USS HELENA CA-75
Executive Officers
To see a 1945 Bio of Cdr Chew, click on his picture.
Both files copied from the 1945 "The Prospector", Newsletter.
Pictures copied from Helena Cruise Books. Not all have a narrative.
Commander M. J. JENSEN 1949 Helena Cruise Book. |
Commander B. A. CLAREY 1951 Helena Cruise Book. |
For the past 14 years, Cdr B. A. Clarey has been attached
at sea or shore stations associated with submarine duty.
A graduate of the Naval Academy, Class of '34, he completed
Submarine School in 1937. On the fateful morning of
December 7, 1941, he was Executive Officer of the submarine
Dolphin, then at Pearl Harbor. At Brisbane, Australia, in 1942,
Cdr. Clarey was taken ill and detached from a sub two hours before
she sailed on patrol----a patrol from which she never returned! One of
his duties included the submarine Peto, first warship ever built on the
Great Lakes. As the commanding officer of the submarine Pintado,
he made four war patrols in the Pacific.
In June, 1945, he went to the staff of Commander, Submarine
Force, Pacific Fleet for six months, and then to the Office of the
Inspector General, Navy Department, Washington, D. C., until April
of 1947. After serving for 26 months as aide and Flag Secretary to the
Commander, Submarine Force, Atlantic Fleet, at New London, Conn.,
he became Submarine Detail Officer in the Bureau of Naval Personnel
at Washington, where he remained until ordered to the Helena.
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Click HERE, to read the Admiral Bernard A. Memorial
This is the Executive Officer of the U.S.S. Helena. He is second in
command and carries out the commanding officer's policies. The
Exec served on the U.S.S. Maryland, U.S.S. Tracy, and U.S.S. Trenton
before taking command of the U.S.S. Elmore.
He was later assigned to the Naval Academy as an instructor of
Navigation for two years and then attended the Armed Forces Staff
College. Called back to sea duty, he commanded the destroyer U.S.S.
Rogers for over two years. Upon being relieved of that command he
proceeded to the University of Southern California as the Executive
Officer of the Naval Reserve Training Corps for two years. |
Commander George L. CONKEY 1952 Helena Cruise Book
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Commander George L. CONKEY 1953 Helena Cruise Book
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Commander George L. Conkey came to his present
assignment from two years duty as Executive Officer of the
Naval Officer Training Unit, University of Southern California.
He graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1935 and later
he served there as an instructor in Navigation. Commander
Conkey also graduated in 1947 as a member of the first class
of the Armed Forces Staff College.
Upon graduation from the Academy, Commander Conkey
served aboard the U.S.S. Maryland, U.S.S. Tracy, and U.S.S.
Trenton.
In 1944, he served as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S.
Eugene E. Elmore, a destroyer escort, which successfully
attacked and destroyed the German U-Boat 547.
He was later assigned the Commanding Officer of the
U.S.S. Rogers, a radar-picket destroyer, for over two years.
Awarded the Legion of Merit with Combat "V", the Navy
and Marine Corps Medal, the Bronze Star with "V", Commander
Conkey is also authorized to wear the American Defense Service
Medal with one star, campaign medals from American, European,
and Pacific theaters, the World War II Victory Medal, China Service
Medal, Navy Combat Occupation Medal, United Nations and
Korean Service Medal with one star, and the National Defense Medal.
In October of this year Commander Conkey was selected for
promotion to the rank of Captain, and has received orders as
Commander Destroyer Division 132.
Commander Conkey's wife, Hazel Virden, sons James, 14,
George Rose, 8 Patrick, 7 and John, 5 and daughters, Carolie, 11,
and Mary Klien, 9 reside at 1632 Virginia Road, Los Angles, 6,
California. |
Commander Paul B. Ryan, USN, assumed the duties as Executive
Officer February 26, 1954 at Long Beach.
Commander Ryan reported aboard after completing a 16-month
tour as Plans and Operations Officer on the staff of the Commander of
Task Force 92.
He graduated from the Naval Academy as an Ensign in 1935 and for
the next few years received training as a junior officer on battleships and
cruisers.
During WW II, the Commander served on submarines. For his
accomplishments he was awarded the Legion of Merit and the
Commendation Medal.
The Executive Officer's first post-war assignment was as engineering
officer of the USS Boxer. Then followed a tour as commanding officer of
the USS Agerholm (DDP 26).
Commander Ryan's next duty station was in the Office of Naval
Intelligence at Washington. From 1950 to 1952 the Commander was
Naval Attaché at the United States embassies in Havana, Cuba, and
Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It was for his service at Havana that the President
of Cuba awarded him with the Order of Naval Merit.
A native of New England, Commander Ryan resides with his wife,
Peggy, and their daughter, Holly, at Coronado. |
Commander Paul B. RYAN 1954 Helena Cruise Book
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Commander William J. CAREY 1956 Helena Cruise Book
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The man who administers the ship is Commander William J. Carey
Jr., the Executive Officer.
Cdr. Carey was born in St. Louis, Mo., May 21, 1916. He attended
the U.S. Naval Academy and was graduated with the Class of '39. His
first naval assignment was the battleship USS Mississippi. The Executive
Officer participated in World War II and the Korean War. He's skippered
four destroyer escorts and was the Executive Officer of the U.S. Naval
Base, Annapolis, Md.
Cdr. Carey married his wife Elizabeth, who is from Elmira, N.Y., in
Honolulu, T. H., in 1943. They have four children, William Jr., Maurien,
Christopher Michael and James. Their permanent home is Elmira. |
CDR. Hugh A. HANNA was born at Rock Island, Illinois, on
September 10, 1916, attending city schools and the Devitt Preparatory
School in Washington, D. C. Upon receiving an appointment to the
United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, he completed his
education there and was commissioned as an Ensign in the Class of 1940.
Serving aboard the USS PHOENIX during the Second World War,
CDR. HANNA participated in many engagements, including Guadal-
canal, New Guinea, Leyte and the initial attack on Pearl Harbor. Duty
followed on the staff of the Commander, Operational Development
Force. In 1951, he assumed command of the USS MADDOX (DD-731),
which post he held until December, 1953, when he began a tour of duty
with the Bureau of Naval Personnel in Washington, D. C. Soon
afterwards, CDR. HANNA was transferred to his present position as
Executive Officer of the HELENA.
CDR. HANNA holds the Legion of Merit, a second Bronze Star
Award, and a Commendation Ribbon. He is married to the former
Henriette Van Wickeren of Sydney, Australia. They have three children
John is 11, Paul, 6, ands Mary Catherine, 3. |
Commander Hugh A. HANNA 1957 Helena Cruise Book |
Commander John R. Beardall 1958 - 1959 Helena Cruise Book
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Commander John R. Beardall, Jr., USN, was born April 8, 1919,
in Annapolis, Maryland. The son of RADM and Mrs. J.R. Beardall,
he attended schools in the United States and Europe and received an
appointment to the United States Naval Academy in 1937. He was
Commissioned an Ensign in the Class of 1941 and received orders to
USS RALEIGH, then at Pearl Harbor. Shortly thereafter, the now-
historic attack took place, and Ensign Beardall had good opportunity
to make use of his naval training.
During the remainder of World War II, the exec saw duty on
USS CLEVELAND, USS WEEKS, and USS MOALE, followed by
command of USS VARIAN and USS TOLLBERG in 1945. CDR.
then attended one year of postgraduate education at the U.S.
Naval Academy and two years of study at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, culminating in the awarding of a Master of Science
Degree in electrical engineering.
In the years 1949-1951, CDR. Beardall was Gunnery Officer on
USS WORCESTER, after which he took command of USS BLACK
in the Pacific. He then attended Guided Missile School, followed by
a tour of duty in the Guided Missile Research section of the Bureau
of Ordnance.
From 1955 until 1958, CDR. Beardall was NATO Plans Officer
on the Staff of Commander, SECOND Fleet. He reported to HELENA
in May, 1958.
CDR. Beardall is married to the former Miss Elizabeth Beverley
of Berryville, Virginia. They have two daughters, Elizabeth 9 and
Edith 5. |
Commander James B HILDRETH 1959 - 1960 Helena Cruise Book
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Commander Lewis C. BARTLETT 1960 - 1961 Helena Cruise Book
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