Wasp (CV 18) - Naval Cruise Book

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CAPTAIN PATRICK HENRY, USN Captain Patrick Henry assumed command of the U. S. S. WASP, about a month before we sailed from Norfolk, Virginia. lt was ' bl th t we 'oked as we weighed anchor the skipper may be Patrick Henry, but this ain't no liberty ship . Actually, it inevito e a i , turned out that at every opportunity we were given liberty: and under the Commanding Cfiicer's direct interest the morale factors of meals mail, holiday routines, tours and R and R were improved as time went on. Th C t in come to the WASP from the National War College where he had been stationed since l95l. e opa His soft Arkansas drawl is an inheritance from his home town of Monticello, Arkansas, where Judge and Mrs Patrick Henry l906 T t one ears later the Captain graduated from Annapolis and was assigned as an proudly announced his birth in . wen y y , Ensign to the Blueiackets Battalion in Nicaragua. Three years later he was awarded his wings of gold when he finished flight training at Pensacola. The famed High Hat Squadron, VF-l, on the historic USS SARATOGA, the staff of flight instructers for fighter squadrons at Pensacola, and the Far East tour of the USS AUGUSTA were all part Captain Henry's early naval career. He was assigned to Navy Patrol Boat Squadrons from V240 to l94'2. ln l943 and l9-14 he served as Squadron Commander and then as Air Group Commander of Fleet Air Wing lO. Following a tour as Executive Officer of the Naval Air Station at Alemeda, California, in l94-4, Captain Henry assumed Command of the Escort Carrier USS CAPES ESPRANCE in l945. He was named Assistant Chief of Naval Intelligence in l946, a position he held until l948 when he was assigned to the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, for duty under instruction in the Senior College, Strategy and Tactics. ln l949, Captain Henry was ordered to duty as Chief of Staff for Commander Carrier Division FOUR in the U. S. Atlantic Fleet. He was named Commanding Officer of the U.S. Naval Air Station, Miami, in l95O, and the following year he became attached to the National War College, Washington, D. C. for duty under instruction and as a member of the faculty, a position he held until his appointment to command the WASP. He holds the Bronze Star, Presidential Commendation, and all maior theater medals. Captain Henry is the husband of the former Susan Milne, daughter of the late Col. louis A. Milne lMCl, USA. They have two children, a daughter Susan lone, now Mrs Mark Whitla, and a son, Patrick, lr., who is a Midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy. iiri

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