Morton Deyo Vice Admiral Morton Lyndholm Deyo ( 1 July 1887 – 10 November 1973 ) was an officer in the United States Navy , who was a naval gunfire support task force commander of World War II . Born on 1 July 1887 in Poughkeepsie , New York , he graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1911 , and served over a career of 38 years . His highest Navy rank in active service was Rear Admiral , attaining Vice Admiral at retirement . He was awarded three medals of personal honor , the Distinguished Service Medal ( Navy ) , and the Legion of Merit with Gold Star . Deyo served in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleet s . In the Atlantic , he commanded the destroyer s which provided the first American escort assistance to allied convoys to England just prior to the Japan ese attack on Pearl Harbor . He later commanded naval gunfire support at Utah Beach in the Normandy invasion , Task Force 129 at the Bombardment of Cherbourg , as well as during the invasion of Southern France . When transferred to the Pacific , Rear Admiral Deyo assumed command of Cruiser Division 13 ( CruDiv 13 ) . He commanded gunfire and covering force for the assault and occupation of Battle of Okinawa . During the battle , he was the last naval commander to form a battle line with battleships as they prepared to intercept the Japanese battleship " Yamato . " At the war ' s end , he accepted the surrender of Japanese forces at Sasebo , Kyushu and directed the Allied Occupational of Western Japan . Early career . Morton Deyo ' s career ashore meshed with the seagoing responsibilities he would take on at each stage of his career . Training at the U . S . Naval Academy prepared him in engineering and seamanship . He graduated out of the Class of 1911 . Most of his academy years were under Superintendent Captain John M . Bowyer at a time of two - year rotations . Deyo then took his first assignment at sea aboard the battleship , " USS Virginia " . Caribbean service . Early assignments at sea placed Morton Deyo in the Caribbean . Morton Deyo was aboard the USS Virginia ( battleship No . 13 ) about the time she participated in coaling - at - sea operations . In the years of his service aboard the Virginia , she will take station off Tampico and Vera Cruz , Mexico . In tour a cut short by decommissioning in 1914 , the Duncan went to the Caribbean for training , target practice and exercises . In 1914 and 1915 , Deyo served aboard USS Washington ( Armored Cruiser No . 11 ) under Captain Edward W . Eberle , commanding . The ship was stationed off of Santo Domingo , Dominican Republic , for diplomatic service , Vera Cruz , Mexico , Cap Haitien , Haiti and returned to Puerto Plata , Dominican Republic , when a crisis recurred there . Deyo ’ s last tour in the Caribbean before marriage and World War I was aboard the destroyer Jenkins ( DD - 42 ) . She sailed to Tampico , Mexico and later supported the U . S . occupation of Vera Cruz . Jenkins was assigned patrol operations to search for possible German U - boats . Morton Lyndholm Dayo married Maria Ten Eyck Decatur Mayo in 1916 . As an aide to the Commandant , First Naval District , Boston , 1920 - 1921 Deyo was a part of an ongoing upgrading of Naval District that would remain in place from 1920 to the outbreak of World War II . The First District absorbed the Second in 1919 , and it expanded from a coastal strip to encompass inland states to more nearly correspond to Army districts . The District acquired its own full - time staff , gained new operational functions , and expanded administrative and logistical responsibilities . Proposal for reform of the Naval district regulations were to be revised to embody the lessons of World War I . This is fundamental naval strategy . Mahan had written , " deficient coast protection reacts unfavorably upon the war fleet , which in all its movements should be free from any responsibility for the mere safety of the ports it quits . ” Deyo ’ s next assignment was as an aide to the U . S . military governor at Santo Domingo , Dominican Republic . Service aboard one ship , and command of another prepared Deyo for duty ashore in a politically and diplomatically sensitive role . In 1914 - 1915 , Deyo served on the " USS Washington " ( armored cruiser , No . 11 ) during service related to Santo Domingo , Dominican Republic , Vera Cruz , Mexico , and Cape Haitien , Haiti . Capt . Edward W . Eberle , commanding , was active in U . S . attempts to mediate between government and insurgent forces towards a constitutional government with " observed " elections . When then Lieutenant Commander Deyo had his first command in the USS Morris DD - 271 , he was attached to the " Adriatic Detachment " performing political and diplomatic duties among nations of the former Austro - Hungarian Empire . In 1921 - 1923 , Deyo served on the staff of the military governor closing out the American occupation of Santo Domingo . The military governor at the time was Warren Harding ’ s appointment to fulfill his campaign promise to end the Wilson occupation of the Dominican Republic . Rear Adm . Samuel S . Robinson served from 1921 . The occupation officially ended July 1 , 1924 . In 1923 Deyo was assigned to the staff Battleship Fleet , aboard the " USS California " . World War I . As a part of the new full - time staff in the First Naval District , Boston , in 1918 , Deyo taught destroyer seamanship . He was assigned the year after Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves , then Commander , Destroyer Force , Atlantic Fleet , became Commander of United States Convoy Operations in the Atlantic in addition to his other duties . He was next transferred to the troopship ‘ ’ Northern Pacific ’ ’ as a part of its regular USN officer complement . World War I movement of a million men and their supplies was unprecedented . The crews of harbor and pilot boats , inshore scouts and patrol craft , new merchantmen , escorting vessels , all required training . In the First Naval District , Deyo was a part of the destroyer piece . Interwar . 1920s Pacific . Deyo was attached to Admiral Samuel S . Robison ’ s personal staff of ten officers aboard the USS Seattle ( CA - 11 ) in 1925 - 1926 . Now a Lieutenant Commander , Deyo was the most junior officer as Flag Lieutenant . The next rung up the ladder was the Assistant Chief of Staff , then Commander Chester W . Nimitz . Following early armored cruiser service in the Caribbean . , World War I destroyer service operating in the North Atlantic . , and cruiser service crossing the Pacific . , Morton Deyo was assigned to a three - year tour teaching seamanship at the Naval Academy , 1926 - 1929 . He was appointed during the tenure of Superintendent Rear Admiral Lewis M . Nulton and completed his tour under Rear Admiral Samuel S . Robison with whom he served in the Dominican Republic . He returned to sea to take command of destroyer " USS Sloat " . His exemplary promise as a commander at sea resulted in an appointment to the Naval War College staff immediately following his study there . He then returned to sea in 1934 as the Executive Officer aboard the light cruiser " USS Milwaukee " . World War II in the Atlantic . With accumulating experience in escort service in the Atlantic , fleet staff service crossing the Pacific , and Asiatic Squadron staff duty for operations and war plans during Japanese expansion , Deyo was prepared for Main Navy assignments from 1939 to 1941 as the Navy ' s assistant hydographer , then aide to the Secretary of the Navy until war sent him to sea again . Then Captain Morton Deyo , was escort commander of Task Unit 4 . 1 . 1 and the Commodore of Destroyer Squadron 11 . His group was tasked to escort 44 merchant ships ranging from a luxury liner to a rusty ship of the Levant . His pennant " Ericsson " and the " Eberle " , were the only modern destroyers in the group . The others were “ four - pipers ” with “ outmoded equipment and low fuel capacity ” including the ships of two other squadron commanders . Canadian escorts protected the convoy for the first 350 miles , then the Americans until point “ Momp ” when the British escorted ships to Britain . Deyo then proceeded with the American destroyers to Iceland with three American merchantmen and one Icelandic . There was no submarine attack , but the Navy destroyers were inexperienced in their seamanship . They progressed from patrolling only on calm moonlit nights within 1 , 000 yards of the convoy and staying on station if there was fog , to patrolling 5 , 000 yards out whatever the sea condition or visibility . U - boat searches were extended to over an hour at a time . Still there was extra work to escorting this convoy . Stragglers , breakdowns and laggards created a ragged formation which was difficult to cordon . The convoy could not sit in the water , so it made numerous course changes to buy time for at - sea overhaul of those falling behind . Nevertheless , when the " Nigaristan " sank in high winds and rolling seas , the " Eberle " rescued the entire 63 - man crew . On return to the U . S . , “ Captain Deyo made a number of adversely critical comments in his report ” relative to the demands of anti - submarine warfare , ” leadership , seamanship and marksmanship . ” On 6 June 1944 , now Rear Admiral Deyo commanded the western Operation Neptune Force “ U ” , supporting the landing of the American First Army at Utah and Omaha beaches . Deyo commanded Combined Task Force 129 ( TF 129 ) , supports General Collins Army VII Corps in taking Cherbourg , France . The American and British ships duel port - city shore batteries and surrounding German defenses . Texas BB - 35 , destroyers Barton DD722 , Laffey DD724 , O ’ Brien DD725 are all damaged by enemy fire . Naval bombardment for the invasion of Southern France was commanded by Admiral Deyo . World War II in the Pacific . Admiral Deyo ' s crowning achievement in the Pacific was command of gunfire and covering force for the assault and occupation of Okinawa . It was for service off Okinawa that he was awarded the Navy distinguished service medal . Rear Admiral Deyo took over Cruiser Division 13 ( CruDiv 13 ) from Rear Admiral Laurance T . DuBose . The Division consisted of four light cruiser s - USS " Biloxi " , USS " Birmingham " , USS " Mobile " , and USS " Santa Fe " . From 24 March to 4 May 1945 , TF 54 under the command of Rear Adm . Deyo commanded battleships , cruisers and destroyers in the bombardment of Kerama Retto and southeast coast of Okinawa , Japan . Following the war , he directed the landing of occupational forces in Northern Japan . Cold War . Morton Deyo ’ s last duty station , 1946 – 1949 , was Commandant , First Naval District , Boston . Working out inter - service and inter - department conflicts was a serious goal for the U . S . Navy going into the Cold War . As of September 1945 , the qualifications for a district commandant were those of a line officer eligible for command at sea , and the shipyard ( specialist ) commands were no longer to be held by the same officer . Deyo met the new qualification for District Commandant , and had served at Boston twice before as an instructor and aide to the Commandant during a time of reorganization . Inefficiency from command conflicts were taken under study even before the war ended by the " Farber Committee " . The main feature of reform related to the various types of authority over district activities . The Commandant was to have coordinating " military command " over all activities in the district akin to Army districts . The Navy Secretary directed satisfactory relationships . With a background of local relationships , technical expertise , leadership and diplomatic skills , Morton Deyo was the man chosen to make it happen . He retired at the end of his tour with a promotion to Vice Admiral . Admiral Deyo died November 10 , 1973 in Kittery Point , Maine . Namesake . The destroyer USS " Deyo " ( DD - 989 ) was the 27th Spruance class destroyer and the first ship to be named in honor to Vice Admiral Deyo . She was commissioned on March 22 , 1980 . The DEYO was last home - ported in Norfolk , Va . Stricken from the Navy list on April 6 , 2003 , she was sunk as a target on August 25 , 2005 in the Atlantic . Biographical timeline . Milestones < br > 1887 , July 1 Born , Poughkeepsie , N . Y . < br > 1916 Married Maria Ten Eyck Decatur Mayo 1949 Retired from navy as vice admiral 1973 , Nov . 10 Died , Portsmouth , N . H . Early service 1911 Graduated , United States Naval Academy 1911 - 1913 Served on " Virginia " ( Battleship ) 1913 - 1914 Served on " Duncan " ( Destroyer ) 1914 - 1915 Served on " Washington " ( Heavy cruiser ) 1915 - 1916 Served on " Jenkins " ( Destroyer ) 1916 - 1918 Served on " Allen " ( Destroyer ) , Ireland , " Sim ' s Destroyers " 1918 Trained destroyer crews , First Naval District , Boston , Mass . 1918 - 1919 Served on " Northern Pacific " , troop transport , Europe to U . S . 1919 Served on " Pretoria " ( German ship taken over as transport ) Interwar 1919 - 1920 Commanding " Morris " ( Destroyer ) , Adriatic , Mediterranean 1920 - 1921 Aide to commandant , First Naval District , Boston , Mass . 1921 - 1923 Aide to military governor , Santo Domingo 1923 - 1925 Staff , Battleship Fleet , " California " ( Flagship ) 1925 - 1926 Staff , U . S . Fleet , " Seattle " ( Flagship ) 1926 - 1929 Instructor in seamanship , U . S . Naval Academy 1929 - 1930 Commanding " Sloat " ( Destroyer ) 1930 - 1931 Commanding " Upshur " ( Destroyer ) 1931 - 1934 Student , staff , Naval War College , Newport , RI 1934 - 1936 Executive officer , " Milwaukee " ( Light cruiser ) Pre - war 1936 - 1939 Operations and war plans , staff , U . S . Asiatic Fleet , Augusta ( Flag ) 1939 - 1940 Assistant hydrographer , Navy Department , Washington DC 1940 - 1941 Aide to Secretary of the Navy , Washington DC Atlantic 1941 Commanding Destroyer Squadron II , Atlantic , first convoy to Iceland 1942 Commanding " Monticello " ( Auxiliary transport ) 1942 Commanding " Indianapolis " ( Heavy cruiser ) , Aleutians bombardment 1942 - 1943 Commanding destroyers , Atlantic Fleet 1944 Commanding Ranger Task Group Atlantic 1944 Commanded bombardment , Normandy and southern France , Atlantic Pacific 1944 Commanded Cruiser Division 13 , Task Forces in 3rd and 5th Fleets , Pacific 1945 Commanded Task Force 54 , Okinawa campaign , Pacific Post - war 1945 Commanded Task Forces 55 and 56 , surrender , occupation of Japan 1946 - 1949 Commandant , First Naval District , Boston , Mass . November 10 , 1973 Admiral Deyo dies in Kittery Point , Maine