Badt, Harry Asher, Cmdre

Commodore Harry Asher Badt was a commodore in the United States Navy and was in World War I and World War II.

Badt was born on September 22, 1884 in Tyler, Texas. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1908 and was commissioned as an ensign. Aboard the Annapolis during the Nicaraguan Campaign, 1912, and at Vera Cruz in 1914. He took postgraduate engineering courses at the Naval Academy. He received a Master of Science degree from Columbia University, 1916.

He received new orders to be on the new battleship Arizona as a navigator. After serving in European waters, he became the commanding officer of the destroyer Simpson. When he returned to the United States, he received orders to be the first engineer of the new light cruiser, Marblehead.

Instructor at Annapolis 1926-1928. Commanding Officer of the Nokomis 1928-1930. Instructor again at Annapolis 1930-1933. Commanding officer Aleutian Islands survey expedition in 1933. Badt became the director of all Navy recruiting from 1935-1937. Graduated from the Naval War College in 1938. He went to sea as the commanding officer of the heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa, 1938-1940.

Duty with the Bureau of Naval Personnel as director of enlisted personnel 1940-1942, then Director of Special Projects 1942-1946. He was responsible with the organization of three new Naval Training Stations, which were under construction in Sampson, New York, Bainbridge, Maryland and Farragut, Idaho.

The United States Senate accepted the recommendation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to promote Captain Harry Asher to the rank of Commodore in September 1944. Retired in April 1947.

Commodore Harry A. Bradt died on September 7, 1967 and is buried with his wife in the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Decorations included the Legion of Merit. He was a Freemason.

Legion of Merit
Awarded for Actions During World War II
Service: Navy
Rank: Commodore
Citation: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Legion of Merit to Commodore Harry Asher Badt (NSN: 0-7224), United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as Commanding Officer and then Commandant of the Naval Training Station and the Naval Training Center, and later as Commander, Naval Training Center, Sampson, New York, from 16 September 1942 to 1 November 1945. Commodore Badt organized and established the Naval Training Station at Sampson, New York, displaying unusual initiative and foresight in planning a new activity and placing it in service in the shortest possible period at a time when the urgent needs for newly trained enlisted personnel in large number for the fleet were highly critical. He manifested unusual leadership in a continually expanding station and administered the new training center with outstanding efficiency, coordinating the many and complex activities of the Training Center over a period of these years. His sound judgment, superb planning, determined leadership and efficient administration of a very large and complicated training center were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.