Captain H. O. Larson, U. S. N.
Captain H. O. Larson has to his credit over a quarter of a century of service with the U. S. Navy. After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1925, his first tour of duty was in the coalburner, USS Texas. Next he served in the USS Oklahoma and after two years of service in battleships went to destroyers for 14 years. During this period he had command of the Kalk, the Hamilton and the Pringle. He has commanded Destroyer Squadron THREE and Destroyer Divisions 71, 80, 42 and 31. During world War II Captain Larson served in both the North Atlantic and in the South Pacific theaters.
Captain Larson's shore duty has included a post-graduate course in mechanical engineering and the acquisition of a Master of Science degree at the University of California. He served at the Naval Boiler Laboratory, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on ComInCh and CNO Staffs, Washington, D. C., and immediately prior to boarding the Helena, as Commanding Officer of the Service Schools Command at the Naval Training Center in San Diego.
This was Captain Larson's second tour of duty on heavy cruisers, his first having been his service as Chief of Staff to ComCruDiv THREE on the Helena three years ago.
Captain Larson holds the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star, with combat distinguishing device.
(This short bio was copied from the USS Helena CA-75 1951 cruise book)