James Lloyd "Doc" Abbot, IV (June 26, 1918 – August 10, 2012) was an American U.S. Navy

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

from

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

. He graduated from the

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is the sec ...

in 1939. Abbot was the commanding officer of the attack

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

, which dispatched a helicopter to pick up astronaut

Scott Carpenter Malcolm Scott Carpenter (May 1, 1925 – October 10, 2013) was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, astronaut, and aquanaut. He was one of the Mercury Seven astronauts selected for NASA's Project Mercury ...

. He was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

on May 30, 1967. Abbot also operated near Antarctica, assuming command of the U.S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica, in February 1967. The

Abbot Ice Shelf The Abbot Ice Shelf () is an ice shelf long and wide, bordering Eights Coast from Cape Waite to Pfrogner Point in Antarctica. Thurston Island lies along the northern edge of the western half of this ice shelf; other sizable islands (Sherman ...

is named after him. His awards include two

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

awards and the

Navy Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

. Abbot was still flying his own airplane past the age of 90 with the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

telling Abbot that he couldn't fly alone. He has two sons, retired U.S. Navy Captain J. Lloyd Abbot, III and retired U.S. Navy Admiral Charles S. Abbot; both are former Navy aviators. Abbot graduated from flight school in Miami, Florida, on November 25, 1941.

Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbot, James Lloyd 1918 births 2012 deaths United States Navy rear admirals (lower half) United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II