- Eli Thomas Reich
Vice Admiral Eli Thomas Reich (
March 20 ,1913 New York –November 30 ,1999 Arlington, Virginia )A 1935 graduate of the
United States Naval Academy inAnnapolis, Maryland he was a highly-decoratedUnited States Navy officer andWorld War II submarine commander — the only one to sink abattleship during the war. He is buried inArlington National Cemetery (Section 30, Grave 950-A).World War II service
He attended submarine school at New London, Connecticut, then in 1939 became
executive officer andengineer on the first USS "Sealion" (SS-195). "Sealion" was the first US submarine damaged in World War II; it was bombed onDecember 10 ,1941 while undergoing repairs atCavite Navy Yard in thePhilippines , and later scuttled, four men were killed and three others wounded during the bombing.After "Sealion" was scuttled Reich served on the staff of the submarine commander atCorregidor andBataan in the Philippines, escaping aboard "Stingray" (SS-186) before the surrender of U.S. forces there in the spring of 1942. He was executive officer aboard the "Lapon" (SS-260) in 1943, then in March 1944 assumed command of "Sealion II" (SS-315).Under Reich's command, "Sealion II" was credited with sinking the
Japan esebattleship "Kongō", the only Japanese battleship sank by submarine during World War II, and aprisoner of war ship, "Rayuko Maru ". After sinking the POW ship, "Sealion II" surfaced and rescued 23Australia n and 31 British prisoners of war from the sea [http://www.submarinesailor.com/history/pow/AussieBritRescue/] .Post-World War II
Reich was made Assistant Chief of the
Bureau of Naval Weapons , from 1962 to 1965 Commander of the Surface Missile Project (which was key to the development of the "3-T" missile systems), and Commander of theanti-submarine warfare group inSoutheast Asia during the early years of theVietnam War . His last active duty assignment was Deputy AssistantSecretary of Defense for Logistics. Reich retired from the Navy a Vice Admiral (3 stars) onOctober 31 ,1973 after 38 years of service. Shortly after his retirement from the Navy, Reich was named director of theEmergency Energy Allocations Program , which was responsible for the distribution of oil and gasoline during the1973 oil crisis . Described as a "crusty three-star admiral" by syndicated columnistsRowland Evans andRobert Novak , Admiral Reich was reported by the columnists to have told staff members: :"I don't give a damn for the public image. We're not here to create an image. We're to do a job—my way. And that's the military way."After a short time at the job, Admiral Reich clashed with energy chief
William E. Simon , and he left the newly formed Department of Energy. Reich later did consulting on national security matters involving weapons systems acquisitions, shipbuilding and mobilization planning.Reich is also credited with founding the
Naval Undersea Museum inKeyport, Washington . After his retirement he created the Naval Undersea Museum Foundation which raised the funds, designed, and built the museum. The museum has since been donated to by the US Navy. Reich's family donated "many of his awards, battle flag, uniforms, andmemorabilia to the museum after his death." The museum also commissioned an oilportrait and bust of him which are currently on display along with many of the families donations.Awards
Reich received the
Navy Cross three times, the second-highest decoration for valor theUnited States Navy awards, after theMedal of Honor , for "extraordinary heroism" as commander of the "Sealion II" from itsMarch 8 ,1944 commissioning until relieved by Lieutenant CommanderCharles F. Putnam onDecember 4 , 1944. Reich was also twice awarded theNavy Distinguished Service Medal , once awarded theLegion of Merit , and received the Bronze Star .In 1963 the
American Society of Naval Engineers awarded Eli T. Reich the Gold Medal Award for his work on Surface Missile Systems. TheGold Medal Award , has been awarded annually since 1958, and is given to an individual who has made a significant naval engineering contribution in a particular area during the past five years."In the field of naval engineering, the nominee must have made a most significant contribution through personal effort, or through the direction of others, during or culminating in the five-year period ending in the current year. Evidence of personal involvement shall be explicitly stated. If, for security reasons, the evidence cannot be publicly disclosed, the statement should be sufficiently specific for recognition of the accomplishment by those qualified to assess it."
In the early 1990s the Naval Academy honored Reich at a "Heroes of WWII" dinner. There is also a "VADM Eli T. Reich Building" named in his honor at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD) (formerly Naval Ship Weapon Systems Engineering Station, or NSWSES) in
Port Hueneme, California . This building is one of the station's on site engineering facilities, housing combat system simulators, selected weapon systems and combat systems equipment, and much of the other shipboard equipment for which NSWC PHD is the designated In-Service Engineering Agent (ISEA). [http://www.ussvi.org/names/kopf-03.htm]ee also
References
* [http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/etreich.htm A brief biography of VAdm Eli T. Reich]
* [http://www.waypoint.com/users/~submarine/SEAexcer.htm A brief history of Reich's actions aboard "Sealion II"]
*E-mail interview with Mimi Reich by Jonathan Cary.March 30 , 2005External links
* [http://naval.undersea.museum/ Naval Undersea Museum Homepage]
* [http://www.hnsa.org/sound/ Historic Naval Ships Association sounds page] — includes sound recorded aboard the "Sealion" during combat in World War II)
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