Bernard A. Clarey

Admiral Bernard A. Clarey

Bernard Ambrose "Chick" Clarey (* 4. May 1912 in Oskaloosa , Iowa ; † 16th June 1996 in Honolulu , Hawaii ) was an American admiral of the US Navy , among others 1968-1970 Vice Chief of Naval Operations and was in command of the US Pacific Fleet between 1970 and 1973 .

Life

Military training

After attending school, Clarey began his military training at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis and joined the US Navy as an ensign at sea in June 1934 . His first assignment he was then aboard the USS Milwaukee , a light cruiser of the Omaha class , where he worked until December 1936th He then began training in January 1937 at the submarine school on the submarine base in New London . After completing his training, he was transferred to the submarine USS Nautilus in June 1937 and worked there successively as a first lieutenant marine engineer and communications officer. At the time, the USS Nautilus was the flagship of Submarine Division 12 in Pearl Harbor .

In June 1941, Clarey was transferred as first officer to the submarine USS Dolphin and during this time he experienced the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He then took on board this submarine on his first patrol trip to the Marshall Islands part.

Second World War

In 1944, Frigate Captain Clarey became the first in command of the USS Pintado submarine

During the Second World War , after the USA entered the war , Clarey was an officer on board the Gato-class submarine USS Amberjack as Corvette Captain II and took part in its first patrol in the Imperial Japanese Navy from September 3 to 30, 1942 controlled waters around the Solomon Islands . He supported the commander in torpedo attacks, which led to the sinking of enemy ships with a total tonnage of 28,600 register tons and the damage to ships with a further tonnage of 14,000 register tons .

He then became commandant of the USS Pintado , a Balao-class submarine launched in 1944 . As such, from May 16 to July 1, 1944, he distinguished himself through particular heroism during the boat's first patrol voyage in waters controlled by the Japanese Navy. Despite several hostile counter- attacks, he succeeded in sinking four Japanese cargo ships with a total tonnage of 31,000 register tonnes and damaging another cargo ship with a tonnage of 6,500 register tonnes. For this he was on 7 September 1944, the Navy Cross honored the highest award from the Department of the Navy ( US Department of the Navy ) will be given.

During his second patrol from July 24 to September 14, 1944, Clarey, as commander of the USS Pintado, succeeded in a series of torpedo attacks against a heavily guarded naval formation, with the sinking of two other cargo ships, two tankers and one , despite strong enemy air and defense attacks large whalers with a total tonnage of 46,300 register tons, and he returned his own ship without any significant damage. For these services he was awarded the Navy Cross for the second time, with a gold star instead being presented to his first Navy Cross.

Frigate Captain Clarey conducted his third patrol as commander of the USS Pintado between October 9, 1944 and January 1, 145 in the South China Sea, which is controlled by the Japanese Navy . He led an attack group against an enemy, retreating ship formation and thus contributed to the destruction of a light cruiser . He was then able to carry out an attack with his submarine formation that led to the sinking of a destroyer and damage to an aircraft carrier . After accompanying a damaged submarine back to the base on the night of December 12th to 13th, 1944, he conducted three surface attacks to sink three unaccompanied enemy merchant ships . During his third patrol trip, he succeeded in sinking or damaging enemy ships with a total tonnage of around 50,000 register tons. For this he was awarded the Navy Cross for the third time on June 3, 1945, where he was given another gold star for his first Navy Cross.

Postwar and Korean War

After the war, Clarey took over numerous posts as an officer and staff officer in the US Navy. On October 23, 1945 he was awarded the Silver Star for his services as Second Officer of the USS Amberjack in September 1942. In December 1945 he was transferred to the Department of the Navy in Washington, DC and was there until February 1946 as a member of the Committee of Ministers for Reorganization staff in the public relations office. He was then employed in the Office of the Naval Inspector General in February 1946 and, from April 1947 to June 1949, successively adjutant, flag secretary, legal officer and public relations officer on the staff of the commander of the submarine units US Atlantic Fleet .

In June 1949, Clarey returned to the Navy Department and was staff officer for the assignment of submarine officers in the Office of Naval Staff BUPERS (Bureau of Naval Personnel) before it in June 1951 First Officer ( Executive Officer ) on the USS Helena , a heavy cruiser of the Baltimore class that used in the US 7th fleet in the Yellow sea was used during the Korean war in operations against federations of North Korea and the China people's Republic participate. He held the position of first officer until May 1952 and was awarded a Bronze Star with the addition of "Combat V" for his services on board the USS Helena .

After Clarey was Commander of Submarine Division 52 in San Diego between May 1952 and July 1953 , he became Head of Unit for the Far East in the Department of Politics and Military Policy in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations . He then studied at the National War College (NWC) in Washington, DC from August 1955 to June 1956 , and then became Chief of Staff of the Submarine Command of the US Pacific Fleet (COMSUBPAC) in August 1956.

Flag officer and Vietnam War

In July 1958 Clarey was appointed Rear Admiral promoted and in August 1958 Commander ( Commanding Officer ) of Seeversorgungschiffes USS Hassayamp before it on January 5, 1959 Head of the Department of Military Personnel in the Office of the Vice-Minister of Defense for Personnel (Assistant US Secretary of Defense for Manpower) has been.

On July 26, 1962, Rear Admiral Clarey became the commander of the submarine units of the US Pacific Fleet and remained on this post until June 3, 1964. During this period he was directly involved in the preparation and implementation of the submarine development plans . Associations of the US Pacific Fleet responsible. At the same time he was responsible for the plans to equip the anti-submarine units with air and surface weapons in order to coordinate tactics, doctrine and procedures in the event of war. Because of his services in this capacity, he was honored with the Legion of Merit in August 1965 .

During the Vietnam War , Vice Admiral Clarey served between June 1964 and August 1966 as deputy chief and most recently as chief of staff of the US Pacific Fleet. For achievements there in the preparation of combat missions in Southeast Asia , he was honored on July 21, 1966 with the Navy Distinguished Service Medal .

On August 22, 1966 Vice Admiral Clarey took over the function of commander of the 2nd US Fleet and remained until May 19, 1967 at this post. He led the planning and successful execution of the naval maneuver LANTFLEX 66 , which served to increase the readiness of naval warfare. In addition, he was in command of the combat fleet in the Atlantic Ocean (Striking Fleet Atlantic) and took part in numerous NATO planning conferences in this capacity . In addition, during this time he was commander of the Joint Task Force 122 and thus commander of the army, navy, air force and marines units in the CLOVE HITCH III maneuver in April 1967, the largest joint exercise up to that point the command of the US Atlantic Command . In addition, he was significantly involved in other exercises in the US Atlantic Fleet, such as Operation SPRINGBOARD 67 . For his services during this time he was again awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.

US Navy Admiral

In January 1968, Admiral Clarey succeeded Admiral Horacio Rivero, Jr. as Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO), the second highest position within the leadership of the US Navy after the Chief of Naval Operations . In this role he remained until his replacement by Admiral Ralph Wynne Cousins in December 1970. For services as Vice Chief of Naval Operations he was on June 19, 1970 for the third time and on October 29, 1970 for his services during the inauguration of Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt as Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for the fourth time on July 1, 1970.

He himself then succeeded Admiral John J. Hyland as Commander of the US Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT) and thus commander of all naval units in the Pacific Ocean , including the 3rd US Fleet and the 7th US Fleet, on December 5, 1970 with the Pearl Harbor Naval Base . Clarey remained in this post until his retirement on September 30, 1973 and was then replaced by Admiral Maurice F. Weisner . He was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for the fifth time for his military service in this capacity.

After retiring from active military service, Clarey became chairman of the board of the Honolulu- based Bank of Hawaii Corporation (BOH) in 1973 .

After his death, the Admiral Clarey Bridge , which opened on April 15, 1998 and connects Pearl City with Ford Island , was named.

Awards

•   Navy Cross (3 ×)
•   Navy Distinguished Service Medal (5 ×)
•   Legion of Merit
•   Silver Star
•   Bronze Star with the addition "Combat V"

Web links

• Entry in the Hall of Valor of the Military Times