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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
Unofficial Badges
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
CLASS - ALLEN M. SUMNER As Built.
Displacement 3218 Tons (Full), Dimensions, 376' 6"(oa) x 40' 10" x 14' 2" (Max)
Armament 6 x 5"/38AA (3x2), 12 x 40mm AA, 11 x 20mm AA, 10 x 21" tt.(2x5).
Machinery, 60,000 SHP; General Electric Geared Turbines, 2 screws
Speed, 36.5 Knots, Range 3300 NM@ 20 Knots, Crew 336.
Operational and Building Data
Laid down by Bath Iron Works, Bath ME April 24 1944.
Launched September 3 1944 and commissioned November 14 1944.
Fate Sunk by Japanese Kamikaze Aircraft off Okinawa May 28 1945.
