Three generations of the Gearing family served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
.
*Henry Chalfant Gearing (9 June 1855 – 16 August 1926) was born in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
. He graduated from the
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...
in 1876. Gearing served on various ships of the Navy during his early years, including
''Lackawanna'',
''Tuscarora'', and
''Essex''. He spent tours of duty at the Naval Academy and on board
''Glacier''. After being promoted to commander in 1905, Gearing commanded the naval stations at
Cavite
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...
and
Olongapo
Olongapo (), officially the City of Olongapo (; ; ; Kapampangan: ''Lakanbalen/Ciudad ning Olongapo''), is a highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 260,317 peo ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, until his retirement in 1909. He died 16 August 1926 in
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...
.
*Henry Chalfant Gearing, Jr., (22 January 1887 – 24 February 1944) was born in
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, graduated from the Naval Academy in 1907. He served on
''California'',
''Illinois'', and other ships besides commanding a long list of destroyers, among them
''Woolsey'',
''Dobbin'', and
''Maury''. He was appointed Captain in 1934. Subsequently, he commanded Destroyer Squadron 4 and Naval Training Station,
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
before his death 24 February 1944 in San Diego Naval Hospital.
*Henry Chalfant Gearing III, (16 August 1912 – 13 November 1942) was born in
Vallejo, California
Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California, United States, and the second largest city in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the ci ...
, and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1935. After serving several ships as a young officer, he joined
''Juneau'' as a lieutenant in 1942, and was lost with his ship when it was torpedoed and sunk in the
Battle of Guadalcanal
The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during the Pacific Theater of W ...
13 November 1942.
was named for these three generations of naval men.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gearing Family
United States Navy officers