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Contact Info
Home Town Brookville, IN
Last Address Annapolis, MD
Date of Passing Apr 03, 2001
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Wall/Plot Coordinates 9 5847 EH
Official Badges
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Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Charles Allen Buchanan, 96, a retired rear admiral who commanded a destroyer division and squadron during the Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns of World War II and retired in 1964 as commander of the naval district in Hawaii, died of respiratory failure April 3, 2001, at Ginger Cove Health Center in Annapolis, Maryland.
He was operations officer and assistant chief of staff for an amphibious task force that landed in Sicily and Salerno, Southern Italy, and in the Marshall Islands and Guam during WWII. After the war, he became an aide to James Forrestal, the Navy secretary who was the first secretary of defense.
Admiral Buchanan was an operations officer in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, commanded the USS Worcester and was commandant at the U.S. Naval Academy in the early 1950s. He commanded a destroyer squadron in the Far East and was commander of the naval base at Newport, R.I. In Hawaii, he coordinated completion of the USS Arizona-Pearl Harbor Memorial.
Admiral Buchanan was a native of Brookville, Indiana, and a graduate of the Naval Academy.
His honors included the Navy Cross, two awards of the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star with Gold Star and Combat "V" and the Silver Lifesaving Medal.
Other Comments:
Navy Cross
Awarded for actions during World War II The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Captain Charles Allen Buchanan, United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism as Officer in Tactical Command of a Radar Picket Station Unit during action against enemy Japanese forces at Okinawa in the Ryukyu Chain, on 12 April 1945. When an overwhelming force of Japanese aircraft flew in over his Task Force and launched a vicious suicide attack, Captain Buchanan fought his ships gallantly throughout the fierce engagement and, despite the tremendous odds, contributed to the success of his unit and cooperating combat air patrol squadron in accounting for more than thirty enemy aircraft shot down with minimum loss in personnel or damage to his own Task Force. An inspiring and forceful leader, highly skilled in the strategies of naval warfare, Captain Buchanan, by his superb direction of his ships' gunfire, his valiant conduct and courageous devotion to duty throughout this intensive action, contributed materially to the success of the bitterly fought Okinawa campaign and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. Action Date: April 12, 1945 Service:Navy Rank: Captain Company: Officer in Tactical Command Division: Radar Picket Station Unit, Okinawa
Charles Allen Buchanan Rear Admiral, United States Navy Indiana State Flag From a contemporary press report:
Charles Allen Buchanan, 96, a retired rear admiral who commanded a destroyer division and squadron during the Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns of World War II and retired in 1964 as commander of the naval district in Hawaii, died of respiratory failure April 3, 2001, at Ginger Cove Health Center in Annapolis, Maryland.
He was operations officer and assistant chief of staff for an amphibious task force that landed in Sicily and Salerno, Southern Italy, and in the Marshall Islands and Guam during WWII. After the war, he became an aide to James Forrestal, the Navy secretary who was the first secretary of defense.
Admiral Buchanan was an operations officer in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, commanded the USS Worcester and was commandant at the U.S. Naval Academy in the early 1950s. He commanded a destroyer squadron in the Far East and was commander of the naval base at Newport, R.I. In Hawaii, he coordinated completion of the USS Arizona-Pearl Harbor Memorial.
Admiral Buchanan was a native of Brookville, Indiana, and a graduate of the Naval Academy.
His honors included the Navy Cross, two awards of the Legion of Merit and a Bronze Star.
He was a member of the Society of Colonial Wars, Naval Academy Alumni Association and Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Potomac.
His wife, Kathleen Thompson Buchanan, died in 1992.
Survivors include four children, Mary Gale Buchanan of Annapolis, Charles Allen Buchanan Jr. of Lisbon, John Goodwin Buchanan of Virginia Beach and Kathleen Buchanan-Lee of Potomac; four grandchildren; and a great-grandson. Retired Navy Rear Adm. Charles Allen Buchanan, 96, winner of the Navy Cross for heroism during World War II and a former commandant of midshipmen at the Naval Academy, died of respiratory failure April 3,2001, at the Ginger Cove Health Care Center in Annapolis.
Born October 28, 1904, in Brookville, Indiana, Admiral Buchanan was a graduate of the Naval Academy and was married to Kathleen Thompson of Coronado, Calif., who died in 1992. His 38-year Navy career took him and his family all over the world.
A veteran of both Pacific and Atlantic operations during World War II, he took part in landings in Sicily and Salerno, Italy, in the Mediterranean and the Marshall Islands and Guam in the Pacific. He was commander of Destroyer Division 126 and Destroyer Squadron 63 and participated in the Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns for which he was awarded the Navy Cross.
In 1947, he was an aide to James V. Forrestal, the nation's first secretary of defense. After a tour of duty at the Naval War College, he served on the staff of the commander of Naval Forces in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, then commanded the USS Worcester.
From 1952 to 1954 he was commandant of midshipmen. He served as commander of Naval District 14 at Pearl Harbor, where he coordinated the completion and dedication of the USS Arizona-Pearl Harbor Memorial. He retired in 1964.
Also among his decorations were two awards of the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star with Gold Star and Combat "V" and the Silver Lifesaving Medal.
