Battleship Commander: The Life of Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee Jr.

by Paul Stillwell

Dr. Scott Mobley, a retired Navy captain who is now on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin, has studied naval history extensively. He put forth a convincing rationale for a biography of the largely unsung Admiral Lee: “I think Lee loomed larger in his own time than now, but he has much to offer naval officers of today.”

George Street, who was later awarded the Medal of Honor as a submarine skipper, served under Lee’s command as an ensign in the cruiser Concord in the late 1930s. Street often used an evocative term that aptly fits Lee: “bright as new money.”

important distinction was that he had tactical command during one of only two battleship-versus-battleship gunnery duels in the war. As the result of his leadership from the flagship Washington in November 1942, the Japanese lost the battleship Kirishima and were stymied in their efforts to deliver a pummeling bombardment of Guadalcanal. That victory was the turning point that essentially ended Japanese efforts to retake the island.

In addition, Lee’s modest personality was one that avoided public recognition and acclaim.

Because Lee was an Olympic medal winner as a marksman, for years members of the Naval Academy rifle team have visited his grave in the Arlington National Cemetery on the Sunday nearest the anniversary of his death.

My journey to this point started in 1969 when I received orders to serve in the crew of the battleship New Jersey as assistant combat information center officer. Coincidentally, Lee was an early proponent of the value of CICs.

the four officers who had flown their flags on board the ship during the war: Halsey, Admiral Raymond Spruance, Rear Admiral Oscar Badger, and Lee.

the one in which he spent most of his time, the USS Washington.

Despite her advanced stage of pregnancy, his mother persisted in her pastime of fishing on Eagle Creek,

All the children had excellent minds and did well in school. But they were not individuals to be bound by convention. They spoke their minds and did as they pleased, paying little heed to the gossip that followed.

One subject of such talk was the family’s failure to attend church. They were not attracted by the fire-and-brimstone preaching style of the Baptist Church, the most prominent denomination in Owen County.

One subject of such talk was the family’s failure to attend church. They were not attracted by the fire-and-brimstone preaching style of the Baptist Church, the...

Amen (bad pun intended )

Judge Lee’s tolerant nature expressed itself in a live-and-let-live attitude toward gambling and bootlegging in Owenton.

Mostly young Lee played with other boys, but Florence Arnold qualified as an exception because she was a tomboy.

A few black citizens lived in Owenton, and they generally got along well with the whites. The children of both races played together, even though their schools were segregated.

took an interest in reptiles, bugs and freaks of mother nature.”

Because he was bright, Lee generally did well in school; it was a “family scandal,” to use the words of his niece Elizabeth (Lucy Vallandingham’s daughter), when Mose once flunked mathematics.

Because he was bright, Lee generally did well in school; it was a “family scandal,” to use the words of his niece Elizabeth (Lucy Vallandingham’s daughter), when Mose once flunked mathematics.

Ugh, math.

(As an adult, Lee demonstrated the facility for solving complex math problems and a tendency not to spend time on things that did not really interest him.)

His unkempt appearance (which, incidentally, was to be a lifelong trait, even when wearing naval uniforms)

Judge Lee was an excellent shot and passed the knowledge of shooting along to his son.

Judge Lee was an excellent shot and passed the knowledge of shooting along to his son.

Hooah!

Many years afterward, Allen Cammack, who was a boyhood ne...

Lee developed remarkable proficiency with small arms and his interest in guns remained with him, both personally and professionally, all his life.

Lee developed remarkable proficiency with small arms and his interest in guns remained with him, both personally and professionally, all his life.

Hooah again!

Cammack’s sister Louise said of Lee that he was an “unusually bright boy [who] was born with a built-in sighting device and a shooting arm. Anything Mose aimed at he hit.

Once the two of them decided to make a bomb. They took some gunpowder out of shotgun shells and put it under a tin can. Then they ran a trail of powder from the can as a fuse and lit the other end of it.

academy in the spring of 1904, when he had just turned sixteen and had not finished high school. Despite his intelligence, some in town questioned whether he would succeed at the rigidly disciplined academy, given his penchant for unconventional behavior. As former neighbor Louise Davis put it many years later, “The strict rules and regulations were tough on Mose but he stuck it out. This is the only thing he did which surprised the townspeople [who by then had probably lost nearly all capacity for surprise where he was concerned].

Carvel Hall Hotel. (For many years the hotel provided housing for midshipmen’s dates when they came to town for dances and other social events.)

In 1901 construction began on a much more modern gray-granite building, Bancroft Hall,

a mansard roof,

Years afterward, Smith wrote, “I still savor the delicious taste of the country hams that were always found among the gifts…. In those days there was no Christmas leave for Midshipmen and the Christmas boxes were treasured…

Years afterward, Smith wrote, “I still savor the delicious taste of the country hams that were always found among the gifts…. In those days there was no Christmas leave for Midshipmen and the Christmas boxes were treasured…

Jeez, really, no Xmas leave back then?!?!

Marc A. Mitscher from Oklahoma was a midshipman who entered the academy as a plebe in 1904. Another “mid” from that state, Peter Cassius Marcellus Cade Jr., had bilged out the year before for failing academically. The upperclassmen started ragging Mitscher as a surrogate for Cade. Mitscher had to repeat the name of the departed mid whenever asked. The strange upshot was that Mitscher thus acquired the lifetime nickname “Pete.” Mitscher struggled academically, and he was also held culpable in a hazing scandal.

Marc A. Mitscher from Oklahoma was a midshipman who entered the academy as a plebe in 1904. Another “mid” from that state, Peter Cassius Marcellus Cade Jr., had bilged out the year before for failing academically. The upperclassmen started ragging Mitscher as a surrogate for Cade. Mitscher had to repeat the name of the departed mid whenever asked. The strange upshot was that Mitscher thus acquired the lifetime nickname “Pete.” Mitscher struggled academically, and he was also held culpable in a hazing scandal.

Little did they know…goes to show that “Living well in the best revenge.”

Mitscher was compelled to resign, both for his part in the hazing and for the numerous demerits he accumulated. Even so, the young man was permitted to return to Annapolis and graduated in 1910, two years after Lee.

Mitscher was compelled to resign, both for his part in the hazing and for the numerous demerits he accumulated. Even so, the young man was permitted to return to Annapolis and graduated in 1910, two years after Lee.

Oi vey!

Lloyd C. Stark from Missouri was another plebe classmate. He graduated in 1908 and remained in the Navy until he resigned in 1911. He went home to join the family apple business and later was in combat as an Army major in World War I.

Lloyd C. Stark from Missouri was another plebe classmate. He graduated in 1908 and remained in the Navy until he resigned in 1911. He went home to join the family apple business and later was in combat as an Army major in World War I.

Oh the irony (Navy to Army, that is). The trenches probably made him wish he’d stayed Navy.

Naturally, there was small-arms marksmanship practice as well.

Naturally, there was small-arms marksmanship practice as well.

Hooah.

“Lee was given the name ‘Chink’ by his classmates early in Plebe summer because, vaguely, he looked a bit like a Chinaman. About average in size, he had a round face, eyes that were slightly slanted and a skin yellowish in tone.”

“Lee was given the name ‘Chink’ by his classmates early in Plebe summer because, vaguely, he looked a bit like a Chinaman. About average in size, he had a round face, eyes that were slightly slanted and a skin yellowish in tone.”

“That’s Waisis,” as the meme says!

Even though he had a great mind, Lee applied himself on only those things that really mattered to him. Norton observed that the two main categories that appealed to Lee were rifle shooting and freehand drawing.

Even though he had a great mind, Lee applied himself on only those things that really mattered to him. Norton observed that the two main categories that appealed to Lee were rifle shooting and freehand drawing.

Hooah again!

John Earle marveled at Lee’s ability for intense concentration. He remembered that Lee could read a lesson assignment once and retain everything of importance.

He was particularly good at math, our hardest subject, and spent many hours trying to make dumb classmates see how simple math really was.”

He did not recall Lee being conspicuous at dances, adding, “I am sure he was much more interested in firearms than girls.”

He did not recall Lee being conspicuous at dances, adding, “I am sure he was much more interes...

Haha, hey, c’mon now, the two interests definitely aren’t mutually exclusive! 😉

The pair closed down several shooting galleries that hung silver dollars from strings. At a price of ten cents per shot, the marksmen won the dollars whenever their bullets snapped the strings. They were so successful that, according to classmate John E. Meredith, “This was long the subject of conversation in the Wardrooms of the fleets.” As Meredith pointed out, the feat was mentioned in Heiberg’s entry in the 1908 Naval Academy yearbook.