This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Shane Laemmel, MR3
to remember
Bassett, Leonard Flournoy, CAPT.
If you knew or served with this Sailor and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Contact Info
Home Town Pine Bluff, AR
Last Address Coronado, CA
Date of Passing Feb 06, 2006
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Capt. Bassett passed away Feb. 8 after a long illness, only a few weeks after his 89th birthday.
Leonard Bassett was born in Pine Bluff, Ark. He attended Arkansas State College before receiving a presidential appointment to the United StatesNavalAcademy in Annapolis, Md., where he graduated in 1940. In 1943, he married Catherine Garthwaite of Oakland, a marriage that lasted 62 years.
In his 30-year naval career, Capt. Bassett served on a number of ships in the Pacific Fleet. He saw action during World War II aboard the USS Concord and the USS St. Louis, where he was awarded the Bronze Star for his service as an assistant gunnery officer. He eventually served on the staff of legendary Admiral Arleigh "Knots” Burke. During the Korean conflict, Capt. Bassett served as a gunnery officer aboard the USS Rochester and the USS Iowa, for which he was awarded two additional Bronze Stars, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Korean Service Medal with three combat stars.
Following World War II, Capt. Bassett attended both the NavalPostgraduateSchool and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned an master's of science degree in electrical engineering in 1949.
During the 1950s Capt. Bassett developed a reputation as one of the Navy's top weapons experts. He served with the Navy's Bureau of Weapons and Inspector of Ordnance service, assisting in the development of guidance technology for the TALOS missile system. He attained the rank of captain in 1959, and served as commanding officer of both the USS Rowan and USS Union. In 1965, Capt. Bassett was appointed commander of the Naval Ammunition Depot at Oahu, Hawaii. His last tour of duty was assistant chief of staff for administration COM 11.
After his retirement from the Navy in 1970, Capt. Bassett worked for the United Way, where he headed up the Combined Federal Campaign. He left that job in 1977, and devoted his time to playing golf, building a computer, and spending time with his wife, Cathie in Coronado, their home for 45 years. He was a member of the Coronado Men's Golf Club for more than 35 years, and served on its board of governors in 1971. He played to a 12 handicap, and scored two holes-in-one at the Coronado Golf Course, in 1972 and 1974.
Throughout his life, Capt. Bassett was known and loved for his wonderful and mischievous sense of humor. While serving as commander of the Ammunitions Depot in Hawaii, he once, according to legend, showed up dressed as a ballerina, complete with leotard and tutu, at a base Halloween party. At sea, at home, or on the golf course, Capt. Bassett was always making the people around him laugh. The men who served under his command remembered his sense of humor, and also knew him as an inspirational by-the-book leader with an unshakable sense of fair play.
Capt. Bassett was preceded in death by his wife, Cathie, and by his brother, Dr. John W. Bassett of Portland, Ore. He is survived by his two daughters and sons-in-law, Ann and Bob Hite of Basalt, Colo.; and Cee Cee and Emile Barrios of San Diego.
Description On October 10, Lieutenant Commander Bruce Hyatt was leading a force of one destroyer, USS Endicott and five minesweepers on a minesweeping patrol off Wonsan. The five minesweepers were the USS Pirate as flagship, USS Incredible, USS Kite, USS Redhead and USS Pledge, all similarly armed and built during World War II. On the morning of October 12, the formation was steaming in a channel between the islands of Rei-To and Soku-Semu when at 11:12 am, the warships changed course to 258 degrees into unswept waters. The channel is 2,000 yards (1,800 m) wide and 14 miles (23 km) long.
At 11:54 five contact mines were discovered in intervals of 50 yards (46 m) and disposed of. Six minutes later at 12:01, a helicopter from the Endicott reported that there were three lines of mines off Rei-To, Soku-Semu, Koto and Roto. The specific position of the mines was not clarified but still the American vessels altered their intended course and headed for the field. Due to the threat of contact, Lieutenant Commander Hyatt ordered his ships to battle stations and the crews to disperse themselves evenly across the ships in order to minimize casualties caused by an explosion.
While making the wide turn into the direction of the mines, USS Pirate struck a mine at 12:09 along frame sixty-two on the starboard side. A giant column of water was sent up and at the same time the North Korean shore batteries from Kei-To and Soku-Semu began to shoot shells at the stricken ship. As soon as the communists engaged, the Endicott and the remaining minesweepers returned fire on at least three separate batteries.
Pirate began listing to port at about twenty degrees and when it reached fifteen, Lieutenant Cornelius E. McMullen ordered the evacuation of his ship. Within four minutes, the Pirate was hit, capsized and sank completely, taking down six enlisted men. Around sixty men went adrift, some in life rafts. At 12:04, just as the minesweeper turned over, the shore batteries resumed their shooting, this time on the sailors in the water.
Because of the accurate battery fire, the American ships could not achieve a complete rescue of the survivors for over four hours. Dozens of the adrift men were wounded by shrapnel and one man was killed. Five minutes after the Pirate was hit, the Pledge was engaged in a gunnery duel with one of the batteries. Simultaneously, the Pledge was hit by an artillery shell and struck a mine. Her commander, Lieutenant Richard O. Young, ordered his men to seal hatches and save the ship but about forty-five minutes later the crew abandoned the vessel and the Pledge was underwater. Five men were killed.
The KPA shore batteries were eventually silenced after several hours of fighting, enabling the American rescue of the remaining survivors. USS Redhead was heavily damaged in the battle; she received several hits from the batteries while rescuing survivors from both the Pirate and the Pledge. A total of twelve United States Navy sailors were killed in action and at least forty-three were wounded.
