Laurance Toombs DuBose – Admiral, United States Navy

A 1913 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, he distinguished himself as a task force commander in the Pacific theater during World War II of gunfire and bombardment for amphibious operations.

As commanding officer of the USS Portland, he was torpedoed at Guadalcanal. He was promoted to Rear Admiral, and commanded a task force at Bougainville, where he was in charge of light cruisers and destroyers providing the gunfire cover for the invasion there.

Samuel Eliot Morrison said of his efforts, “Seldom has there been such effective coverage of an invasion.” He continued with his task force of cruisers and destroyers through the campaigns in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands and at Leyte Gulf.

He retired from active duty on June 1, 1955, with the rank of full Admiral. He died in 1967 and was buried in Section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery. His wife, Gertrude  Thompson DuBose (1898-1988) is buried with him.

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