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First Name: John

Last Name: Chew

Birthplace: USA

Gender: Male

Branch: Navy (present)

Rating:

Middle Name: Louis



Date of Birth: 22 September 1909

Date of Death: 17 May 1999

Rank or Rate: Vice Admiral

Years Served:
John Louis Chew

   
Graduate, U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 0

Engagements:
•  World War II (1941 - 1945)

Biography:

John Louis Chew
Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy

John Louis Chew was born on 22 September 1909 in Maryland.

Chew graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and was assigned to the USS Maryland. His next assignments were aboard the destroyers USS Overton and USS Monaghan, followed by the tanker USS Neches. In 1943 he joined the USS Helena as Air Defense Officer and was the senior survivor when the Helena was sunk in the Kula Gulf in 1943. During the battle, Helena was hit by three torpedoes, subsequently causing the ship to sink. What remained of the ship's crew remained in the water for almost three days before making it to Vella Lavella, a small island in the Solomons. The ordeal was made into a book called "Some Shall Escape" published in 1945.

His next assignment was as Ordnance Instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy. In addition to duty in Washington, he was Executive Officer of the "new" heavy cruiser USS Helena and Commanding Officer of USS Stickell, USS Pawcatuck and USS Roanoke. In 1961 he became Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Four, directing recovery operations for Project Mercury.

Subsequently, he was with the JCS, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces, Japan from August 1964 to July 1965 as a Rear Admiral. He was then Commander, Anti-Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet and Commander of U.S. Taiwan Defense Command from 1967 to 1969.

Death and Burial

Vice Admiral John Louis Chew died on 17 May 1999. He is buried at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, MD.



Honoree ID: 2336   Created by: MHOH

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