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John Harllee (admiral)

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John Harllee
Born(1914-01-02)January 2, 1914
DiedFebruary 5, 2005(2005-02-05) (aged 91)
Alma materUnited States Naval Academy
Naval War College
OccupationAdmiral
Spouses
Jo Beth Carden
(m. 1937; died. 1985)
[1][2]
Helen Tewksbury King
(m. 1986; died. 2001)
[1][2]
Children1[1]

John Harllee (January 2, 1914 – February 5, 2005) was an American admiral who served in the United States Navy in World War II and the Korean War.[3] He was a member of the Federal Maritime Commission from 1960 to 1969, and was a maritime consultant and wrote books and for professional journals after retiring.

Life and career

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Born in Washington, D.C., the son of Ella Fulmore and William C. Harllee, a United States Marine Corps general officer,[2] Harllee attended Western High School.[2] He then attended the United States Naval Academy and Naval War College, graduating from both.[1][2]

Harllee was a lieutenant in Pearl Harbor at the time of the Japanese attack on the base.[1] He was subsequently the chief staff officer of a torpedo boat group in the southwest Pacific consisting of 200 boats and 10,000 personnel, including Lt. John F. Kennedy.[1] The group was honored with the Presidential Unit Citation for Outstanding Combat Performance in 1943 to 1944.[1] He personally received the Silver Star and the Legion of Merit with the combat "V" device.[1][2]

After World War II, Harllee was part of the Navy's Congressional liaison team, and was assigned to Representative John F. Kennedy from 1947 to 1948.[1][2]

During the Korean War Harllee returned to active duty as the executive office of the cruiser Manchester, receiving the Commendation Medal.[1][2] He retired from the Navy in 1959.[1][2]

After retiring, Harllee served as the chairperson of Citizens for Kennedy and Johnson in northern California in 1960.[1][2] After Kennedy was elected, he appointed Harllee to the Federal Maritime Commission,[1] of which he became president in 1963.[1] He was re-appointed to the commission by President Lyndon B. Johnson, and retired in 1969.[2] After retiring, he traveled as a maritime consultant and wrote articles for professional journals. He was the author of three books: The Marine from Manatee: A Tradition of Rifle Marksmanship (1984), Terror and Triumph: The Saga of Frank Carden (1990) and From Ships Destroyed to Ships Enjoyed: One Man's Experiences at Sea From Pearl Harbor to the Captain's Table (1997).[1][4]

Harllee died in February 2005 of pneumonia at the Maplewood Park Place retirement community in Bethesda, Maryland, at the age of 91.[1][2][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Saxon, Wolfgang (February 14, 2005). "John Harllee, 91, Rear Admiral, Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "John Harllee Dies". The Washington Post. February 15, 2005. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  3. ^ Culp, Scotty (November 29, 1964). "Harllee Guest Speaker". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. p. 16. Retrieved June 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Closed access icon
  4. ^ a b "John Harllee, 91; Former Chairman of Federal Maritime Commission". Los Angeles Times. February 17, 2005. Retrieved June 28, 2022.