William Rea Furlong (May 26, 1881 – June 2, 1976) was

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 ...

Rear admiral 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 opposing ...

, who served as the Chief of Naval Ordnance from 1937 to 1941. After

Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ju ...

, Furlong was tasked with the salvaging and repairing of the sunken U.S. ships.

Early years

William Rea Furlong was born on May 26, 1881, in the town of Allenport,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, as a son of William Allen Furlong and Ethel Grant Furlong. Furlong attended the

Normal School A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

in California, Pennsylvania, where he earned his teaching degree. He subsequently worked as a teacher for almost two years. In 1901, he was recommended for 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 ...

at Annapolis, Maryland. Furlong graduated in 1905 with the rank of

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

and was assigned to the armored cruiser until 1909. In 1910, Furlong was assigned to the

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...

, which was posted as the reserve of the

Massachusetts Naval Militia The Massachusetts Naval Militia (at first called the Massachusetts Colonial Navy and later the Massachusetts State Navy), was a naval militia active during the American Revolutionary War. It was founded December 29, 1775, to defend the interests ...

. He briefly commanded the cruiser from August 19 to the 29th in 1910. He served on ''Chicago'' until 1912, when he attended the

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, New York and graduated with the

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

degree in electrical and radio engineering in 1914. Furlong was then assigned as fleet radio officer and aide on the staff of the commander-in-chief,

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. In April 1914, he participated in the Veracruz Expedition in Mexico. In July he was assigned as the Fleet Radio Officer on board the battleship USS ''New York''.

World War I

After his graduation, Furlong was appointed a fleet radio officer and aide on the staff of the commander-in-chief,

under the command of Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher. From 1916 to 1917, Furlong served as a gunnery officer on board battleships and . Furlong the served as gunnery observer on the battleship USS ''New York'', operating in European waters and as gunnery observer in the war zone with the British

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from the F ...

. In March 1918 he was assigned to the Bureau of Ordnance.

Interwar period

Following the war, Furlong served from 1919 to 1920 as Chief of Fire Control Section, Bureau of Ordnance, Navy Department, Washington, D.C., where he introduced synchronous fire control system and remote control of guns by electrical power. From 1921 to 1923 he served as an aide on the staff and fleet gunnery officer to the commander-in-chief,

United States Pacific Fleet The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor� ...

. This was followed by an assignment from 1923 to 1926 where he served in office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Navy Department, Washington, D.C. From 1926 to 1928 Furlong served as executive officer of the battleship USS ''West Virginia'', and then served as commander of the oiler USS ''Neches''. He also served as division commander of six destroyers in the Pacific. From 1928 to 1931 he served as Chief of Policy and Liaison Section, Office of Island Government, Navy Department, Washington, D.C. From 1931 to 1933 he commanded the light cruiser USS ''Marblehead''. He then served as inspector of ordnance in charge at the Naval Proving Ground in

Dahlgren, Virginia Dahlgren is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in King George County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,946 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 2,653 at the 2010 census, and up from 997 in 2000. History ...

, from 1933 to 1936. On June 23, 1938, he was promoted to rear admiral and assigned as Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance for the Navy Department in Washington, D.C.

World War II

From February to December 1941, he served as commander of Minecraft, Battle Force at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

, Hawaii. He was present at the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

on 7 December 1941, when he was on board his flagship, the minelayer USS ''Oglala'', when it capsized after being strafed and torpedoed by the Japanese. From December 12, 1941, to nearly the end of the war, he was commander of the

Pearl Harbor Navy Yard Naval Station Pearl Harbor is a United States naval base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. In 2010, along with the United States Air Force's Hickam Field, Hickam Air Force Base, the facility was merged to form Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam. Pe ...

and was charged with salvaging and repairing ships sunk during Japanese attack and returning them for use in the Pacific war. Most notably, he oversaw the righting of the battleship USS ''Oklahoma'' which capsized after being torpedoed during the attack. In 1944 he was awarded the Legion of Merit. In 1945 he was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of second Legion of Merit. Admiral Furlong retired from United States Navy on July 18, 1945, after 44 years of service.

Retirement

In retirement Furlong lived in Washington, D.C., and had a summer home in Roscoe, Pennsylvania. He was later decorated with Order of the Cross of Liberty, 1st Class by the Government of

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as token of good will. In 1949 Admiral Furlong was elected commander-in-chief of the

Military Order of the World Wars The Military Order of the World War was created in 1919 at the suggestion of General of the Armies John J. Pershing as a fraternity for American military officers coming out of the Great War. Two decades later, when the USA became involved in WWI ...

. He was also a member of the Naval Order of the United States (companion number 2459). In 1949 he joined the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Society of the

Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. A non-profit corporation, it has described its purpose ...

and was assigned national membership number 71,282 and society number 2662. In 1950 he was presented with the

Freedoms Foundation The Freedoms Foundation is an American non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian educational organization, founded in 1949. The foundation is located adjacent to the Valley Forge National Historical Park, near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Bill of R ...

award. Admiral Furlong died on June 2, 1976, in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

. In 1981 Furlong's book ''So Proudly We Hail: The History of the United States Flag'' was published by the Smithsonian Institution Press.

Legacy

The Admiral Furlong Award is awarded by the Sons of the American Revolution for the public display of the American flag by a non-governmental organization.

Awards

The ribbon bar of Rear Admiral William R. Furlong:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furlong, William R. 1881 births 1976 deaths People from Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania Attack on Pearl Harbor Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy rear admirals United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy World War II admirals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 1st Class Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Military personnel from Pennsylvania