Rear Admiral Oral Raymond Swigart (October 7, 1897June 21, 1973) was an American naval officer. While at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

he competed in the Greco-Roman lightweight event at the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Swigart served as commander of the USS ''Melville'', escorting some of the first troops to Britain in early 1942. He later served in command of a flotilla of

Landing Ship, Tank Landing Ship, Tank (LST), or tank landing ship, is the naval designation for ships first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto shore with ...

s in the Pacific Theatre. Swigart received two Legions of Merit and the Bronze Star for his service.

Early life

Oral Raymond Swigart was born in

Columbia City, Indiana Columbia City is a city in Columbia Township, Whitley County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 9,892 (2020 Census), growing by 13% since the 2010 Census. The city is the county seat of Whitley County. History The Whitley County ...

, on October 9, 1897. He attended

Columbia City High School Columbia City High School is a public high school located in Columbia City, Indiana. Notable Alumni * Jim Banks - U.S. representative for Indiana's 3rd congressional district * Hannah Schaefer - Christian musician * Cleon H. Foust - Th ...

before entering the

in Annapolis, Maryland. Swigart captained the naval academy's wrestling team and was entered onto the Naval Academy Athletic Association hall of fame. He was part of the American team sent to the

where he competed in the Greco-Roman lightweight event. Swigart was granted permission to remain at the academy longer than normal to train for the event. He beat the Italian Walter Ranghieri in the first round but was knocked out by

Frits Janssens Frits Janssens (14 March 1892 – 30 March 1965) was a Belgian wrestler. He competed at the 1920, 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( n ...

in round two. Janssens was of heavier weight and more familiar with the Greco-Roman style; Swigart was used to

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

Naval career

After graduating from the academy in 1921 Swigart was commissioned into the US Navy. He was commander of the USS ''Melville'' which accompanied the first American troops to the United Kingdom in January 1942. Swigart was recognized for his efforts when commanding troop transports during the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...

. Transferring to the Pacific Theatre he commanded

Flotilla 8. Swigart landed troops and supplies at Tonga and New Zealand and helped transport the First Marine Division to the Solomon Islands. He later participated in the

Guadalcanal campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...

, landing supplies for the troops and brought troops to the beaches of Leyte and Manila. This included the

Invasion of Lingayen Gulf The Invasion of Lingayen Gulf ( fil, Paglusob sa Golpo ng Lingayen), 6–9 January 1945, was an Allied amphibious operation in the Philippines during World War II. In the early morning of 6 January 1945, a large Allied force commanded by Admira ...

and the

Battle of Mindanao The Battle of Mindanao (Filipino: ''Labanan sa Mindanao;'' Cebuano: ''Gubat sa Mindanao;'' Japanese: ミンダナオの戦い) was fought by the Americans and allied Filipino guerrillas against the Japanese forces on the island of Mindanao in ...

. Swigart received the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

with a star for a second award and combat

"V" device A "V" device is a metal capital letter "V" with serifs which, when worn on certain decorations awarded by the United States Armed Forces, distinguishes an award for heroism or valor in combat instead of for meritorious service or achievement. ...

and a Bronze Star for his service. He was also awarded the

European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal The European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those m ...

with one campaign star, the

Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal The Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal is a United States military award of the Second World War, which was awarded to any member of the United States Armed Forces who served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater from 1941 to 1945. The medal was created ...

with five campaign stars and the

Philippine Liberation Medal The Philippine Liberation Medal is a military award of the Republic of the Philippines which was created by an order of Commonwealth Army of the Philippines Headquarters on 20 December 1944, and was issued as the Philippine Liberation Ribbon. The d ...

with two campaign stars. He retired in 1951 as a

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Personal life

Swigart was married to Margaret Williams. They had two sons who both served as officers in the United States Marine Corps: Oral Swigart Jr. who reached the rank of colonel and Captain Robert Williams Swigart who was killed in action in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

in July 1967. Oral Swigart Sr. died in Paris, France, on June 21, 1973, of a suspected heart attack.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swigart, Oral 1897 births 1973 deaths Olympic wrestlers for the United States Wrestlers at the 1920 Summer Olympics American male sport wrestlers People from Columbia City, Indiana Sportspeople from Indiana Military personnel from Indiana United States Navy rear admirals Navy Midshipmen wrestlers United States Navy personnel of World War II Recipients of the Legion of Merit