McNitt, Robert Waring, Sr., RADM

Robert W McNitt, RADM, USN, Ret., 97, died August 12, 2012 in Annapolis, MD. Bob was born July 29, 1915 to Robert Joseph and Dora Waring McNitt in Perth Amboy, NJ. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy from Perth Amboy High School and graduated in 1938. After a year aboard the heavy cruiser CHICAGO (CA-29) and three years as chief engineer of the destroyer RHIND (DD-404), he completed five successful World War II war patrols as executive officer of the submarine BARB (SS-220), receiving two Silver Star medals. After obtaining an MS in mechanical engineering at MIT, he served as gunnery officer in the aircraft carrier MIDWAY (CVB-41) and helped design the Navy's first underwater atomic weapon at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory. Commands at sea thereafter included the destroyer TAYLOR (DDE-468) during the Korean War, Destroyer Division 322 and Destroyer Squadron 25. Shore assignments included the Bureau of Ordnance Research Division, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Director, ASW Tactical School and the Naval Academy, where he was responsible for the academic program, led a major curriculum revision and recruited the first civilian academic dean to replace himself.
Bob's flag officer assignments were Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, CinC Allied Forces Mediterranean, and Commander NATO Submarines Mediterranean Cruiser Destroyer Flotilla Four Superintendent Naval Postgraduate School, where he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and Assistant Deputy CNO (Manpower). After his wife, Barbara MacMurray, died in 1971, he retired from active service, was appointed Dean of Admissions at the Naval Academy and in 1973, married Patricia Hicks Miller. He retired after 13 years, having twice been awarded the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal as Dean of Admissions. He was elected president of the Naval Academy Alumni Association, with responsibility for raising the money to build Alumni Hall. He was given the USNA Distinguished Graduate Award in 2003. Bob was a director of the Annapolis Bank and Trust Company commodore of the U.S. Naval Sailing Association president of the U.S. Naval Sailing Foundation chairman of the Naval Academy Fales Committee chairman of the National Sea Exploring Committee and was a Distinguished Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America. He was elected to the Intercollegiate Yacht Racing Association of North America Hall of Fame, and is the author of the book, Sailing at the U.S. Naval Academy. He played on the British Royal Navy Polo Team at Malta and won 14 gold medals in race-walking and skiing in the Maryland Senior Olympics and Huntsman World Senior Games. He is survived by his brothers, James David McNitt of Naples, FL, Edward Waring McNitt of Portsmouth, NH and Douglas McNitt of Chagrin Falls, OH children, Patricia Anne Miller of Sunnyvale, CA, Lane Miller of Philadelphia, PA, Peter Hicks Miller of Washington, DC, James Allerton McNitt of Annapolis, Robert Waring McNitt Jr. of Johnson City, TN, Hope Miller Heffelfinger of Edina, MN, Douglas Waring McNitt of Annapolis, MD and Katherine McNitt Jensen of St. Paul, MN and ten grandchildren.

He was extraordinary,” Adm. McNitt told The Washington Post at the time of Fluckey’s death in 2007. “He immediately gained the full confidence of his officers and crew. He made a point of walking through the submarine several times a day. He knew everybody on board and knew a lot about them. Adm. McNitt completed five wartime patrols and received two awards of the Silver Star, one of which was for rescuing Allied prisoners of war who had been aboard a torpedoed Japanese transport. In addition to being executive officer on the Barb, Bob’s secondary job was serving as navigator,” retired Rear Adm. James A. Winnefeld Sr. told the Baltimore Sun. “In those days, we didn’t have all the navigational tools we have now; it was all done by celestial navigation and dead reckoning. And what he did was a marvelous piece of navigation. From 1962 to 1964, Adm. McNitt was assigned to the Naval Academy, where he played a major role in revising the curriculum and hiring the first academic dean. One year after retiring from active service in 1971, Adm. McNitt was appointed the first civilian dean of admissions at the Naval Academy. In 1975, Congress passed a law that women be admitted to all the nation’s service academies, and one of the highlights of Adm. McNitt’s career was making sure that this was a seamless transition. Adm. McNitt said the admission committee carefully selected those they brought to Annapolis. “We have to be flexible in bringing them along,” he told the Baltimore Evening Sun in 1980. “We don’t want to lose a potential leader. . . . This is where the Navy’s leaders 30 years from now will come. Robert Waring McNitt was born July 29, 1915, in Perth Amboy, N.J., where his interest in boats and sailing began as a youngster. He was a 1938 graduate of the Naval Academy. He earned a master’s degree in ordnance engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1947, then served two years aboard the aircraft carrier USS Midway as a gunnery officer. While working at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory at White Oak near Silver Spring in the 1950s, Adm. McNitt helped design some of the Navy’s first underwater atomic weapons. During the Korean War, he commanded the destroyer USS Taylor. He later commanded NATO submarines and was superintendent of the Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, Calif. His other decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal and the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. He also received two Distinguished Civilian Service Medals and, in 2003, the Naval Academy’s Distinguished Graduate Award. Adm. McNitt’s first wife, the former Barbara MacMurray, died in 1971. His second wife, Patricia Hicks Miller, whom he married in 1973, died in 2012. Survivors include four children from his first marriage, James A. McNitt and Douglas W. McNitt, both of Annapolis, Robert W. McNitt Jr. of Johnson City, Tenn., and Katherine M. Jensen of St. Paul, Minn.; four stepchildren, Patricia A. Miller of Sunnyvale, Calif., Lane Miller of Philadelphia, Peter H. Miller of Washington and Hope M. Heffelfinger of Edina, Minn.; three brothers; and 10 grandchildren. Rear Adm. McNitt was an outstanding polo player and sailor and was elected to the Intercollegiate Yacht Racing Association of North America Hall of Fame. He was the author of the book “Sailing at the U.S. Naval Academy. In his later years, he was a director of Annapolis Bank and Trust. He also won 14 gold medals in senior race-walking and skiing competitions.
 
Matt Schudel contributed to this report.