This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Shaun Thomas (Underdog), OSC
to remember
Holloway, James Lemuel, Jr. (Lord Jim), ADM USN(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Fort Smith, AR
Last Address Falls Church, VA
Date of Passing Jan 11, 1984
Location of Interment U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery and Columbarium (VLM) - Annapolis, Maryland
In 1964 James Holloway was recalled to active duty to serve as Governor of the United States Naval Home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, until 1966. Additionally, he received the honorary degrees of Doctor of Laws from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1944, and later from the University of Notre Dame, and Doctor of Humane Letters from Villanova University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1948. He died from an aortic aneurysm at the age of 85. The Admiral James L. Holloway Jr. Award is presented annually by the Navy League of the US to the outstanding Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps midshipman in the nation. The Rear Admiral James L. Holloway Jr. Trophy honors the NavalAcademy midshipman who has contributed the most to Varsity Offshore J/24 sailing through his leadership, dedication to the team, and sailing skills.
Holloway assumed command of the battleship Iowa, flagship of Battleship Division 7, in November 1944. Under his command, Iowa took part in attacks on Luzon later that month, shooting down many enemy aircraft, and participated in strikes on the Japanese homeland from March to July 1945. For commanding Iowa during these operations, he received a Gold Star in lieu of a second Legion of Merit, with the following citation: "With his vessel operating as flagship of several important striking and covering forces...Holloway rendered distinguished service throughout the intensive actions and, by his brilliant leadership and outstanding skill, contributed materially to the extensive and costly damage inflicted on the enemy."[1][8][9]
Holloway operated his battleship with characteristic flair, recalled Rear Admiral Ralph Kirk James, who had been the maintenance officer responsible for repair work on damaged ships at Manus when Iowa arrived at that base to fix shafting problems on December 25, 1944. "Jimmy Holloway was charging up the harbor with this big battleship, the biggest I'd seen, and I was getting more and more nervous." Alarmed, James warned Holloway to reduce his speed before entering the drydock. "'Oh no,' [Holloway] said...He got the ship just about halfway into the dry dock when he ordered full speed astern. The Iowa shook like a damned destroyer and stopped just where she was supposed to be." Unfortunately, the backwash from the engine reversal swept away the drydock support blocks from underneath the ship, and James and his crew had to spend an extra three hours resetting the blocks before Iowa could dock. Afterward, James discovered a grey streak in his hair. "I can tell you the moment it was born: when Holloway pulled his high-speed throttle-jockey stunt on me."
