Richard L . Conolly Richard Lansing Conolly ( 26 April 1892 – 1 March 1962 ) was a United States Navy Admiral , who served during World War I and World War II . Biography . Conolly was born in Waukegan , Illinois , attended Lake Forest Academy and was appointed to the United States Naval Academy , Annapolis , graduating in 1914 . He was assigned to the battleship and served in Mexican waters . Between May – November 1915 he received training aboard , and in March 1916 he was assigned to as Torpedo Officer . World War I . Transferred in May 1916 to the destroyer , he was aboard her when the United States entered World War I in April 1917 . " Smith " performed escort duty in European waters out of Brest , France . Conolly was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions in connection with the salvaging of the transport ship , which was hit by two torpedoes launched by the German submarine in August 1918 . Conolly , with a party of eight others remained on board the badly damaged ship for five days , steering by hand and handling the lines from the tugs , while the ship was towed to port . Inter - war period . He returned to the United States in November 1918 , fitting out , and serving as Executive Officer of the destroyers , and in turn . From August 1920 he studied electrical engineering at Annapolis and Columbia University , New York , receiving a Master of Science degree in June 1922 . He then served aboard , transferring to in March 1924 to serve as assistant Engineer Officer until September 1925 . He then returned to Annapolis , this time as an instructor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Physics . In June 1927 he returned to sea as Engineer Officer of . In August 1929 he assumed command of the destroyer . He completed the junior course at the Naval War College , Newport , Rhode Island in May 1931 , and remained on the staff for two years . In May 1933 he reported as Aide and Flag Secretary on the staff of Commander Cruisers , Scouting Force , and from April 1935 until June 1936 he served as Navigator aboard the battleship . He returned to the Naval Academy in May 1939 , as an instructor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Physics , and later in the Department of Seamanship and Navigation . Conolly assumed command of Destroyer Division 7 in May 1939 , transferring to Destroyer Squadron 6 on 30 January 1941 . He was at sea , in command of DESRON 6 at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 . World War II . He participated in the initial attack on the Gilbert and Marshall Islands on 1 February 1942 , as part of the force under the command of Admiral William Halsey , Jr . , and in April his destroyers served as escort for the aircraft carrier from which Lieutenant General J . H . Doolittle ' s aircraft took off for the first bombing raid on Tokyo . He also participated in a shore bombardment of Wake Island in command of the destroyers in Rear Admiral Raymond A . Spruance ' s Task Group . Promoted to rear admiral in July 1942 , he served on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations ( CNO ) and Commander - in - Chief Fleet Admiral Ernest King . Between March and October 1943 he served with the Amphibious Force Atlantic Fleet , taking part in the invasions of Sicily and Italy . Transferred to the Pacific , he was with amphibious forces in the Pacific and participated in the landings on Kwajalein , Wake and Marcus Islands . He commanded Group 3 , Amphibious Force , Pacific Fleet during 1944 and 1945 , and led the landings on Guam in July 1944 , and the Lingayen Gulf in January 1945 . He gained the nickname " Close - In Conolly " from his insistence that fire support ships should be extremely close to the beach during amphibious assaults . Conolly believed that strong fortifications could be neutralized only by direct hits , which could only be achieved from the shortest possible range . Post - war . Conolly was naval representative to the 1946 Paris Peace Conference . He commanded the United States Twelfth Fleet from September 1946 until January 1947 , then U . S . Naval Forces Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean from 1947 until 1950 . His last assignment was as President of the Naval War College at Newport , Rhode Island , between 1950 and 1953 . Conolly retired with the rank of admiral in November 1953 , and was then the president of Long Island University until 1962 . On 1 March 1962 Admiral Conolly and his wife , Helen B . Conolly , were passengers aboard American Airlines Flight 1 , which crashed into Jamaica Bay soon after take - off from Idlewild Airport , New York City , killing all 95 passengers and crew aboard . Conolly is buried at Arlington National Cemetery . The ship , a , was named for Admiral Richard Lansing Conolly .