William Daniel Roseborough, Jr. – Captain, United States Navy

From a contemporary press report

Services will be at 10:45 a.m. February 14, 2001, at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia for William Daniel Roseborough Jr., a Dallas native who helped establish the Navy's nuclear submarine force.

The 84-year-old retired Navy captain died Tuesday of lung ailments at an assisted-living residence near Marshall, Virginia.

Captain Roseborough graduated from Sunset High School in Dallas in 1933. He attended North Texas Agricultural College, now the University of Texas at Arligton, before entering the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated in 1940.

Captain Roseborough served aboard the cruiser Chicago in the Pacific. He was wounded when the ship sank in a 1943 attack.

After the war, Captain Roseborough earned three master's degrees, two of which helped him launch the Navy's nuclear submarine program. In 1963, he was scheduled to take part in the sea-test trials for the nuclear submarine Thresher, but his orders were changed at the last minute. The Thresher sank, killing all 129 on board.

Captain Roseborough's career included several jobs in private industry, including a stint at the Todd shipyard in Galveston.

Captain Roseborough is survived by his wife, Florence Allen Roseborough of Vienna, Va.; a daughter, Kathleen Roseborough of Glencoe, Ill.; and one grandchild.

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