Frederick J. Becton

Frederick Julian Becton (born May 15, 1908 in Arkansas , † December 25, 1995 in Wynnewood (Pennsylvania) ) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy . He became known for his command of the destroyer USS Laffey , which was caught in a heavy kamikaze attack during the Battle of Okinawa .

Life

Becton graduated from the United States Naval Academy , which he graduated in 1931. In 1934 he was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade), on July 1, 1939 to lieutenant. In the early years of his naval career, Becton served on the battleships Texas and Arkansas . He was promoted to lieutenant commander on June 15, 1942 and commander on November 1, 1942, and received his first command on February 18, 1943, he was appointed commander of the destroyer USS Aaron Ward . The Aaron Ward was sunk by Japanese aircraft on April 7, 1943 off Guadalcanal . Becton survived, but 27 crew members of the destroyer were killed. After the sinking of the Aaron Ward he was transferred to the USS Nicholas as an operations officer and took part in the naval battle in the Kula Gulf , for which he received the Silver Star from the Commander of the South Pacific Fleet . On February 8, 1944, Becton was given command of the USS Laffey , a newly commissioned Allen-M.-Sumner-class destroyer .

During the Battle of Okinawa, Becton and his destroyer, which was located as a radar outpost north of Okinawa, were attacked for several hours by a total of 22 kamikaze planes, six of which hit the ship and severely damaged it. Despite the damage and the heavy casualties among the crew, Becton refused to abandon the destroyer: “ No, Frank, I'll never abandon ship as long as a gun will fire. "(German:" No Frank (meaning the officer Frank Mason), I will never give up the ship as long as a single gun is still firing ")

After surviving the attack, the Laffey had to be towed to Seattle , and Becton received the Navy Cross for his steadfastness . From September 1948 to April 1949, Becton was Executive Officer of the cruiser USS Manchester , then he was given command of the Destroyer Division 202 with the USS Allen M. Sumner as the flagship. In 1951 he was promoted to captain, in December 1956 he was given command of the battleship USS Iowa , which he held until the ship was decommissioned on February 24, 1958. In September 1959 Becton was given command of the Cruiser Division Five, in December he was promoted to Rear Admiral, until retiring from active service in 1966, Becton remained in various administrative agencies and bases of the Navy.

Frederick Julian Becton died in 1995 at his home in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania , and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Works

• The Ship That Would Not Die. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs NJ 1980, ISBN 0-13-808998-1 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} biography of Frederick J. Becton at arlingtoncemetery.net; Retrieved December 18, 2009
2. ↑ ^{a b} USS Laffey Association: Rear Adm. Frederick J. Becton Personal Data & Promotions , as of January 22, 2010
3. ↑ USS Aaron Ward at navsource.org; Retrieved December 18, 2009
4. ↑ ^{a b c} USS Laffey Association: Rear Adm. Frederick J. Becton ; Status: January 22, 2010
5. ^ History of the Laffey in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships ; Retrieved December 18, 2009
6. ↑ USS Iowa ( Memento of the original from January 8, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at navsource.org; Retrieved December 18, 2009 
7. ^ F. Julian Becton, 87, Admiral Whose Ship Repelled Kamikazes . New York Times; Retrieved December 18, 2009