Biography:Luke McNamee

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Luke McNamee
Luke McNamee.jpg
21st President of the Naval War College
In office
June 3, 1933 – May 29, 1934
Preceded byHarris Laning
Succeeded byEdward C. Kalbfus
21st Director of the Office of Naval Intelligence
In office
September 1921 – November 1923
Preceded byAndrew T. Long
Succeeded byHenry Hughes Hough
12th Naval Governor of Guam
In office
October 3, 1907 – December 28, 1907
Preceded byTemplin Potts
Succeeded byEdward John Dorn
10th Naval Governor of Guam
In office
November 2, 1905 – December 3, 1906
Preceded byGeorge Leland Dyer
Succeeded byTemplin Potts
Personal details
BornMount Hope, Wisconsin, U.S.
DiedDecember 30, 1952(1952-12-30) (aged 81)
Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.
Nationality United States
Spouse(s)Dorothy Swinburne McNamee
RelativesWilliam T. Swinburne (father-in-law)
AwardsNavy Cross
Legion of Honour
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy Seal United States Navy
RankUS-O10 insignia.svg Admiral
Commands

Luke McNamee (April 4, 1871 – December 30, 1952)[1] was a United States Navy Admiral, businessman, and the 10th and 12th Naval Governor of Guam. He served in the navy for 42 years, during which time he held multiple commands. During the Spanish–American War, he earned the Navy Cross, and later the Legion of Honour.

Earlier on his career, he served as governor, and expanded funding for fighting the infectious diseases running through the native population. He represented the U.S. Navy as a delegate to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. He later became Director of the Office of Naval Intelligence. He was promoted to full admiral after being placed in charge of the Battle Fleet. After this command, he served as President of the Naval War College before retiring in 1934. After leaving the navy, he became president and Chairman of the Mackay Radio and Telegraph Company, where he aggressively expanded telegraph and radio service overseas.

Naval career

McNamee had a 42-year career in the United States Navy. He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy from Kansas , graduating in 1892.[2] He was commissioned as an ensign on July 1, 1894. He served two years aboard the training ship USS Atlanta before being transferred to the USS Essex, where he served from 1894 to 1898.[3] He became a lieutenant junior grade on March 3, 1899, and a lieutenant on July 1, 1900.[3] He served as executive officer of the USS Princeton during the Spanish–American War.[2]

In 1901, he served aboard the battleship USS Oregon.[4] From 1905 to 1908, he was assigned to the Guam Naval Station, after which he served as the naval inspector to General Electric works (in Schenectady, New York and Massachusetts ) and the navigator of the USS Nevada.[2][4] After serving as the first commanding officer of the USS Sacramento,[5] he was promoted to captain in 1917. While on the Sacramento, he commanded all Navy forces in the Gulf of Mexico, though this only consisted of seven gunboats.[6]

After his promotion, he served as chief of staff to the commander of the United States Pacific Fleet, and then to Admiral William Sims, commander of United States Naval forces in Europe.[2] In 1919, he was on the naval advisory board at the Paris Peace Conference.[2]

In 1921, he served as commanding officer of the USS Nevada and the USS Tennessee in 1923. He served as Director of the Office of Naval Intelligence.[2] From 1924 to 1926, McNamee was appointed Naval attaché to the Court of St. James's in the United Kingdom . During his time in London, he was promoted to rear admiral.[2] In 1926, he commanded all the Destroyers in the Battle Fleet, before becoming director of fleet training. for the next four years. After being promoted to vice admiral, he returned to the Battle Fleet to command its Battleship force, doing so from 1931 to 1932. In 1933, he achieved full admiral and commanded the entire Battle Force.[2]

On June 3, 1933, he became President of the Naval War College.[7] He left the post on May 29, 1934, after retiring from active duty.[8] During his career, he was awarded the Navy Cross and the French Legion of Honour.[2]

Governorship

McNamee twice served as acting Governor of Guam: first from November 2, 1905, to December 3, 1906, and again from October 3, 1907, to December 28, 1907.[9]

As governor, he urged the United States Secretary of the Navy to invest in the control of leprosy and other infectious diseases on the island, arguing that this would be in the best interest of Navy finances, as it would protect paid personnel's productivity and the native Chamorro population, a group the navy thought could provide cheap labor.[10]

Business career and later life

After leaving the navy, McNamee became president of the Mackay Radio and Telegraph Company in 1934. He aggressively expanded the company by modernizing its overseas operations. He extended service on government and private vessels using the company's equipment as well.[2] In 1940, he led negotiations with labor unions after they shut down company operations, and was able to reach an agreement.[11]

On May 19, 1950, he became chairman of the board of directors. He also oversaw the opening of the first direct telegraph line to Bermuda.[12] In May 1951, he resigned his position as director of both Mackay and International Telephone and Telegraph.[2]

After retiring, McNamee lived in New York City . In 1948, he succeeded Herbert Livingston Satterlee as chairman of the executive committee of the Marine Museum of the City of New York.[13]

Awards

  • Navy Cross[14]
  • French Legion of Honour[14]

Personal life

Luke McNamee was born to Michael and Anne Amelia (née Garvey) McNamee in Mount Hope, Wisconsin in 1871.

On October 22, 1903, at Saint Cecilia's Church in Boston, Massachusetts, McNamee married Dorothy Swinburne (born 1880, Erie County, Pennsylvania), the daughter of Admiral William T. Swinburne. The McNamees had no children.[14][15][16]

For much of his life, he lived in Wisconsin, though he later moved to Jamestown, Rhode Island.[4] He spent the last two years of his life as a patient of the Naval Station Newport Hospital in Newport, Rhode Island.[citation needed]

On December 30, 1952, McNamee died at Naval Station Newport Hospital at Newport, Rhode Island. McNamee is interred at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. His widow, Dorothy, died on November 21, 1965 (aged 85) and was interred beside her husband in Arlington National Cemetery. [14][2][17]

References

  1. ↑ Hooper, Franklin Henry; Yust, Walter (1953). "Britannica book of the year". books.google.co.uk. https://books.google.com/books?id=D14NAQAAMAAJ&q=%22McNamee,+Luke%22+1871. 
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 "Admiral M'Namee Dead in Newport: Former Head of Mackay Radio, Adviser at 1919 Paris Peace Parley, in Navy 42 Years". The New York Times. The New York Times Company (New York City): p. 15. December 31, 1952. https://www.nytimes.com/1952/12/31/archives/admiral-mnamee-dead-in-newport-foner-head-of-mackay-radio-adviser.html. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hamersly, Lewis Randolph (1902). The Records of Living Officers of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. L.R. Hamersly Company. p. 319. https://books.google.com/books?id=qv1BAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Luke+McNamee%22&pg=PA319. Retrieved November 12, 2010. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "M'Namee Retired; In Navy 40 Years". The New York Times. The New York Times Company (New York City): p. 10. May 10, 1934. https://www.nytimes.com/1934/05/10/archives/mnamee-retired-in-navy-40-years-washington-hears-war-college-head.html. 
  5. ↑ Mooney, James. "Sacramento". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Washington, D.C.: Naval History & Heritage Command. http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s2/sacramento-ii.htm. 
  6. ↑ "Mexican Officials Want Americans Quit Yaqui Valley". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. The New York Times Company (Spartanburg, South Carolina): p. 3. 23 June 1915. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1U8sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=28kEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4622,3725644&dq=luke-mcnamee&hl=en. 
  7. ↑ "Rear Admiral Stephen B. Luce". Newport, Rhode Island: Naval War College. http://www.usnwc.edu/NWCSite/images/about/NWCPastPresidents.aspx. 
  8. ↑ "1930-1939". Chronology of Courses and Significant Events. Newport, Rhode Island: Naval War College. http://www.usnwc.edu/About/History/Chronology-of-Courses-and-Significant-Events/1930s.aspx. 
  9. ↑ "Naval Era Governors of Guam". Guampedia. Guam: University of Guam. August 10, 2010. http://guampedia.com/naval-era-governors-of-guam/. 
  10. ↑ Hattori, Anne Perez (2004). Colonial Dis-ease: US Navy Health Policies and the Chamorros of Guam, 1898-1941. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press. p. 70. ISBN 0-8248-2808-9. https://books.google.com/books?id=i84sQCC-unkC&q=%22Luke+McNamee%22&pg=PA70. Retrieved November 12, 2010. 
  11. ↑ "Mackay Service Back to Normal: Radio Company Settles Dispute with Its Workers". The New York Times. The New York Times Company (New York City): p. 21. February 2, 1940. https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0E1FFC3B55117A93C0A91789D85F448485F9. 
  12. ↑ "New Link to Bermuda: Direct Radio-Telegraph Service May Be Opened Monday". The New York Times. The New York Times Company (New York City): p. 29. August 6, 1942. https://www.nytimes.com/1942/08/06/archives/new-link-to-bermuda-direct-radiotelegraph-service-may-be-opened.html. 
  13. ↑ "M'Namee Gets New Post: Admiral Heads Marine Museum Executive Committee". The New York Times. The New York Times Company (New York City): p. 39. March 29, 1948. https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0910FA3F5A107A93CBAB1788D85F4C8485F9. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 "Luke McNamee, Admiral, U.S. Navy". https://militaryhallofhonor.com/honoree-record.php?id=598. Retrieved November 30, 2021. 
  15. ↑ "Dorothy Swinburne". https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/9DDY-X67/dorothy-swinburne-1878-1965. Retrieved November 30, 2021. 
  16. ↑ "Personal Matters". Army and Navy Register. October 31, 1903. p. 8. https://books.google.com/books?id=12A-AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA17-PA8. Retrieved November 30, 2021. 
  17. ↑ "Admiral Dies". Marshfield News-Herald: p. 12. December 30, 1952. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14090339/luke_mcnamee_18711952/.  open access

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
Harris Laning 		President of the Naval War College
3 June 1933–29 May 1934 		Succeeded by
Edward C. Kalbfus
Preceded by
George Leland Dyer 		Naval Governor of Guam
1905–1906 		Succeeded by
Templin Potts
Preceded by
Templin Potts 		Naval Governor of Guam
1905–1906 		Succeeded by
Edward John Dorn



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