This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Kent Weekly (SS/DSV) (DBF), EMCS
to remember
Tyree, Alexander Kelly, CAPT USN(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Page, WV
Last Address Atlantic Beach, FL
Date of Passing May 10, 2006
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Alexander K. Tyree, 90, a World War II submarine commander who became a math professor at the University of Mary Washington, died of lung cancer May 10 at Shell Point Retirement Community in Fort Myers, Fla. He was a former Fredericksburg resident.
Capt. Tyree was born in Page, W.Va., and grew up in Danville, Va. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1936 and served on the cruiser USS Salt Lake City from 1936 to 1939.
One of the youngest submarine commanders in the Navy during World War II, he commanded three submarines, including the USS Bowfin. The Bowfin was one of nine submarines -- known collectively as "The Hellcats" -- that successfully navigated through the almost impenetrable minefields of the TsushimaStrait. The subs severed Japan's last lifeline with the Asian mainland by destroying what was left of its merchant fleet.
For his achievement, Capt. Tyree was awarded his second Navy Cross. The Bowfin is a national historic landmark at Pearl Harbor.
After his 30-year career in the Navy, which included several duty assignments in Washington, he settled in Fredericksburg and received a master's degree in math education from DukeUniversity in 1967. He taught math at what was then MaryWashingtonCollege from 1967 to 1979.
Other Comments:
Navy Cross
Awarded for Actions During World War II
Service: Navy
Division: U.S.S. Bowfin (SS-287)
General Orders: Commander in Chief Pacific: Serial 04004 (May 6, 1945)
Citation: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Commander Alexander Kelly Tyree (NSN: 0-77217), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. BOWFIN (SS-287), on the SEVENTH War Patrol of that submarine during the period 25 January 1945 to 25 March 1945, in enemy controlled waters in the Sea of Japan. Courageously attacking all hostile ships contacted with torpedoes and gunfire, Commander Tyree sank a 1,400-ton destroyer and a 1,200-ton sea-truck, assisted in the sinking of a 200-ton picket boat and damaged another picket boat of 250 tons. In addition to this offensive patrol, he carried out lifeguard duties, rescuing two Naval aviators. By his skillful evasive tactics, he avoided enemy countermeasures and brought his vessel safe to port, and his gallant devotion to duty was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Description The plan of the Pacific subseries was determined by the geography, strategy, and the military organization of a theater largely oceanic. Two independent, coordinate commands, one in the Southwest Pacific under General of the Army Douglas MacArthur and the other in the Central, South, and North Pacific (Pacific Ocean Areas) under Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, were created early in the war. Except in the South and Southwest Pacific, each conducted its own operations with its own ground, air, and naval forces in widely separated areas. These operations required at first only a relatively small number of troops whose efforts often yielded strategic gains which cannot be measured by the size of the forces involved. Indeed, the nature of the objectivesùsmall islands, coral atolls, and jungle-bound harbors and airstrips, made the employment of large ground forces impossible and highlighted the importance of air and naval operations. Thus, until 1945, the war in the Pacific progressed by a double series of amphibious operations each of which fitted into a strategic pattern developed in Washington.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
May / 1945
To Month/Year
July / 1945
Last Updated: Mar 20, 2023
Personal Memories
Memories 29 May, 1945 USS Bowfin (Cdr. A.K. Tyree) departs Guam for her 9th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the Sea of Japan. 11 Jun, 1945 USS Bowfin (Cdr. A.K. Tyree) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese merchant cargo ship Shinyo Maru No.3 (1898 GRT) off Genzan, Korea in position 39�24'N, 128�59'E. (see map) 13 Jun, 1945 USS Bowfin (Cdr. A.K. Tyree) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese merchant cargo ship Akiura Maru (887 GRT) off the east coast of Korea in position 39�00'N, 128�05'E. (see map) 4 Jul, 1945 USS Bowfin (Cdr. A.K. Tyree) ends her 9th war patrol at Pearl Harbour.
