Richard Lansing Conolly (April 26, 1892 – March 1, 1962) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

admiral, who served during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Early life

Conolly was born in

Waukegan, Illinois ''(Fortress or Trading Post)'' , image_flag = , image_seal = , blank_emblem_size = 150 , blank_emblem_type = Logo , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivisi ...

, attended Lake Forest Academy and was appointed to the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) 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 Secretary of ...

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, graduating in 1914. He was assigned to the battleship and served in Mexican waters. Between May and November 1915 he received training aboard the

armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast en ...

, and in March 1916 he was assigned to the battleship as Torpedo Officer.

Naval career

World War I

Transferred in May 1916 to the destroyer , Conolly was aboard her when the United States entered

in April 1917. ''Smith'' performed escort duty in European waters out of

Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French ...

. Conolly was awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

for his actions in connection with the salvaging of the transport ship , which was hit by two torpedoes launched by the German submarine in August 1918. Conolly, with a party of eight others remained on board the badly damaged ship for five days, steering by hand and handling the lines from the tugs, while the ship was towed to port.

Inter-war period

Conolly returned to the United States in November 1918, fitting out, and serving as Executive Officer of the destroyers , and in turn. From August 1920 he studied electrical engineering at Annapolis and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

, New York, receiving a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast ...

degree in June 1922. He then served aboard the battleship , transferring to the battleship 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 the

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

. In August 1929 he assumed command of the destroyer . He completed the junior course at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New ...

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 battleship . 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 of DESRON 6 at the time of the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawa ...

on 7 December 1941.

World War II

Conolly participated in the initial attack on the Gilbert and Marshall Islands on 1 February 1942, as part of the force under the command of Admiral

William Halsey, Jr. William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was an American Navy admiral during World War II. He is one of four officers to have attained the rank of five-star fleet admiral of the United States Navy, the other ...

, and in April his destroyers served as escort for the aircraft carrier , from which Lieutenant General

Jimmy Doolittle James Harold Doolittle (December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993) was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his daring raid on Japan during World War II. He also made early coast-to-coast flights ...

's aircraft took off for the first bombing raid on Tokyo. He also participated in a shore bombardment of

Wake Island Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the Sida fallax, kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, sou ...

in command of the destroyers in Rear Admiral

Raymond A. Spruance Raymond Ames Spruance (July 3, 1886 – December 13, 1969) was a United States Navy admiral during World War II. He commanded U.S. naval forces during one of the most significant naval battles that took place in the Pacific Theatre: the Battle ...

's Task Group. Promoted to rear admiral in July 1942, Conolly served on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) Fleet Admiral

Ernest King Ernest Joseph King (23 November 1878 – 25 June 1956) was an American naval officer who served as Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (COMINCH) and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) during World War II. As COMINCH-CNO, he directed the U ...

Between March and October 1943 Conolly served with the Amphibious Force Atlantic Fleet, taking part in the invasions of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Transferred to the Pacific, he was with amphibious forces in the Pacific and participated in the landings on Kwajalein,

Wake Wake or The Wake may refer to: Culture *Wake (ceremony), a ritual which takes place during some funeral ceremonies *Wakes week, an English holiday tradition * Parish Wake, another name of the Welsh ', the fairs held on the local parish's patron s ...

and Marcus Islands. Conolly commanded Group 3, Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet during 1944 and 1945, and led the landings on

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic ce ...

in July 1944, and the Lingayen Gulf in January 1945. Conolly gained the nickname "Close-In Conolly" from his insistence that

fire support Fire support is defined by the United States Department of Defense as " Fires that directly support land, maritime, amphibious, and special operations forces to engage enemy forces, combat formations, and facilities in pursuit of tactical and o ...

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.

Post-war

Conolly was naval representative to the 1946

Paris Peace Conference Agreements and declarations resulting from meetings in Paris include: Listed by name Paris Accords may refer to: * Paris Accords, the agreements reached at the end of the London and Paris Conferences in 1954 concerning the post-war status of Germ ...

. He commanded the

United States Twelfth Fleet The Twelfth Fleet was a numbered fleet of the United States Navy and was operational from 1 October 1943. The fleet began demobilization in late 1945 and was disestablished in 1946. Twelfth Fleet was established from the U.S. naval forces und ...

from September 1946 until January 1947, then United States Naval Forces Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean from 1947 until 1950. Conolly's last assignment was as President of the

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...

, between 1950 and 1953. Conolly retired with the rank of admiral in November 1953, and was then the president of

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LI ...

until 1962. On 1 March 1962 Conolly and his wife, Helen B. Conolly, were passengers aboard

American Airlines Flight 1 American Airlines Flight 1 may refer to: * American Airlines Flight 1 (1936), an accident involving a Douglas DC-2 * American Airlines Flight 1 (1941), an accident involving a Douglas DC-3 * American Airlines Flight 1 (1962), an accident involving ...

, which crashed into Jamaica Bay soon after take-off from Idlewild Airport,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, killing all 95 passengers and crew aboard. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county i ...

.Burial Detail: Conolly, Richard L (Section 3, Grave 2503-1-LH)
– ANC Explorer The ship , a , was named for Conolly.

References

* Tucker, Spencer, ''Who's Who in Twentieth Century Warfare'', Routledge (2001)

External links

at ArlingtonCemetery.net, an unofficial website {{DEFAULTSORT:Conolly, Richard Lansing 1892 births 1962 deaths People from Waukegan, Illinois Lake Forest Academy alumni United States Navy admirals United States Naval Academy alumni Presidents of the Naval War College United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy World War II admirals Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1962 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Accidental deaths in New York (state) Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Military personnel from Illinois 20th-century American academics