Wallace Morris Beakley (January 20, 1903 – January 16, 1975) was an American
naval aviator
Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.
Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...
, diplomat, commander of the
United States Seventh Fleet
The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...
, deputy chief of naval operations, and
vice admiral in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. He served as
vice chief of naval operations
The vice chief of naval operations (VCNO) is the second highest-ranking commissioned United States Navy officer in the Department of the Navy and functions as the principal deputy of the chief of naval operations and by statute, the vice chief ...
for Atlantic Fleet (now
U.S. Fleet Forces Command
The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Stat ...
) and commander in chief for Western Atlantic until he retired from the
U.S. uniformed services in 1964.
Education
Beakley was born in
Vineland, New Jersey
Vineland is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 60,780. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 61,156 ...
. He graduated from 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 ...
and subsequently attended
Naval Postgraduate School
The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a public graduate school operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California.
It offers master’s and doctoral degrees in more than 70 fields of study to the U.S. Armed Forces, DOD ci ...
before attending the
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
(Caltech). Beakley attended
Army Industrial College
The Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (Eisenhower School), formerly known as the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF), is a part of the National Defense University. It was renamed on September 6, 20 ...
,
National War College
The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active.
History
The National War Colle ...
and
Naval War College
The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...
where he studied
Aeronautical Engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: Aeronautics, aeronautical engineering and Astronautics, astronautical engineering. A ...
with BSc and MSc degrees. On 24 November 1926 after completing his education, he was designated a naval aviator in the U.S. navy.
Naval career
Beakley entered the U.S. navy as a naval officer and was then promoted to the rank of
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 ...
. During his career, he commanded several battleships and destroyers, including ''
USS Utah (BB-31)
USS ''Utah'' (BB-31/AG-16) was the second and final member of the of dreadnought battleships. The first ship of the United States Navy named after the state of Utah, she had one sister ship, . ''Utah'' was built by the New York Shipbuildin ...
'' battleship of
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
and
Mahan-class destroyer
The ''Mahan''-class destroyers of the United States Navy were a series of 18 destroyers of which the first 16 were laid down in 1934. The last two of the 18, and (this pair laid down in 1935), are sometimes considered a separate ship class. ...
s. He was assigned to the
Lexington-class aircraft carrier
The ''Lexington''-class aircraft carriers were a pair of aircraft carriers built for the United States Navy (USN) during the 1920s, the and . The ships were built on hulls originally laid down as battlecruisers after World War I, but under th ...
which he commanded for two years from 1935 to 1937. He was later appointed as an engineer and executive officer of ''Patrol Squadron 14-F'' warship. Beakley's next assignment was the
Bureau of Aeronautics
The Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for naval aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" (''i.e.'', responsibility) for the design, procurement, and support of naval aircraft and relate ...
(BuAer) and
United States Department of the Navy
The United States Department of the Navy (DoN) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary o ...
. In July 1941, he was assigned to command the fifth
squadron
Squadron may refer to:
* Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies
* Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...
for ''USS Yorktown'' warship. After the
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 ...
broke out, he served at various posts, including executive officer of
carrier air wing
A carrier air wing (abbreviated CVW) is an operational naval aviation organization composed of several aircraft squadron (aviation), squadrons and detachments of various types of fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing and rotorcraft, rotary-wing aircr ...
and
Pacific Fleet for Washington, D.C.
In August 1945, he was appointed at
naval task force where he commanded a
bogue-class escort carrier
The ''Bogue'' class were a class of 45 escort carriers built in the United States for service with the US Navy and the Royal Navy, through the Lend-Lease program, during World War II. Following the war, ten ''Bogue''-class ships were kept in ser ...
, and later served as instructor at the National War college. In July 1947, Beakley served a member of the Joint staff, and subsequently member of
joint chiefs of staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...
at
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
. He also commanded
midway-class aircraft carrier of the navy for a year. After serving at aircraft carrier, he was reappointed to the office of the
Chief of Naval Operations
The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...
and served as
assistant director
The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...
for aviation as well as General Planning Group. Later in July 1953, Beakley was appointed as commander at
United States Naval Forces Central Command
United States Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) is the United States Navy element of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM). Its area of responsibility includes the Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea. It consists of the ...
(Middle East Force), and in 1954, he was assigned to command the
anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...
manned by
hunter-killer team
A hunter-killer team, is a team that separates the tasks of "hunting" and "killing" to two or more individuals.
Examples include:
* Two-person sniper teams, one using specialized optical hardware and the other a rifle
* Pairs of F-4G Wild We ...
at Atlantic Fleet.
It was July 1955 when he returned again to the office of the chief of naval operations and assumed the office as assistant director for Strategic Plans Division, and on 7 May 1956, he was appointed as assistant chief
of naval operations for Plans and Policy branch as part of his additional duty assignment. In 1957 he served as commander of the Seventh Fleet upon reaching to the temporary rank vice admiral. In November 1958, Beakley assumed navy office as vice chief of naval operations. Later on 21 September
1961, he was appointed as
deputy commander-in-chief for Atlantic Fleet, and later,
commander-in-chief for Western Atlantic. On 9 September 1953, he served with additional duty as commander of the Naval Base stationed at
. At that time, he was promoted to the rank of
three-star vice admiral and retired from the
navy department on 1 January 1964.
Death
In January 1975, Beakley was found dead in
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...
which was his hometown. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' stated in its report that Beakley probably committed suicide by shooting himself.
Awards and decorations
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beakley, Wallace M.
1903 births
1975 deaths
People from Vineland, New Jersey
Naval Postgraduate School alumni
United States Naval Academy alumni
Naval War College alumni
20th-century American naval officers
United States Navy vice admirals
Military personnel from New Jersey