Flotilla Six; 1954-56 in OP-61, the Politico-Military Division of OpNav. From 1956 to 1958 Turner commanded the minesweeper Conquest (MSO-488); was on the Pacific Command (CinCPac) staff from 1958 to 1960; and served as executive officer of the destroyer Morton (DD-948), 1960-62. He commanded the destroyer Rowan (DD-782), 1962-63; from 1963 to 1966 served in the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Systems Analysis); and in 1966 attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. Turner was as PCO and first commanding officer of the guided missile frigateHorne (DLG-30), 1966-68, including combat operations off the coast of Vietnam. He served as executive assistant to Secretaries of the Navy Paul Ignatius and John Chafee, 1968-70. He developed Project 60 initiatives in 1970 when Admiral Elmo Zumwalt became CNO. After being selected for flag rank, he commanded Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Eight in 1970-71 and in 1971-72 headed OP-96, the Systems Analysis Division of OpNav. As president of the Naval War College from 1972 to 1974, Turner made fundamental changes in the college's curriculum and requirements on student officers. He commanded the Second Fleet from August 1974 to July 1975 and then served 1975-77 as Commander in Chief Allied Forces Southern Europe. In his final tour of service, Admiral Turner was Director of Central Intelligence and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, 1977-81. The oral history contains detailed descriptions of his dealings with his Naval Academy classmate, President Jimmy Carter, and with Chief of Naval Operations Zumwalt.
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Van Deurs, George, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on three interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen from June 1969 through October 1969. The volume contains 334 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1974 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Designated a naval aviator in 1924, Admiral Van Deurs served as a pilot with Torpedo Squadron Four, then Observation Squadron Three, the first squadron to operate regularly from catapults, based in the Memphis (CL-13). After four months with Observation Squadron One, he served as flight instructor, later test pilot, at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola. In 1929 he reported to the Asiatic Station and had three years' duty in Scouting Squadron Eight, based in the Jason (AC-12), with temporary additional duty as aviator observer at Singapore and in the Netherlands East Indies. Returning from the Far East in 1932, he served as test pilot at the Naval Air Station, San Diego. He then was flight officer of Scouting Squadron One, based in the Ranger (CV-4), and additionally CO of the experimental Cold Weather Test Detachment of planes in that ship. His account of his duty in the Saratoga completes Volume I.

Volume II

Based on two interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen in October 1969. The volume contains 278 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1974 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Volume II takes up his career with his assignment to the Naval Air Station in Norfolk. He was then CO of Patrol Squadron 23 at Pearl Harbor. He was superintendent of the Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, and handled rapid expansion of training occasioned by the outbreak of World War II. In 1943 he became Chief of Staff, Commander Air Force, South Pacific, contributing to operations in New Georgia and Bougainville. He then had duty as CO of the Chenango (CVE-28), providing air support for seizure of Morotai and Leyte. In 1945 he served as chief of staff to Commander, Battleship Squadron One aboard the Tennessee, participating in bombardment of Okinawa. After the war he was Commander Task Force Group 55.2 and Commander Naval Forces, Kyushu, Japan, during the occupation. In 1947 he was CO of the Philippine Sea and then served in aviation planning with CNO until his retirement in 1951.
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Veth, Kenneth L., Rear Admiral U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on seven interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen in July 1977 and August 1977. The volume contains 427 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1980 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral Veth's naval career, almost from the outset, has been concentrated on mine warfare. After being graduated from the Naval Academy in 1935 and tours in the Pennsylvania (BB-38) and Phoenix (CL-46), he transferred to the minelayer Ramsay (DM-16), serving as mining officer. In 1941-1942, he served as assistant naval attache in London. There he learned of the great British advances in mine warfare and reported them to U.S. authorities. Other events he relates were when he served on the staff of Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, RN, in Southeast Asia (1943-1945); when he concentrated on mine warfare in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (1945-1947); and again in 1967-1968 when he served as Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Vietnam. The appendices contain a number of his reports on aircraft minelaying and mining operations.
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Walker, Edward K., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in September 1984. The volume contains 299 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1985 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1925, Admiral Walker served in battleships until he was "volunteered" for submarine school in 1927. Between 1928 and 1937 he served in a series of submarines: R-8 (SS-85), R-15 (SS-92), R-13 (SS-90), S-21 (SS-126), and S-31 (SS-136). While skipper of S-21 in the mid-1930s, he was instrumental in the development of the torpedo data computer that proved so successful for fleet submarines during World War II. He later served on the Pacific Fleet Submarine Force staff, first in gunnery and fire control, and later as operations officer during the early months of the war. He commanded the Mayrant(DD-402) during the North Africa invasion, leaving her when she was severely damaged by a German bomb off Sicily. His commands included the Effingham (APA-165), the Elokomin (AO-55), and the Canisteo (AO-99). He later commanded Destroyer Squadron 14 and the U.S. Naval Mine Depot, Yorktown before retiring in 1955.
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Ward, Alfred G., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on 11 interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from August 1970 through December 1971. The volume contains 303 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1972 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After he was graduated from the Naval Academy in 1932, Admiral Ward attended MIT where he received his MS in electrical engineering. In World War II he was gunnery officer in the North Carolina, (BB-55) participating in the battles of Guadalcanal, battle of Espiritu Santo, and bombardment for the landing in Kwajalein. After the war he was CO of the Hollister (DD-788). In 1961 he served as Commander Second Fleet and Commander Strike Fleet, Atlantic, involved in the Cuban blockade. During the years 1963 to 1965, Ward was Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, first for plans and policy, and then for fleet operations and readiness. He completed his distinguished naval career serving as the U.S. Representative to the Military Committee of NATO.
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Ward, Norvell G., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on eight interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from May 1985 through July 1987. The volume contains 514 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1996 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

As a midshipman at the Naval Academy in the early 1930s, excelled at soccer and lacrosse and acquired the nicknames "Bub" and "Cocky." After graduation in 1935, he served the heavy cruiser Salt Lake City (CA-25) before attending submarine school. In the ensuing years he was in several submarines, including the S-26 (SS-131) and R-4 (SS-81) before the war; Seadragon (SS-194), which he was on board when Cavite was attacked in December 1941; Gato (SS-212), in which he was executive officer; andGuardfish (SS-217), which he commanded in 1943-44. During the last year of World War II he was on the staff of Commander Submarine Force Pacific Fleet as assistant to operations officer Richard Voge. Following the end of the war he had occupation duty in Japan and then commanded the submarine Irex (SS-482). Subsequent assignments included duty at the Naval Academy, the staff of Commander Submarine Flotilla One, and command of the destroyer Yarnall (DD-541) during the Korean War. Later in the 1950s he was a student at the Armed Forces Staff College, a member of the staff of Commander Second Fleet, and a student at the National War College. Sea commands included the oiler Nantahala (AO-60), Submarine Squadron Five, and Submarine Squadron 14. The latter was the first squadron of Polaris ballistic missile submarines. In the early 1960s he had duty in the plans and war-gaming sections of OpNav. From 1965 to 1967, he served as Chief U.S. Naval Advisory Group Vietnam and then Commander U.S. Naval Forces Vietnam. Admiral Ward has provided extensive discussion of his Vietnam experiences. His last flag assignments were as Commander Service Group Three, Assistant Chief of Naval Operations (Safety), and Commander Caribbean Sea Frontier. He retired from active duty in 1973.
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Waters, Odale D., Jr., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from August 1969 through June 1971 and one interview conducted by Paul Stillwell in December 1985. The volume contains 424 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1994 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After graduation from the Naval Academy in 1932, Waters served in the heavy cruiser Augusta (CA-31) and destroyer Downes (DD-375) before taking postgraduate training in ordnance engineering. He then went to England as a special naval observer in the period when Britain was engaged in hostilities but the United States was not yet in the war. That led directly to his assignment to set up the Navy's first mine disposal school in Washington after his return. He served later in the cruiser Memphis (CL-13) and on the staff of Vice Admiral Jonas Ingram, both in the South Atlantic and when Ingram commanded the Atlantic Fleet. Waters was skipper of the destroyer Laffey (DD-724) during the Bikini atomic bomb tests in 1946. He later commanded the transport Glynn (APA-239) and Destroyer Squadron Two. While commanding the Naval Weapons Station at Yorktown, Virginia, he was selected for rear admiral and then served as Commander Destroyer Flotilla One. After duty as Commander Mine Force Pacific Fleet and Naval Base Los Angeles, he began a long tour of duty as Oceanographer of the Navy, up to his retirement in 1970.
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WAVES, The

Volume I

Based on eight interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from May 1969 through September 1970. The volume contains 451 pages of interview transcript plus indices. The transcript is copyright 1971 by the U.S. Naval Institute; any restrictions originally placed on the transcripts by the interviewees have since been removed.

Captain Mildred McAfee Horton - Horton left her position as president of Wellesley College in 1943 to become the first director of the Women's Reserve. She recalls her difficulties concerning uniforms, integration, and prevailing attitudes about the "correct" use of the women. Two interviews in August 1969; transcript contains 115 pages.

Captain Jean Palmer - Palmer became the second director of the WAVES in 1946. She discusses her wartime service in Washington, political influences on the budding WAVES program, and assesses her predecessor, Mildred McAfee Horton. One interview in May 1969; transcript contains 53 pages.

Captain Joy Bright Hancock - Hancock's naval service spanned three wars, starting with duty as a yeoman (F) in World War I. From service in the Bureau of Aeronautics in the early 1920s she discusses her dealings with Admiral Moffett and other early naval aviators. She was later the third director of the WAVES from 1946 to 1953. Three interviews from November 1969 through March 1970; transcript contains 139 pages.

Lieutenant Commander Mary-Josephine Shelly - Shelly adds her recollections of duty as the WAVES training representative in the Bureau of Personnel during World War II. Later, she became Colonel Shelly, USAFR, recruited by the Air Force to head its women's program. One interview in February 1970; transcript contains 68 pages.

Volume II

Based on eight interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., and Etta-Belle Kitchen from May 1969 through September 1970. The volume contains 369 pages of interview transcript. The transcript is copyright 1979 by the U.S. Naval Institute; any restrictions originally placed on the transcripts by the interviewees have since been removed.

Commander Elizabeth B. Crandall - As ranking woman officer at the Smith College training facility, Crandall discusses discipline imposed on the women, the lack of supplies allocated to their training program, and other situations she encountered there. In 1943 she was assigned to the staff of Commandant, Third Naval District, where she was faced with the logistical problems of organizing the women attached to various commands in New York. One interview by Kitchen in July 1970; transcripts contains 56 pages.

Commander Etta-Belle Kitchen - This former lawyer joined the women's reserve in 1942, and saw wartime duty at the shipyard in Bremerton. After the armistice, she left the Navy for two years, and in 1948 was one of only six women selected for lieutenant commander in the regular Navy. Her final tour was as commanding officer of the recruit training center at Bainbridge, Maryland in the early 1960s. One interview by Mason in May 1969; transcript contains 20 pages.

Captain Rita Lenihan - A career naval officer who retired in the mid-1970s, Lenihan came to the Navy in 1943 from a position as a home lighting engineer. She recalls her work with real estate acquisitions for the Navy and congressional appearances from her wartime service. One interview by Mason in September 1970; transcript contains 43 pages.

Lieutenant Commander Frances L. Rich - Rich came to the Navy as a civilian engineer draftsman at Lockheed. She returned to her alma mater - Smith College - for training, and describes that process and the personnel there. She discusses V-mail from her experiences in the Navy's communications department and the general attitudes of the WAVES. One interview by Kitchen in September 1969; transcript contains 71 pages.

Commander Eleanor G. Rigby - Rigby returned to her alma mater, Smith College, first to go through naval training, and then was tapped to stay there on the training staff. From her experiences in this position she provides a thorough description of life for Navy women during the hectic days of World War II. After legislation was passed in 1944 allowing women overseas, she was among the first females sent to Hawaii. One interview by Kitchen in July 1970; transcript contains 60 pages.

Commander Tova P. Wiley - Hesitantly plucked from a training position at a large department store to be a procurement officer, Wiley describes recruiting tactics and anecdotes from her service. She also discusses recreational facilities and living arrangements for WAVES. One interview by Kitchen in September 1969; transcript contains 60 pages.

Captain Louise K. Wilde - In describing her entry into naval service, Wilde discusses the arbitrary assignment of ranks by local procurement offices and the fine reputations of the women holding key WAVES positions. Wilde's specialty became public relations, where it was necessary to support the women's position in the service to the civilian population. One interview by Mason in December 1969; transcript contains 46 pages.

Senator Margaret Chase Smith - Smith, a supporter of the movement to utilize women in the military and champion of their efforts to obtain permanent status, discusses key congressional figures concerned with the issue of service women. She also discusses her role in this and her relations with the top-ranking Navy women. One interview by Mason in June 1969; transcript contains 13 pages.
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Wellborn, Charles, Jr., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on ten interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from November 1971 through May 1972. The volume contains 384 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1972 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

After graduation from the Naval Academy in 1920, Admiral Wellborn served in the New Mexico (BB-40) and Nevada (BB-36) and then in the West Virginia (BB-38) as aide and communications officer, Commander Battleships, followed by similar service in the California(BB-44). In 1933 he served three years at BuOrd, then returned to sea as CO of the Perry. He later was navigator in the Concord and gunnery officer for ComCruBatFor in the Honolulu. During World War II, he first served as Commander Destroyer Division 16 involved in amphibious landings in Sicily and then with the Fifth Amphibious Force in the Pacific. After a tour as Director of Officer Personnel at BuPers, he assumed command of the Iowa, participating in the first landing and occupation of Japan in 1945. Later highlights in his naval career included: Chief of Staff to CinCPac; Commander Second Fleet, Commander Eastern Sea Frontier; and Chairman of U.S. Delegation, UN Military Staff Committee.
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Wertheim, Robert H., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in January 1981 and February 1981. The volume contains 343 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1981 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Among early tours, served as engineering, communications, and CIC officer in the Hayman (DD-742) when she was involved in American occupation forces in Japan; the Bordelon in operations with Task Force 77 in Far East. In 1964 received MS degree in science from MIT. Was military assistant for strategic weapons in DOD and then became Technical Director, Strategic Systems Project Office - responsible for the development of Polaris, Poseidon, and Trident. Discussions include: work at China Lake on Chaparral system; work with atomic bomb assembly team; leadership of Admiral Raborn; development of the Navy's strategic weapons systems.
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Weschler, Thomas R., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Volume I

Based on four interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from October 1982 through September 1984. The volume contains 434 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1995 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Weschler was not commissioned at the time of his graduation from the Naval Academy in 1939 because de did not meet the vision standards. Thus he became a merchant marine officer and served until joining the Naval Reserve in 1941 and being recalled to active duty. He taught briefly at the Naval Academy, then served in the carrier Wasp (CV-7). He was on board when she was torpedoed and sunk in September 1942. Later he was in combat operations in the destroyers Sigsbee (DD-502) and Young (DD-580). Next Weschler took a postgraduate course in ordnance engineering, including study with Dr. Stark Draper at MIT. He was then gunnery officer in the cruiser Macon (CA-132) and on the staff of Commander Cruisers Atlantic Fleet. After duty at the Naval War College, Weschler commanded the destroyer Clarence K. Bronson (DD-668). He was selected as the first personal aide for Admiral Arleigh Burke, who became Chief of Naval Operations in 1955. The oral history provides fascinating insights into Burke's personality and working style. Afterward Weschler was executive officer of the missile cruiser Canberra (CAG-2) and then worked on the development of the Polaris missile guidance and fire control system.

Volume II

Based on five interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from September 1984 through May 1981. The volume contains 365 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1995 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

For several years, beginning in 1962, Weschler was involved in various aspects of the developing war in Southeast Asia. As a student at the National War College, he studies South Vietnam and made a visit there as part of a class field trip. Then he commanded the attack transport Montrose (APA-212) during Pacific Fleet exercises. On the staff of Commander Amphibious Force Pacific Fleet, he participated in large-scale exercises, then helped do the planning for the 1965 landing at Danang. As Commander Amphibious Ready Group Seventh Fleet, he executed Dagger Thrust raids in Vietnam, then in 1966, upon selection for rear admiral, became the first flag officer as Commander Naval Support Activity Danang. In 1967 he became program coordinator for the DX/DXG program that led eventually to the Spruance (DD-963)-class destroyers and Virginia (DLGN-38)-class frigates. Later tours of duty were as Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Two and Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Force Atlantic Fleet. Finally, as a vice admiral, Weschler headed J-4, the logistics branch of the Joint Staff, during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and Arab oil embargo. Following retirement in 1975, he taught at the Naval War College.
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Wheeler, Charles J., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on five interviews conducted by Etta-Belle Kitchen from June 1969 through September 1969. The volume contains 364 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1970 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the restrictions originally placed on the transcript by the interviewee have since been removed.

After graduation in 1916, his first assignment was in the Benham, employed in escort duty in the Atlantic during World War I. He later served in battleships in the Asiatic Station and as flag lieutenant to the Commander U.S. Naval Detachment in Turkish waters. After duty in the Office of Naval Communications, he returned to sea in the West Virginia (BB-48) and Pennsylvania (BB-38). During World War II he was CO of the cruiser Mobile (CL-63), involved in bombardment of Wake Island, the occupation of Tarawa, and attacks on Kwajalein and Wotje. In 1944 he was assigned as Naval Liaison Officer with the British Pacific Fleet. He then attended the Naval War College and in 1947 was designated a member of the U.S. Naval Mission to Brazil until his retirement in 1948.
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White, William Sylvester (Member of the Golden Thirteen)

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in October 1986 and July 1988. The volume contains 130 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1990 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After growing up in Chicago, White got his education in the city, including a law degree from the University of Chicago. Following private practice, he became an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois in 1939 and remained in that capacity until he enlisted in the Navy in 1943. After recruit training at Great Lakes, he was part of a group of 16 men who underwent training as officers. In March 1944 White was one of a group of 13 men who became the first black U.S. naval officers on active duty. He served for the remainder of the war in Navy public information, first at Great Lakes, later in Washington. After the war he resumed his legal career in the U.S. attorney's office. He joined the cabinet of Illinois Governor Otto Kerner in 1961. In 1964 he became a judge and from 1980 until his retirement in 1991 he was a justice of the Illinois Appellate Court. The principal focus of the oral history is Justice White's recollection of his naval service, including an analytical view of the service of blacks in the Navy and their acceptance into U.S. society as a whole.
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Wilkinson, Eugene P., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Admiral Wilkinson began his career in the U.S. Navy on 12 December 1940 when he received his commission as an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He served in the engineering department of the heavy cruiser Louisville (CA-28) until December 1941 when he was detached with orders to attend the Submarine School in New London, Connecticut, for instruction in submarines. After completing the course in March 1942, Wilkinson was assigned to the submarine R-10, which was the first of a number of submarines that Wilkinson served in during World War II, including the Blackfish (SS-21), Darter (SS-227), and Menhaden (SS-377).

After transferring to the regular U.S. Navy on 28 August 1946, Wilkinson was ordered to the General Line School, Newport, Rhode Island, where he completed the assigned course in May 1947. After serving as executive officer of the submarine Cusk (SSG-348), he was assigned to various engineering positions within the Atomic Energy Commission. He returned to submarines in May 1950, where he assumed command of the submarine Volador (SS-490). He fitted out the submarine Wahoo (SS-565) and had one month as commanding officer of the Sea Robin (SS-407) before carrying out a series of assignments in preparation for becoming the prospective commanding officer of the USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine. He took command of the ship upon her commissioning on 30 September 1945 and held that billet until relieved in June 1957.

After spending the following academic year as a student at the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, Wilkinson served as Commander Submarine Division 102 for a year and had brief temporary duty as commanding officer of the Nautilus. In September 1961 he became the initial commanding officer of the guided missile cruiser Long Beach (CGN-9), the U.S. Navy's first nuclear-powered surface ship. After completion of that command, he reported on 1 November 1963 as Director of the Submarine Warfare Division (OP-31), in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Navy Department, Washington, D.C. While in that billet he was promoted to the rank of rear admiral.

On 23 November 1966, he assumed duties as Chief of Staff for the U.S. Forces in Japan. After earning the Distinguished Service Medal for his service in Japan, Admiral Wilkinson assumed command of Submarine Flotilla Two on 6 June 1969. He was promoted to vice admiral upon becoming Commander of the Atlantic Fleet Submarine Force on 12 February 1970. He had additional duty as Submarine Operations Advisor for Polaris Operations, Atlantic Command and Supreme Allied Command Atlantic, Commander Submarines Allied Command, and Commander Submarine Force Western Atlantic. His final billet on active duty, from 1972 to 1974, was as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Submarine Warfare), OP-02, on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations.
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Williams, Joe, Jr., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on four interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from October 1995 to September 1998. The volume contains 466 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2002 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This volume describes a remarkable career that began when Williams entered boot camp in 1940 and then went through machinist's mate school at the Ford Motor Company. He served 1941-44 in the seaplane tender Matagorda (AVP-22), advancing from fireman to chief machinist's mate. In 1944 he was commissioned an ensign and went through a number of combat landings in the Pacific on board the rocket-equipped LCI(R)-225. In 1945 he became her skipper. Tours of duty later in the 1940s: the Columbia River Group of the Pacific Reserve Fleet, the destroyer Robert L. Wilson (DD-847), and Submarine School. In the 1950s he fit in studies at the University of California at Berkeley among tours on board the submarines Ronquil (SS-396), Icefish (SS-367), Bashaw (SSK-241), and Bluegill (SSK-242). He commanded the latter during intelligence operations in the North Pacific. He also spent a year as a student at the Naval War College and was picked by Admiral Hyman Rickover for the Navy's nuclear power course, even though he didn't yet have a college degree. In the early 1960s he put two ballistic missile submarines into commission as skipper, the Robert E. Lee(SSBN-601) and George Bancroft (SSBN-643). He served from 1966 to 1968 as deputy director of the Special Projects Office and later led a study group that developed plans for the Los Angeles (SSN-688)-class submarines. After serving as chief of staff to ComSubLant, Vice Admiral E. P. Wilkinson, Williams was selected for flag rank. In 1973-74 he commanded the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and from 1974 to 1977 served as Commander Submarine Force Atlantic Fleet. In retirement he worked for the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics.
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Wilson, Almon C., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on six interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from May 1998 to June 1993. The volume contains 281 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2002 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This is a rare volume in the Naval Institute collection in that it deals primarily with a staff corps officer. Even so, Wilson was commissioned as a line officer in 1944 and served the last year of the Pacific War on board the high-speed transport Liddle (APD-60). After a few months at the Naval Supply Depot, Scotia, New York, he returned to civilian life and earned his M.D. degree from Albany Medical College. He did an internship at the Bremerton Naval Hospital and served as medical officer for Mine Squadron Three in the Far East. After another stint of civilian practice he returned to active duty and served in naval hospitals at Subic Bay in the Philippines, San Diego, and Chelsea, Massachusetts, near Boston. In 1965-66 he was commanding officer of the Third Medical Battalion, the facility in Danang that served Marines fighting in the Vietnam War, then was chief of surgery at the naval hospital in Yokosuka, Japan. After attending the Naval War College, he was medical officer on the staff of Commander in Chief Naval Forces Europe. During a subsequent tour in the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BuMed) planning division, Dr. Wilson had additional duty as personal physician to Admiral Thomas Moorer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He then commanded the naval hospital at Great Lakes, Illinois, before becoming assistant chief for material resources in BuMed, 229-244. In the late 1970s and early 1980s Wilson oversaw the fleet hospital program to develop transportable medical facilities. In 1982-84 he served as head of the BuMed resources division and deputy to the Surgeon General. This memoir provides candid assessments of several admirals who served in the billet of Navy Surgeon General over the years.
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Withington, Frederic S., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on three interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., in June 1971. The volume contains 205 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1972 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This memoir concentrates on Admiral Withington's career in the field of naval ordnance. After graduation from the Naval Academy in 1923, he was assigned to BuOrd and then was involved in fitting out the new battleship West Virginia (BB-48) and served in her for five years. He had postgraduate instruction in ordnance engineering, service in the Nevada, a tour at the Naval Gun Factory, and then various staff duties during the 1930s. After another tour in BuOrd, he was in the commissioning crew of the new battleship Indiana(BB-58) and served in her in the Pacific, first as gunnery officer and later as exec. After more BuOrd service, he commanded the test ship Mississippi (CGN-40) and the cruiser Manchester (CL-83). He was a student at the National War College and served with the Atomic Energy Commission. As a flag officer, he was Commander Amphibious Group Three, Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance, and Commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan. He retired in 1961.
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Worthington, Joseph M., U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on seven interviews conducted by John T. Mason, Jr., from April 1972 through August 1972. The volume contains 398 pages of interview transcript plus an index and appendices. The transcript is copyright 1975 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

He served in the Memphis (CL-13), operating in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Asiatic fleets, then in the Tutuila (PR-4) on the Yangtze Patrol. In 1940, while gunnery officer in the Northampton, did experimental work in use of radar in cruiser gunfire control. Was CO of the Benham (DD-397) in World War II, participating in operations at Midway and in the Solomons Islands, rescuing officers and men from the Yorktown (CV-5) and Hammann (DD-412) during the Battle of Midway; screening the Guadalcanal-Tulagi landings; and contributing to the capture of Guadalcanal. Toward the end of the war, he was in tactical command of a radar picket station unit in the Ryukyu Islands and in the Honshu, Tokyo, and Hokkaido area. His later career included: Deputy Commandant of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces; CO of the Rochester; and U.S. Planner, Standing Group, NATO, Secretary of Defense.
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Wylie, Joseph C., Jr., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on two interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell in May 1985. The volume contains 115 pages of interview transcript plus an index and two appendices. The transcript is copyright 2003 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

After graduation from the Naval Academy in 1932, Wylie served in the heavy cruiser Augusta (CA-31) under Captain Chester Nimitz. He had duty in the Naval Academy's executive department and was in the commissioning crews of three destroyers: Reid (DD-369),Bristol (DD-453), and Fletcher (DD-445). The latter was in the famous 12-13 November night surface action off Guadalcanal. Later in the war he commanded the destroyer minesweeper Trever (DMS-16) and the destroyer Ault (DD-698). His personal letters in the appendices give further details on his wartime destroyer experiences. Other tours of duty described in the volume include the Office of Naval Research, the Naval War College as student and staff member, and the Destroyer Flotilla One staff. He commanded the attack cargo ship Arneb (AKA-56) and heavy cruiser Macon (CA-132) and was Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Nine. Later staff duty was with Commander Amphibious Group Two, in OpNav, and for Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic and Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet. Before retiring in 1972, he rounded out his career as Deputy Commander in Chief U.S. Naval Forces Europe and, finally, as Commandant of the First Naval District. Admiral Wylie was a delightful storyteller and an officer with a broad view of naval operations.
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Yost, Paul A., Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.)

Based on 11 interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from May 2001 to November 2001. The volume contains 587 pages of interview transcript plus an index and photos. The transcript is copyright 2004 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

This is a lively, candid, informative memoir from the officer who served as Commandant of the Coast Guard from 1986 to 1990. After growing up in Indiana and Florida, he went to prep school in Washington, D.C., shortly after World War II and graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1951. On graduation he married Jan Worth and then served 1951-52 in the cutter Iroquois (WPG-43). During that tour of duty the Yosts became Mormons, a factor that was to play a large part in their lives. The next two tours of duty were in Guam, 1952-55, first as watch officer at the Coast Guard rescue coordination center in Guam, then in the troubled buoy tenderIronwood (WLB-297). Yost was a Coast Guard Academy instructor, coach, and company officer, 1955-59, then commanded the cutterAgassiz (WSC-126), 1959-61. In 1961-63 he was chief of the Nuclear Effects Branch in Coast Guard Headquarters and spent the following year as a student at the Naval War College. He served 1964-66 in the 12th Coast Guard District office in San Francisco and was first commanding officer of the cutter Resolute (WMEC-620), 1966-68. In 1969-70 Yost served as part of the Naval command structure in country in Vietnam. He commanded riverine attacks as part of Operation Market Time and later commanded the Sea Float Barge at old Nam Can. Back in the States, he was chief of the Bridge Division at Coast Guard Headquarters, 1970-72, and served 1972-74 on Law of the Sea issues. Next he was Captain of the Port office in Seattle, followed by various billets on the staff of Rear Admiral John Hayes, Commander 17th Coast Guard District in Alaska, 1975-78. Yost's first flag assignment was as Commander Eighth Coast Guard District in New Orleans, 1978-81. Subsequently he was Chief of Staff, Coast Guard Headquarters, 1981-84; Commander Atlantic Area, 1984-86, and eventually Commandant. In 1990 he became president of the James Madison Foundation. Key events during the 1980s for Yost were the war against drug smuggling, development of Maritime Defense Zones, emphasis on the Coast Guard as a military service, budget struggles, and overseeing oil pollution cleanup after the grounding of the tanker Exxon Valdez in 1989.
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Zumwalt Staff Officers

Based on five interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from September 1982 through May 1984. The volume contains 331 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 1989 by the U.S. Naval Institute; Kerr and Glenn have placed no restrictions on their interviews. The restrictions originally placed on the transcript by Bagley have since expired.

This is the first in a planned series of volumes containing interviews with officers who served closely with Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. These are intended as a supplement to Zumwalt's own oral history, which is still in the works.

Captain Howard J. Kerr, Jr., U.S. Navy (Retired) - aide to Zumwalt as Commander U.S. Naval Forces Vietnam and commanding officer of the Hawkins (DD-873), a unit of the "Mod Squad" - a Zumwalt concept to give more-junior officers greater responsibility. Two interviews in September and November 1982; transcript contains 164 pages.

Captain W. Lewis Glenn, U.S. Navy - aide to Zumwalt as Commander U.S. Naval Forces Vietnam. Two interviews in May 1984; transcript contains 67 pages.

Admiral Worth H. Bagley, U.S. Navy (Retired) - one of the early planners on Project 60 when Zumwalt took office, later Director of Navy Program Planning and Commander in Chief U.S. Naval Forces Europe. One interview in May 1983; transcript contains 100 pages.
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Zumwalt, Elmo R., Jr., Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Based on nine interviews conducted by Paul Stillwell from August 1982 to January 1986. The volume contains 560 pages of interview transcript plus an index. The transcript is copyright 2003 by the U.S. Naval Institute; the interviewee has placed no restrictions on its use.

Admiral Elmo "Bud" Zumwalt was one of the best-known U.S. naval officers from the second half of the 20th century. As Chief of Naval Operations from 1970 to 1974 he made sweeping changes. In his memoir On Watch, published in 1976, the admiral discussed the CNO years in great detail and provided brief glimpses of his life and naval service in the years leading up to 1970. The oral history complements that published book by focusing almost completely on the pre CNO period. The account starts with his boyhood in California and proceeds to his 1942 graduation from the Naval Academy. During World War II he served in the destroyers Phelps(DD-360) and Robinson (DD-562); in the latter he was in the 1944 Battle of Surigao Strait. Postwar sea duty was in the Saufley (DD-465), Zellars (DD-777), and Tills (DE-748). He was an NROTC instructor at North Carolina and in the Korean War navigator of the battleship Wisconsin (BB-64). Later in the 1950s he was at the Naval War College and in the Bureau of Naval Personnel, and he commanded the destroyer Arnold J. Isbell (DD-869) and the guided missile frigate Dewey (DLG-14). In the 1960s he was a student at the National War College and then served as executive assistant to Paul Nitze, who was in the Department of Defense and later Secretary of the Navy. After Zumwalt's early selection in 1965 for rear admiral, he commanded Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Seven and headed the Systems Analysis Division of OpNav. He served 1968-70 as Commander U.S. Naval Forces Vietnam and from that position was selected as Chief of Naval Operations.
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[END]

Published: Thu Jan 13 11:02:50 EST 2022