October 14, 2023
USNPAA to Donate Plaque to Ship
USS Richard M. McCool, Jr. (LPD-29) Named for Medal of Honor Recipient/Retired Public Affairs Officer
Dear USNPAA Members,
Some USNPAA members might be surprised to learn that the Navy has named a new ship after a public affairs officer. USS Richard M. McCool, Jr. (LPD-29), an amphibious transport dock, is under construction in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and will be commissioned in mid-summer 2024. How did that come about?
Young Richard McCool had already graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1941 before he entered a special program at the U.S. Naval Academy following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He graduated as an Ensign in 1944 with the Academy’s accelerated class of 1945.
After his initial training, McCool was promoted to Lieutenant and named commanding officer of LCS 122 at age 23.
On June 10, 1944, during the Battle of Okinawa, LCS 122 came to assist USS William D. Porter that had been attacked by kamikazi aircraft. Although USS Porter sank, LCS 122 and others rescued all 99 members of the Porter crew. The following day, McCool’s ship itself was attacked by kamikazis. His crew downed one aircraft and damaged another before the latter crashed into the LCS 122 bridge. Eleven men died and 29 were wounded. McCool, suffering burns and shrapnel wounds, led his crew in firefighting and rescue efforts until relief arrived.
In 1945, Lieutenant McCool received the Medal of Honor for valor, presented by President Harry Truman at the White House. The citation read, in part, “Although suffering from shrapnel wounds and painful burns, he rallied his concussion-shocked crew and initiated vigorous fire-fighting measures and then proceeded to the rescue of several trapped in a blazing compartment, subsequently carrying one man to safety despite the excruciating pain of additional severe burns. Unmindful of all personal danger, he continued his efforts without respite until aid arrived from other ships and he was evacuated.”
After the war McCool, served in four additional line officer positions, including Commanding Office of LCS 44 and in USS McKean, USS Leyte and USS Frank Knox, before transferring to the Public Affairs community in the 1950s.
He earned a master’s degree in public relations from Boston University in 1955 and served in public affairs positions at Naval Base Long Beach, Eighth and Ninth Naval Districts, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, First Fleet and Naval Forces Japan. His final assignment was Deputy Commander for the Defense Information School, then in Indianapolis.
Captain McCool retired to Bremerton, Washington, in 1974 and died there in 2008. In an interview for the Medal of Honor Society, he said: “You fight as a unit, not as an individual.” That statement has become the motto of the new ship: Certas Ut Unitas Non Ut Singuli.
Although his Medal of Honor was for WWII heroism, the public affairs community honors McCool as the only Navy PAO to hold the Medal of Honor. He was a plank owner of the Navy Public Affairs Association.
You Can Assist
The Public Affairs Association is working with the USS McCool pre-commissioning crew to create a suitable bronze plaque to be mounted permanently on the ship to recognize McCool’s Medal of Honor and public affairs career.
If you would like to contribute to the cost of the plaque and honor Captain McCool’s legacy, please make your check out to the USNPAA. Mail it to: Brian Gray, USNPAA Treasurer, 6119 Larstan Drive, Alexandria, VA 22312. Contributions to USNPAA are tax deductible. Any contribution, large or small, would be most welcome. Funds raised in excess of the plaque cost will remain with the Association.
More Notes from the Admiral
USNPAA to Donate Plaque to Ship
USS Richard M. McCool, Jr. (LPD-29) Named for Medal of Honor Recipient/Retired Public Affairs Officer
Dear USNPAA Members,
Some USNPAA members might be surprised to learn that the Navy has named a new ship after a public affairs officer. USS Richard M. McCool, Jr. (LPD-29), an amphibious transport dock, is under construction in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and will be commissioned in mid-summer 2024. How did that come about?
Young Richard McCool had already graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1941 before he entered a special program at the U.S. Naval Academy following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He graduated as an Ensign in 1944 with the Academy’s accelerated class of 1945.
After his initial training, McCool was promoted to Lieutenant and named commanding officer of LCS 122 at age 23.
On June 10, 1944, during the Battle of Okinawa, LCS 122 came to assist USS William D. Porter that had been attacked by kamikazi aircraft. Although USS Porter sank, LCS 122 and others rescued all 99 members of the Porter crew. The following day, McCool’s ship itself was attacked by kamikazis. His crew downed one aircraft and damaged another before the latter crashed into the LCS 122 bridge. Eleven men died and 29 were wounded. McCool, suffering burns and shrapnel wounds, led his crew in firefighting and rescue efforts until relief arrived.
In 1945, Lieutenant McCool received the Medal of Honor for valor, presented by President Harry Truman at the White House. The citation read, in part, “Although suffering from shrapnel wounds and painful burns, he rallied his concussion-shocked crew and initiated vigorous fire-fighting measures and then proceeded to the rescue of several trapped in a blazing compartment, subsequently carrying one man to safety despite the excruciating pain of additional severe burns. Unmindful of all personal danger, he continued his efforts without respite until aid arrived from other ships and he was evacuated.”
After the war McCool, served in four additional line officer positions, including Commanding Office of LCS 44 and in USS McKean, USS Leyte and USS Frank Knox, before transferring to the Public Affairs community in the 1950s.
He earned a master’s degree in public relations from Boston University in 1955 and served in public affairs positions at Naval Base Long Beach, Eighth and Ninth Naval Districts, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, First Fleet and Naval Forces Japan. His final assignment was Deputy Commander for the Defense Information School, then in Indianapolis.
Captain McCool retired to Bremerton, Washington, in 1974 and died there in 2008. In an interview for the Medal of Honor Society, he said: “You fight as a unit, not as an individual.” That statement has become the motto of the new ship: Certas Ut Unitas Non Ut Singuli.
Although his Medal of Honor was for WWII heroism, the public affairs community honors McCool as the only Navy PAO to hold the Medal of Honor. He was a plank owner of the Navy Public Affairs Association.
You Can Assist
The Public Affairs Association is working with the USS McCool pre-commissioning crew to create a suitable bronze plaque to be mounted permanently on the ship to recognize McCool’s Medal of Honor and public affairs career.
If you would like to contribute to the cost of the plaque and honor Captain McCool’s legacy, please make your check out to the USNPAA. Mail it to: Brian Gray, USNPAA Treasurer, 6119 Larstan Drive, Alexandria, VA 22312. Contributions to USNPAA are tax deductible. Any contribution, large or small, would be most welcome. Funds raised in excess of the plaque cost will remain with the Association.
More Notes from the Admiral