Albert L . Becker Albert Lilly Becker ( December 3 , 1911 - December 24 , 1992 ) was an American naval officer during World War II who served as the first commander of the , a Gato - class submarine , during its initial five wartime patrols in the Pacific Ocean . Becker was born in Brookhaven , MS in 1911 , the second child of William Henry Becker and Verna Lilly . He was educated in the parochial and public schools in Brookhaven and entered $ 3 in 1928 . He was appointed to the United States Naval Academy in 1930 and commissioned as an Ensign in 1934 . On a midshipmen ' s cruise , his ship stopped in Gloucester , Massachusetts , where he met Marjorie Tarr at a dance . They were married in Charleston , SC in 1936 . Becker attended Submarine School and was transferred to Pearl Harbor in 1936 where he served on the , and where his daughter Gail Becker Coolidge was born . He was transferred back to the mainland early in 1941 and was stationed at the New London Submarine Base when the US entered World War II . During the war , he was Executive Officer of the in the Atlantic and captain of the USS Cobia in the Pacific . His son Joseph Whitney Becker was born in New London in 1943 . Becker was awarded the Navy Cross , the Silver Star , two Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V , the Submarine Combat Patrol Insignia and the Command at Sea insignia . In addition to sinking eight enemy ships , " Cobia " rescued seven US aviators , whose plane had been shot down in a raid on Saigon , . The Cobia is a permanent exhibit at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum . Becker ' s naval career spanned thirty years after the Naval Academy . His post - war commands included the fleet oiler in the Western Pacific , Submarine Division 41 and Submarine Squadron 12 , both in Key West , and Minesweeping Flotilla 1 in Sasebo , Japan . He also attended the Naval War College and served in staff positions . His final assignment was Chief of Staff to the Commander of the Third Naval District in New York City . He retired with the rank of Captain in 1964 and , with his wife , moved back to Brookhaven , where he taught science at Brookhaven High School and later served as an Assistant Principal at Alexander Junior High . He died in 1992 . He and Marge are buried in the family plot in the Catholic Cemetery in Brookhaven . The citation for his Navy Cross reads : The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the NAVY CROSS to COMMANDER ALBERT LILLY BECKER UNITED STATES NAVY for service as set forth in the following CITATION : For extraordinary heroism as Commanding Officer of the U . S . S . COBIA , during the First War Patrol of that vessel in enemy Japanese - controlled waters , from June 26 to August 14 , 1944 . Penetrating strong enemy escort screens and pressing home bold torpedo attacks , Commander ( then Lieutenant Commander ) Becker succeeded in sinking four hostile vessels totalling 22 , 800 tons . Fighting his ship with daring and tenacity during two surface gun engagements with an independent enemy ship and a group of three armed patrol vessels , he directed attacks resulting in the sinking of all four of these enemy units for a total of 1 , 450 tons , and successfully evaded an attempted ramming by one of the armed patrol vessels . Although severely depth - charged during the course of the attack , he brought the COBIA to port with but minor damage . Commander Becker ' s inspiring leadership and devotion to the fulfillment of his hazardous mission was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service . For the President , James Forrestal Secretary of the Navy Historical records indicate that Lieutenant Commander Becker conducted the funeral service for the " Cobia " ' s one wartime casualty . The Cobia ' s success in its first , third , fourth , and fifth patrols is attributed to Becker ' s command