Eli Thomas Reich Vice Admiral Eli Thomas Reich ( March 20 , 1913 New York – November 30 , 1999 Arlington , Virginia ) was a highly - decorated United States Navy officer and World War II submarine commander — the only one to sink a battleship during the war . He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery ( Section 30 , Grave 950 - A ) . World War II service . A 1935 graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis , Maryland , Reich attended the submarine school at New London , Connecticut , then in 1939 became executive officer and engineer on the first . " Sealion " was the first US submarine damaged in World War II ; it was bombed on December 10 , 1941 while undergoing repairs at Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines , and later scuttled , four men were killed and three others wounded during the bombing . After " Sealion " was scuttled Reich served on the staff of the submarine commander at Corregidor and Bataan in the Philippines , escaping aboard before the surrender of U . S . forces there in the spring of 1942 . He was executive officer aboard the in 1943 , then in March 1944 assumed command of the second . Under Reich ' s command , " Sealion II " was credited with sinking the , the only Japanese battleship sunk by submarine during World War II , the destroyer , and a prisoner of war ship , " Rayuko Maru " . After sinking the POW ship , " Sealion II " surfaced and rescued 23 Australian and 31 British prisoners of war from the sea . Post - World War II . After the war Reich ' s assignments included duty in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations and study at the Armed Forces Staff College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces . Reich was made Assistant Chief of the Bureau of Naval Weapons , from 1962 to 1965 Commander of the Surface Missile Project ( which was key to the development of the " 3 - T " missile systems ) , and Commander of the anti - submarine warfare group in Southeast Asia during the early years of the Vietnam War . His last active duty assignment was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics . Reich retired from the Navy a Vice Admiral ( 3 stars ) on October 31 , 1973 after 38 years of service . Shortly after his retirement from the Navy , Reich was named director of the Emergency Energy Allocations Program , which was responsible for the distribution of oil and gasoline during the 1973 oil crisis . Described as a " crusty three - star admiral " by syndicated columnists Rowland Evans and Robert Novak , Admiral Reich was reported by the columnists to have told staff members : After a short time at the job , Admiral Reich clashed with energy chief William E . Simon , and he left the newly formed Department of Energy . Reich later did consulting on national security matters involving weapons systems acquisitions , shipbuilding and mobilization planning . Reich is also credited with founding the Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport , Washington . After his retirement he created the Naval Undersea Museum Foundation which raised the funds , designed , and built the museum . The museum has since been donated to by the US Navy . Reich ' s family donated " many of his awards , battle flag , uniforms , and memorabilia to the museum after his death . " The museum also commissioned an oil portrait and bust of him which are currently on display along with many of the families donations . Awards . Reich received the Navy Cross three times , the second - highest decoration for valor the United States Navy awards , after the Medal of Honor , for " extraordinary heroism " as commander of the " Sealion II " from its March 8 , 1944 commissioning until relieved by Lieutenant Commander Charles F . Putnam on December 4 , 1944 . Reich was also twice awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal , once awarded the Legion of Merit , and received the Bronze Star . In 1963 the American Society of Naval Engineers awarded Eli T . Reich the Gold Medal Award for his work on Surface Missile Systems . The Gold Medal Award , has been awarded annually since 1958 , and is given to an individual who has made a significant naval engineering contribution in a particular area during the past five years . " In the field of naval engineering , the nominee must have made a most significant contribution through personal effort , or through the direction of others , during or culminating in the five - year period ending in the current year . Evidence of personal involvement shall be explicitly stated . If , for security reasons , the evidence cannot be publicly disclosed , the statement should be sufficiently specific for recognition of the accomplishment by those qualified to assess it . " In the early 1990s the Naval Academy honored Reich at a " Heroes of WWII " dinner . There is also a " VADM Eli T . Reich Building " named in his honor at Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division ( NSWC PHD ) ( formerly Naval Ship Weapon Systems Engineering Station , or NSWSES ) in Port Hueneme , California . This building is one of the station ' s on site engineering facilities , housing combat system simulators , selected weapon systems and combat systems equipment , and much of the other shipboard equipment for which NSWC PHD is the designated In - Service Engineering Agent ( ISEA ) .