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First Name: Frank

Last Name: Price

Birthplace: Van Lear, KY, USA

Gender: Male

Branch: Navy (present)

Rating:

Middle Name: Hoblitzell



Date of Birth: 11 June 1919

Date of Death: 12 June 2002

Rank or Rate: Vice Admiral

Years Served:
Frank Hoblitzell Price, Jr.

   
Graduate, U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1941

Engagements:
•  World War II (1941 - 1945)

Biography:

Frank Hoblitzell Price, Jr.
Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy

Frank Hoblitzell Price, Jr. was born on 11 June 1919 in Van Lear, KY.

Price attended the local schools in Van Lear and after high school attended Columbia Preparatory School in Washington for a year. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1937 and was commissioned as an Ensign upon graduation on 7 February 1941.

His first assignment was at the Charleston Naval Base on board the destroyer USS Walke (DD- 416). The Walke was then reassigned to the Newport, Rhode Island Navy Base. He next was assigned to the USS O'Brien with duty in the Pacific. During the Guadalcanal invasion, the O'Brien was torpedoed by a Japanese ship and sank on the way back to Pearl Harbor for repairs. The crew abandoned ship and all were rescued by a tanker that had been some distance away.

Price reported to Norfolk Naval Base and was assigned to the USS Shubrick, which was part of a convoy that escorted ships to Europe. He took part in the invasion of Sicily and the Shubrick acted as a fire support ship in support of the invasion troops. In 1944, Price was assigned as Executive Officer of the Shubrick and was part of the buildup to support the D-Day invasion.

In March of 1946, he was assigned to the battleship USS Missouri and was made the Assistant Gunnery Officer and Air Defense Officer. In 1949, Price was transferred to the Bureau of Ordnance and was promoted to the rank of Commander. In 1951, he was ordered to command the USS Beale (DDE-471), which had anti-submarine duties in the Mediterranean.

In 1956 Price was sent to the National War College in Washington. In 1957, he was ordered to Spain with duty as the Deputy Chief of the Navy Section, Military Assistance Advisory Group. During his tour in Spain, he was promoted to Captain and was assigned as Commander of Destroyer Division 362 out of Norfolk. By 1961 he was assigned to Chief of Staff of ComCarDiv 18 based out of Quonset Point, RI. He was next selected to command the USS Long Beach, the first nuclear powered surface vessel. He spent three years in that command before being promoted to Rear Admiral and transferred to head Cruiser Destroyer Flotilla 8 based in Norfolk. Price was next appointed Deputy Chief of Naval Ordnance Systems Command in 1970. He became the Deputy CNO for shipbuilding and was promoted to Vice Admiral.

Death and Burial

Vice Admiral Frank Hoblitzell Price, Jr. died on 12 June 2002 in Largo, FL. He is buried at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, MD.



Honoree ID: 2977   Created by: MHOH

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