Rear Admiral William Onahan Gallery (22 June 1904 – 15 November 1981) was a

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 ...

admiral — one of three brothers who became United States Navy admirals. A graduate of 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 was a naval aviator who served with distinction in combat 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 ...

Biography

William Onahan Gallery was born on 22 June 1904 in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He was the son of Daniel Vincent Gallery (born Chicago, July 19, 1865), lawyer, and

Mary Onahan Gallery Mary Onahan Gallery (, Onahan, known as Molly; July 22, 1866 – January 12, 1941) was an American writer, critic and editor. She primarily wrote articles for newspapers and magazines. Gallary was also the mother of three rear admirals in the U. ...

, writer. Gallery entered the

in 1921, the second of three brothers who would graduate from the Naval Academy. He received his commission as a United States Navy

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 ...

in 1925. He served aboard the battleship from 1925 to 1927, followed by duty aboard from 1927 to 1930. In 1930, Gallery reported for flight training in Pensacola, Florida. After nine months of training, he was awarded his wings as a naval aviator and assigned to Patrol Squadron 6 until 1933. He then transferred as an aviator to , where he served until 1935. From 1935 to 1937, he served at the Aeronautical Engineering Laboratory in

Washington, D.C. ) , 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, ...

Then from 1937 to 1939, he served in Fighter Squadron 6 (VF-6) on the aircraft carrier . His last assignment before World War II was at the

Naval Air Station Alameda Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda) was a United States Navy Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, on San Francisco Bay. NAS Alameda had two runways: 13–31 measuring and 07-25 measuring . Two helicopter pads and a control tower were ...

, Alameda, California. In 1941, at the start of

, Gallery served on the staff of Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid where he participated in the Battle of Santa Cruz; and then was based at Guadalcanal where he served in combat with the First Escort Carrier Task Group. Gallery then joined the PBY night raider ("Black Cats") on . He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his method of destroying Japanese night raiders. On return to the States, he was promoted to the rank of captain and took command of . He followed this command with duty at Eglin Air Force Base; after which he was commanding officer of , then the Naval Air Station Guantanamo, Cuba. This was followed by an assignment as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air), then command of in 1950. In ''Eight Bells and All's Well'', his brother Daniel V. Gallery noted that Phil broke ''Princeton'' out of mothballs and had her launching airstrikes off Korea in less than 60 days, a speed record for reactivating an aircraft carrier. Rear Admiral William Gallery retired from the United States Navy in June 1955. He died in 1981 and was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

with

full military honors A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards ...

. is named in honor of the three Gallery admirals — William, Phillip, and Daniel.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallery, William Onahan 1904 births 1931 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Naval Aviators Military personnel from Chicago Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy rear admirals

Biography

See also

Notes

References