USS SLC "Officer"..George A. O'Connell, Jr., Comdr.

George A. O'Connell, Jr. passed away on July 18th, 2010. Info. from neice, Courtenay O'Connell

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SECTION OF OBITUARY

GEORGE A. O’CONNELL, JR., CAPTAIN USN (RET) slipped his earthly moorings at Lenbrook in Atlanta on July 18, 2010 and set sail for his final port, Heaven. He was born on August 20, 1913, in Birmingham, Alabama to Lollie Gilreath and George O’Connell. Captain O’Connell, a 1935 graduate of the US Naval Academy and professor at the US Naval War College and Armed Forces Staff College, served in the Pacific, Atlantic and Mediterranean theaters in WWII, and in the Korean and Viet Nam Wars. He, his two brothers and two brothers- in- law were all part of the Normandy invasion and all survived. He received two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit with combat V, two Bronze Stars and other awards and decorations for his service and valor. Military tradition was part of his heritage as his father was WWI Army surgeon and his grandfather and great grandfather also served in the military. He capped a 34 year naval career as a textile executive in Anniston, AL.

Information found in the "Salt Shaker" Sunday Supplement, April 16th, 1944
Lt. Comdr. George A. O'Connell, Jr., USN, Fort McCellan, AL.: As main battery control officer of a cruiser in action against numerically superior Japanese forces, he selected his targets skillfully and inflicted severe damage on the enemy. He also furnished invaluable suggestions and information for the control of his own ship against hostile units.

May 16th, 2000

Sworn into the Navy on 29 June, 1931 at Annapolis, Maryland.

Date attached to SLC: Nov. 17th, 1940 after turning over CONNOR(DD72) to British at Halifax, Nova Scotia. SLC was at Vallejo, CA., Mare Island Naval Shipyard. I was a Lt. (j.g.)

I relieved Mike Flarity, then a LT., as "F" Division Officer, Spot I and Main Battery Assistant, directly under the Gunnery Officer, CDR David Tyree, who was the CFCO (Chief Fire Control Officer). Needless to say, I was stationed in the highest point in Foretop and breathed in all the smoke pipe gases. When David Tyree was relieved by LCDR W. R. "Pappy" Shaw, Pappy fell ill and later died in Australia. I, as a temporary LT., was assigned Pappy's duties and liabilities as CFCO under the Assistant Gunnery Officer, LT. Jim Brewer. Jim was the AA Fire Control Officer and operated under the orders of the CFCO. When Jim was named Gunnery Officer, I was named his Assistant Gunnery Officer and assumed his battle station. I remained in that arrangement for the rest of my time in SLC.

In summation, I was Spot I and Firecontrol Division Officer for approximately a year. I was CFCO for two years and Main Battery Assistant for the entire three years on board.

I was detached on 23 Sept., 1943 at Adak Island in the Aleutians during a willi-wah by a Sea-Bee motor launch. No one else was foolish enough to risk their small boats in the storm. SLC was getting ready to sail for Iwo Jima. I departed as a SCDR for duty as XO of a new construction destroyer.

On departure, therefore, I was a LCDR, Ass't. Gunnery Officer, CFCO, Main Battery Assistant and Damage Control Officer, having replaced LCDR Winsor C. "Windy" Gale, who was killed at Komandorski. I was assigned to the usual courts, boards and extracurricular activities.

My wife's name is Francys Galvin O'Connell, who died in 1991. She loved the SLC and fancied herself part of the crew. She was an artist. She painted murals in the Wardroom, rural scenes dear to the hearts of the various individuals. While SLC was out on cruise, she painted all the flowers of the Hawaiian Island. Specimens she couldn't find in Monoa Gardens, she found in Honolulu's Botanical Gardens.

Sincerely and humbly appreciatively,
George O'Connell

Captain Bertram J. Rodgers awarded Lt. Comdr. George A. O'Connell with the Silver Star for "conspicuous gallantry & intrepidity in action while serving aboard a US cruiser."

Another article states: "for services rendered as control officer on the main battery of a heavy cruiser during action against the Japanese naval force in the Pacific."

Another article states: "He selected his targets skillfully & inflicted severe damage on the enemy. He also furnished invaluable suggestions & information for the control of his own ship against hostile units.

He received a "Gold Star" in lieu of a second Silver Star Medal for gallantry in action while serving as main battery control officer aboard cruiser SLC, off Cape Esperance, Guadalcanal, in Oct. 1942.