Midway (CVA 41) - Naval Cruise Book

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Department Heads procession i h m — «« F ®s W s 1 m m m • • . . 1 • m • m • • • • J • • •; ' • • • f v Ml r ; c E a a w c c o (A (A E E o w a VADM Anderson speaks at ceremony 18

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Working hand in hand with Captain Nuessle organizing the vast administrative set-up so necessary in any smoothly running command was Commander Lester Blaine Libbey, first Executive Officer of the newly recom- missioned MIDWAY. The herculean task of instituting and evaluating the hundreds of procedures and instructions by which a ship the size of MIDWAY must be run was his responsibility. Commander Libbey ' s record implied, and the results proved, he was more than equal to the task. Since his graduation from the Naval Academy in 1940, he has had many tours of duty at naval installations on both the Atlantic and Pacific coast. His first station was aboard the U.S.S. RANGER until he was ordered to flight school at Pensacola where he earned his aviators wings in 1943. Until June of 1945, CDR. Libbey served as flight instructor at air stations in Florida and South Carolina. He then reported to Patrol Squadron 130 as Executive Officer and in the summer of 1946, he become Atoll Commander at Majuro Atol in the Marshall Islands. His next years were spent at various commands, most importantly with the Atomic Energy Commission ' s Sandia, New Mexico base and Executive Officer and Acting Commanding Officer of Composite Squadron 8 at Patuxent River, Maryland. He was Chief of Staff to Commander Heavy Attack Wing ONE in 1952 and 1953, and became head of the Fleet Air Training Section at the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations until June 1955. Before reporting to MIDWAY, Commander Libbey was Commanding Officer of Heavy Attack Squadron 7 at Port Lyautey, Morrocco. CAPTAIN FRANCIS E. NUESSLE FIRST COMMANDING OFFICER Probably one of the most difficult tasks a naval officer could experience awaited Captain Francis E. Nuessle when he took command of the MIDWAY on September 30, 1957. His was the responsibility of organizing and molding the 3000 men and officers assigned to MIDWAY into an ef- ficient fighting machine. Captain Nuessle was well equipped for the job. Over a quarter of a century of naval service left him fully acquainted with carrier operations. Upon graduating from Annapolis in 1932, his first tour of duty was aboard the U.S.S. SARATOGA. He was awarded aviators wings in 1935 and his next four years were spent with squadrons operating from the aircraft car- riers U.S.S. LEXINGTON, SARATOGA, and RANGER. During World War II, he served as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. GANNET, a seaplane tender assigned to Atlantic waters, until it was sunk by an enemy submarine in June of 1942. For the next two years, Captain Nuessle commanded anti-submarine patrol squad- rons and in 1944, he was assigned to the staff of Operation Overlord , concerned with planning the invasion of Normandy. After a tour of duty at the Office of Naval Operations, Captain Nuessle boarded the U.S.S. PRINCETON as Executive Officer and served as her Commanding Officer during decommissioning in 1949. From June of 1952 until July of 1954 he was the Air Officer of the Operational Development Force evaluating and develop- ing the tactics of various aircraft and equipment. His last station before taking over on MIDWAY was as Chief of Staff to Commander Naval Striking Force, South- ern Europe. COMMANDER LESTER B. LIBBEY, JR. FIRST EXECUTIVE OFFICER

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Navigator, set the watch In case the bakers are wondering, this is where it all started. Hurry up Admiral, they ' re watching ! 1?