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Contact Info
Home Town Oneida, IL
Last Address He retired to Coronado, Calif., in 1976.
Date of Passing Oct 01, 2008
Location of Interment Buried at Sea, Pacific Ocean
Wall/Plot Coordinates buried at sea from a U.S. aircraft carrier
CORONADO, Calif. - Rear Admiral Leroy Swanson, USN (retired), 92, Coronado, Calif., passed away Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008, at the Coronado Hospital. Leroy was a farmboy born Nov. 11, 1915, in Oneida, Ill., the son of George and Anna Peterson Swanson. On Sept. 28, 1940, he married Margaret Fentress in Norfolk, Va.
The first in his family to attend college, he graduated from Bradley University in 1937 after finishing at Oneida High School, class of '32. He was commissioned as a naval aviator June 24, 1939. The ensign would go from biplanes to jets to admiral and serve in three wars. His combat missions in World War II were bombing and torpedo runs - notably in the Bonin Islands of Japan as CO of Attack Squadron 45. During the Korean War, he commanded an air group of Banshees off the carrier Wasp, and during the Vietnam conflict, commanded Carrier Division Two that rode on the USS America.
As a commander, he was XO of the USS Shangrila; his fourth stripe came as CO of the Naval Combat Information School; then his first command, an ammunition ship, USS Haleakala. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, he skippered the aircraft carrier USS Independence. He was Chief of Staff Carrier Division One, then minted Admiral, his flag hoisted aboard the America as ComCarDiv Two in 1968, catapulting bombing, fighter, rescue and support missions from Yankee Station in the Gulf of Tonkin.
In 1969, he became Deputy Commander-in-Chief U.S. Naval Forces, Europe. In 1972, he assumed Commander Field Command, Defense Nuclear Agency, Kirtland AFB. His 37 years of Naval service were served with distinction: Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit (2 gold stars), Air Medal (3 gold stars), Navy Commendation Medal (with "V"), Navy Commendation Medal with star, Navy Unit Commendation (w/stars), American Defense, European and Asia/Pacific Campaigns, World War II Victory, National Defense Medal (w/stars), Korea and Vietnam Campaigns, National Order of Vietnam Fifth Class, Vietnam Gallantry Cross w/Bronze Star, the Gray and Golden Eagle Awards.
Highlights of his career include recovering a lost H bomb off the Spanish coast; becoming a 'mach buster' pioneer - early on, breaking the speed of sound; landing a DC-3 on the South Pole; and perhaps one of his proudest achievements, the only aviator ever catapulted off an aircraft carrier while steaming down the Mississippi River. Asked recently how he got away with that, he laughed, 'You couldn't get away with it these days!'
He retired to Coronado, Calif., in 1976. He was an avid golfer, jogger, handyman, gardener and a populist who lit up a room with his smile.
Leroy was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Vernon Swanson, of Oneida, Ill. He is survived by his wife, Margaret; daughters Carolyn, Mary Margaret and Ginny; a son, Michael; eight grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; a brother, Hubert Swanson, Galesburg; and a sister, Beth Olson, Moline, Ill. Admiral Swanson asked for no memorial service except to be buried at sea from a U.S. aircraft carrier. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Other Comments:
Highlights of his career include recovering a lost H bomb off the Spanish coast; becoming a 'mach buster' pioneer - early on, breaking the speed of sound; landing a DC-3 on the South Pole; and perhaps one of his proudest achievements, the only aviator ever catapulted off an aircraft carrier while steaming down the Mississippi River. Asked recently how he got away with that, he laughed, 'You couldn't get away with it these days!'
Description The blockade began October 21 and, the next day, Kennedy delivered a public address alerting Americans to the situation. In his speech, he warned a frightened American public that the missiles on Cuba were capable of hitting Washington, D.C. or anywhere in the southeastern portion of the country, the Panama Canal, Mexico City or “as far north as Hudson Bay, Canada, and as far south as Lima, Peru.” A military confrontation appeared imminent when Kennedy told his audience that he ordered the evacuation of the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and put military units on standby. Boldly, he stated, “one path we shall never choose is the path of surrender or submission.”
Khrushchev responded by sending additional ships—possibly carrying military cargo—toward Cuba and by allowing construction at the missile sites to continue. Over the following six days, the Cuban Missile Crisis, as it is now known, brought the world to the brink of global nuclear war while the two leaders engaged in tense negotiations via telegram and letter.
Fortunately by October 28, Kennedy and Khrushchev had reached a settlement and people on both sides of the conflict breathed a collective but wary sigh of relief. The Cuban missile sites were dismantled and, in return, Kennedy agreed to close U.S. missile sites in Turkey.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
October / 1962
To Month/Year
November / 1962
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories During the Cuban Missile Crisis, he skippered the aircraft carrier USS Independence.