Evening star., 1947-09-07

Distin guished
Service M a .sa1
"for his direct
n strumentality
in enlarging the
United States
/ Fleet and fitting Vice Admiral Coearane'
it out for combat duty at a. rate
unprecedented in the history OF
naval warfare =" is retiring at
55 from active duty to head the
Department of Naval Architecture
and Marine Engineering at. the
Massachusetts, Institute of Technol-
ogy.
He also received the David w.
Taylor Medal "for notable achiev-
ment in naval architecture and de-
sign
Admiral Cochrane feels that the
educational direction of the naval
constructors and naval engineers
of tomorrow will be an inspiration
and challenge.
Vice Admiral Cochrane's service
to his country has been heritage
for four generations with this
California born naval officer, whose
ancestral roots are in Pennsylvania.
Son of the late Brig. Gen. Henry
Clay Cochrane of the United States
Marines and of Elizabeth Lull
Cochrane, he attended Chester High
School and the University of Penn
sylvania before his appointment to
the Naval Academy. His grand
father, Edward Phelps Lull, whose
namesake he is, was a captain in
the Navy. A grandfather, Oliver
GrlsWold Burton was a major in
the Army; and a still more remote
maternal forebear was Maj. Eben-
ezer Ferguson of Philadelphia who
served with Pennsylvania's Revolu-
Uionary War State Artillery.
Edward Lull Cochrane was second
in scholastic honors of the class of
1914 at the Naval Academy. He
holds his master of science degree in
naval architecture from M. I. T. class
of 1920. Assigned by the Navy to
this institution for graduate work
in 1916, his course was interrupted
in 1917 by participation in World
War I, when the Navy appointed
his as assistant naval constructor
with duty in the hull division of the
Philadelphia Navy Yard.
Following the completion of his
M. I. T. courses of study after the war
the Navy again returned the then
lieutenant commander to the Phila-
delphia Navy Yard, first in charge
of the construction of two battle
cruisers and later in charge of re-
pairs. Thus expert technical knowl-
edge and its practical application
were to walk hand in hand with this
naval officer whose achievements his
contemporaries both British and
American, claim reached sheer naval
architecture genius during this past
war.
From his Academy days at Ann
apolis Ned Cochrane," as he is
familiarly known, displayed those
characteristics which have marked
his professional skill and ability, his
leadership and his ability to inspire
others to follow his own high stand
ards in the completion of difficult
tasks. Awarded the Academys
coveted with distinction" in his
studies at Annapolis, he won its
letter in fencing, was manager OF
the fencing team, the Academy's
saber fencing champion in his Sec
ond class and senior years, vice
4 1f fhn TofnrNnllnOiotn
Fencing Association in 1914 and a
member of the Luck Bag staff. His
name was engraved on the cup pre-
sented by the General Society, Sons
of the American Revolution, as the
midshipman most proficient in great
gun practice or practical ordnance
and gunnery.
Served in Vera Cruz Zone.
Commissioned an ensign upon his
graduation in June, 1914, he served
aboard the U. S. 6. Rhode Island in
Mexican waters following the occu-
patton of Vera Cruz. After further
\ training in the Navy's Postgraduate
School at Annapolis, and at the Mas
sachusetts Institute of Technology,
he was transferred to the Navys
Construction Corps with the rank
of lieutenant Gunior grade). From
then on. his was Navy success story
as challenging as any in Horatio
Alger fiction. AS he climbed each
rung of the ladder of rank, skillfully
performing exacting technical duties,
he was preparing the way for the
period during World War II when
he was to be concerned with the de-
sign of practically every type of war
ship involved in our greatly expanded
Navy, many of new and revolution
ary type during period Of critical
emergency" to quote again from the
citation which accompanies Admiral
Cochranes Distinguished Service
Medal
In December, 1941, he accompanied
Secretary Knox to Pearl Harbor for
the purpose of inspecting the dam
age resulting from the japanese at
tack and to aid in planning for the
salvage and repair of those ships.
AS chief of the Bureau of Ships in
1942, he directed the Navy's vast
shipbuilding and maintenance pro-
gram during the remainder of the
war. In August, 1914, he made a
trip to the Pacific to again study
battle damage and to observe the
operational conduct of our ships.
Ashore in the Palau invasion on the
second day of the attack by the Ma
rine 1st Division, he subsequently
accompanied Secretary Forrestal on
an inspection trip to industrial
plants and technical centers in Ger
many and England.
Admiral Cochrane has seen dis
tinguished service in England, both
on peace missions and during the
crucial war period. In 1929 he
served as technical adviser to the
United States delegation to the con-