Information contributed by Anne M. Allison, the guiding force behind the USS LANSDALE DD426... http://www.bcn.net/~cwales/Lansdale.html ASSOCIATION.

LCdr. John D. Connor took command of the USS LANSDALE DD-426 after she was christened and commissioned on September 17, 1940. The ceremonies took place at the Boston Navy Yard, where she was also built. Capt. Connor left the LANSDALE in 1942.

Capt. John D. Connor died June 26, 1954, a resident of Belmont, MA. At the time of his death he was teaching at Northeastern University in Boston. I came across this information while researching him. My father served aboard the LANSDALE and every Memorial Day tends Capt. Connor's grave in Belmont, MA, where he is buried with his wife, Dorothy.

The USS LANSDALE was sunk by German torpedo planes in the Mediterranean on April 20, 1944. My father was then a Gunner's Mate First Class and one of the many fortunate survivors.

Seized with a heart attack, Capt. John D. Connor, 55 , died suddenly at his home. He was former professor naval science and tactics at Harvard and Tufts and an assistant professor of engineering at Northeastern University.

Born in Manchester, NH, he was the husband of Mrs. Dorothy Freeman Connor. He graduated from the US Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1922 after 15 months service in WWI. During WWII he commanded destroyer squadrons in convoy work in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

He was a member of the admiral’s staff at the Bikini A-bomb test and in WWII won the Legion of Merit for North Atlantic convoy and patrol duty. He commanded the heavy cruiser USS Salt Lake City and also served as commander of the Norfolk Naval Training Station, both during WWII. He later was port director at Boston for the Navy.

From Sept. 1947 until he retired Jan. 1, 1952, Capt. Connor had command of the Naval ROTC unit at Tufts College. He was stationed at Harvard in 1939. After retirement, he joined the Northeastern University faculty.

He was a past president of the Catholic Alumni Sodality and a member of St. Joseph’s Holy Name Society.

In addition to his wife, he leaves two daughters and a brother, Paul Connor.