- Alfred C. Richmond
Alfred Carroll Richmond (
January 18 ,1902 -March 15 ,1984 ), He served as the eleventh Commandant of theUnited States Coast Guard from 1954 to 1962, the second longest tenure of any U.S. Coast Guard Commandant.Early life and career
Alfred Richmond was born in
Waterloo, Iowa and moved to NorthernVirginia with his family at the age of ten. After receiving a high school certificate fromMassanutten Military Academy ofWoodstock, Virginia , he entered the College of Engineering atThe George Washington University at the age of 16 in 1918 and graduated in 1922, the same year he was appointed as a cadet at theUnited States Coast Guard Academy inNew London, Connecticut . While a student at George Washington University, he was employed at theUnited States Naval Observatory . Upon graduating from the Academy in 1924, with senior man honors, he was commissioned as an Ensign and served as an aide to CommandantFrederick C. Billard until 1926, when he was promoted to Lieutenant j.g. and appointed to the Coast Guard Academy staff. Prior toWorld War II , he also served aboard a Coast Guard cutter in theArctic region. During the war, he served as commander of a Coast Guard cutter assigned to convoy duty in the northernPacific Ocean , and was later transferred toLondon , where he served as senior Coast Guard officer on the command staff of the US Navy forces inEurope , where he helped coordinate the D-Day invasion. In recognition of his efforts, he received the Bronze Star for meritorious service.Post-World War II career
Following the war, he was assigned to Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, serving as Supply Division Chief, Program Planning Division Chief, Planning and Budgets Division Chief, and Assistant Chief of the Planning and Control Division. In 1950, President
Harry S. Truman appointed him as Assistant Commandant of the Coast Guard with rank of Rear Admiral. The following year, he was given addition duties as Coast Guard Chief of Staff. He was appointed as Commandant in 1954, succeeding Vice AdmiralMerlin O'Neill . In 1958, he was appointed to a second four-year term as Commandant. Two years later, in 1960, he was promoted to Admiral under a reorganization law, which required that the Commandant hold the rank of Admiral. In 1961, he became the first recipient of theCoast Guard Distinguished Service Medal .Retirement
Admiral Richmond retired from the United States Coast Guard on
June 1 ,1962 and moved toClaremont, California , where he served as acivil defense official for a time. His first wife, Gretchen Campbell, with whom he had two sons, Alfred Richmond, Jr. and John Richmond, died in 1974. He died ofcancer at the age of 82 in Claremont and is buried alongside her atArlington National Cemetery .References
* [http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/ACRichmondBio.html United States Coast Guard Biography]
* [http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/arichmon.htm Arlington Cemetery Biography]
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