Richard L. Conolly | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Admiral Conolly inLondon, England,c. February 1950 | |
| Nickname(s) | "Close-in Conolly" |
| Born | (1892-04-26)April 26, 1892 Waukegan, Illinois |
| Died | March 1, 1962(1962-03-01) (aged 69) Jamaica Bay,New York City,New York |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1914–1953 |
| Rank |  Admiral |
| Commands | Naval War College United States Naval Forces Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean United States Twelfth Fleet Destroyer Squadron 6 Destroyer Division 7 USS Du Pont |
| Battles / wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Navy Cross Navy Distinguished Service Medal (4) Legion of Merit (2) |
| Other work | President ofLong Island University |
Richard Lansing Conolly (April 26, 1892 – March 1, 1962) was aUnited States Navyadmiral, who served duringWorld War I andWorld War II.
Conolly was born inWaukegan, Illinois, attendedLake Forest Academy and was appointed to theUnited States Naval Academy,Annapolis, graduating in 1914. He was assigned to thebattleshipVirginia and served in Mexican waters. Between May and November 1915 he received training aboard thearmored cruiserMontana, and in March 1916 he was assigned to the battleshipVermont as Torpedo Officer.
Transferred in May 1916 to the destroyerSmith, Conolly was aboard her when the United States enteredWorld War I in April 1917.Smith performed escort duty in European waters out ofBrest, France.
Conolly was awarded theNavy Cross for his actions in connection with the salvaging of the transport shipUSS West Bridge, which was hit by two torpedoes launched by the German submarineU-107 in August 1918.
Conolly returned to the United States in November 1918, fitting out, and serving as Executive Officer of the destroyersFoote,Worden andHunt in turn. From August 1920 he studiedelectrical engineering at Annapolis andColumbia University, New York, receiving aMaster of Science degree in June 1922. He then served aboard the battleshipUSS Mississippi, transferring to the battleshipUSS New York in March 1924 to serve as assistant Engineer Officer until September 1925. He then returned to Annapolis, this time as an instructor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Physics.
In June 1927 Conolly returned to sea as Engineer Officer of thelight cruiserUSS Concord. In August 1929 he assumed command of the destroyerUSS Du Pont. He completed the junior course at theNaval War College,Newport, Rhode Island in May 1931, and remained on the staff for two years.
In May 1933 Conolly reported as aide and Flag Secretary on the staff of Commander Cruisers, Scouting Force, and from April 1935 until June 1936 he served as Navigator aboard the battleshipTennessee. He then returned to the Naval Academy, serving as an instructor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Physics, and later in the Department of Seamanship and Navigation.
Conolly assumed command of Destroyer Division 7 in May 1939, transferring to Destroyer Squadron 6 on 30 January 1941. He was at sea, in command ofDESRON 6 at the time of the Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.
Conolly participated in theinitial attack on the Gilbert and Marshall Islands on 1 February 1942, as part of the force under the command of AdmiralWilliam Halsey, Jr., and in April his destroyers served as escort for the aircraft carrierHornet, from which Lieutenant ColonelJimmy Doolittle's aircraft took off for thefirst bombing raid on Tokyo. He also participated in a shore bombardment ofWake Island in command of the destroyers in Rear AdmiralRaymond A. Spruance's Task Group.
Promoted to rear admiral in July 1942, Conolly served on the staff of theChief of Naval Operations (CNO) andCommander-in-Chief (C-in-C) Fleet AdmiralErnest King.
Between March and October 1943 Conolly served with the Amphibious Force Atlantic Fleet, taking part in the invasions ofSicily andItaly. Transferred to the Pacific, he was with amphibious forces in the Pacific and participated in the landings onKwajalein,Wake andMarcus Islands.
Conolly commanded Group 3, Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet during 1944 and 1945, and led the landings onGuam in July 1944, and theLingayen Gulf in January 1945.
Conolly gained the nickname "Close-In Conolly" from his insistence thatfire support ships should be extremely close to the beach during amphibious assaults. Conolly believed that strong fortifications could be neutralized only by direct hits, which could only be achieved from the shortest possible range.[1]
Conolly was naval representative to the 1946Paris Peace Conference. He commanded theUnited States Twelfth Fleet from September 1946 until January 1947, then United States Naval Forces Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean from 1947 until 1950.
Conolly's last assignment was asPresident of theNaval War College atNewport,Rhode Island, between 1950 and 1953. Conolly retired with the rank ofadmiral in November 1953, and was then the president ofLong Island University until 1962.
On 1 March 1962 Conolly and his wife, Helen B. Conolly, were passengers aboardAmerican Airlines Flight 1, which crashed intoJamaica Bay soon after take-off fromIdlewild Airport,New York City, killing all 95 passengers and crew aboard.
He was buried atArlington National Cemetery,Arlington, Virginia.[2] The shipUSS Conolly (DD-979), aSpruance-class destroyer, was named for Conolly.
| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by | President of the Naval War College 1950–1953 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
| Other | |
