David Merrill Tyree
Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy

David Merrill Tyree was born on 23 January 1904 in Washington, DC.

Tyree graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1925 and later earned a Master's Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan. He then went to the Navy Post Graduate School and the Naval Gun Factory, and studied Ordnance. Tyree was next assigned as a staff officer aboard the heavy cruiser USS Salt Lake City at the outbreak of World War II. He became the Gunnery Officer on the staff of Carrier Division One aboard the USS Lexington when that ship was sunk at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May of 1942. He was serving on the USS Hornet in a similar capacity when the Hornet was mortally wounded off Guadalcanal in October of 1942 in the Battle of Santa Cruz. Tyree then joined the staff of Admiral Richmond K. Turner, Commander of Amphibious Forces in the Pacific Fleet, and took part in the remainder of the Solomon Islands campaigns.

In June of 1944, he was assigned to the Bureau of Ordnance in Washington, DC. After the war, he attended and taught at the National War College and later commanded the attack transport USS Rencille in the Java Sea when it hosted the cease fire negotiations between the Netherlands and Indonesia, under the auspices of the United Nations. In November 1950, he reported as Commanding Officer of the Battleship USS New Jersey. The New Jersey was the flagship of the 7th Fleet during the Korean War. He became the Assistant Chief of Naval Operations for Material, and Superintendent of the Naval Gun Factory. His last command was as Commander of the U.S. Naval Support Force in Antarctica from 14 April 1959 to 26 November 1962.

Honors

Mount Tyree in Antarctica was named in his honor.

Death and Burial

Rear Admiral David Merrill Tyree died on 25 August 1984 in Portsmouth, VA. He is buried at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, MD.