William Selman Guest (July 3, 1913 – August 13, 1992) was a United States Navy rear-admiral. Guest served as a naval aviator during World War II. While attached to he saw action at

Tulagi Harbor Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island——in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 18 ...

on May 4, 1942 and in the

Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the batt ...

a few days later. For his valor in these actions he was awarded the Navy Cross. After the war Guest was captain of 1957–58. Guest was promoted to rear admiral, and in 1964 he commanded ComCarDiv 9 (Commander Carrier Division 9). His flag was aboard the , and his task force saw action in Vietnam and was involved in the

Gulf of Tonkin Incident The Gulf of Tonkin incident ( vi, Sự kiện Vịnh Bắc Bộ) was an international confrontation that led to the United States engaging more directly in the Vietnam War. It involved both a proven confrontation on August 2, 1964, carried out b ...

in August 1964. Guest and all those that served with him received the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (which later was allowed to be exchanged for the Vietnam Service Medal) for action in the war zone of the South China Seas. In 1966 Guest was commander of Task Force 65 of the United States Sixth Fleet when a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber collided with a tanker and crashed near Palomares, Spain. It was carrying four thermonuclear weapons, one of which fell into the Mediterranean Sea. Guest deployed and commanded an 18-vessel US Navy task force, helped by civilian-operated

submersible A submersible is a small watercraft designed to operate underwater. The term "submersible" is often used to differentiate from other underwater vessels known as submarines, in that a submarine is a fully self-sufficient craft, capable of ind ...

s ''

Aluminaut ''Aluminaut'' (built in 1964) was the world's first aluminum submarine. An experimental vessel, the 80-ton, crewed deep-ocean research submersible was built by Reynolds Metals Company, which was seeking to promote the utility of aluminum. ''Al ...

'' and ''Alvin'' which eventually found the bomb, which was recovered intact. Guest was awarded the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

References

1913 births 1992 deaths United States Navy pilots of World War II United States Navy rear admirals Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War {{US-navy-bio-stub