Daniel V. Gallery
Encyclopedia
Rear Admiral
Daniel Vincent Gallery (July 10, 1901–January 16, 1977) was an officer in the United States Navy
who saw extensive action during World War II. He fought in the Second Battle of the Atlantic
, his most notable achievement was the capture of the German
submarine
U-505, on June 4, 1944. In the post-war era, he was a leading player in the so-called "Revolt of the Admirals
" — the dispute between the Navy and the Air Force
over whether the U.S. Armed Forces should emphasize aircraft carrier
s or strategic bomber
s. Gallery was also a prolific author of both fiction and non-fiction.
at Annapolis
, Maryland
. He graduated a year early, in 1920, and competed in the 1920 Olympics
in Antwerp on the U.S. wrestling team.
He had three younger brothers, all of whom had careers in the U.S. Navy. Two brothers, William O. Gallery
and Philip D. Gallery
, also rose to the rank of Rear Admiral. The fourth brother, John Ireland Gallery, was a Catholic
Priest
and Navy
Chaplain
.
Gallery was an early naval aviator
. He flew seaplanes, torpedo planes, and amphibians. He won first place at the National Air Races
in a race-tuned Douglas Devastator
torpedo plane in the late 1930s. In 1941, while the U.S. was still neutral, he was assigned as the Naval Attaché
at the U.S. Embassy in Great Britain
. While in Britain, he earned his flight pay by ferrying Spitfire
s from the factory to RAF
aerodromes. He liked to claim that he was the only U.S. Navy aviator who flew Spitfires during the Battle of Britain
— but they were unarmed.
, Iceland
where he was awarded the Bronze Star
for his actions against German
submarine
s. It was there that he first conceived his plan to capture a U-boat
.
In 1943 Captain Gallery was appointed commander of the escort carrier
USS Guadalcanal
(CVE-60), which he commissioned. In January 1944 he commanded antisubmarine Task Group 21.12 (TG 21.12) out of Norfolk, Virginia
with Guadalcanal as the flagship. TG 21.12 sank the German submarine U-544.
In March 1944 Task Group 22.3 was formed with Guadalcanal as the flagship. On this cruise Gallery pioneered 24-hour flight operations from escort carriers (By this time, U-boats were remaining submerged during daylight to avoid carrier-based aircraft). On April 9, the task group sank U-515 (commanded by the U-boat ace Kapitänleutnant Werner Henke
). After a long battle the submarine was forced to the surface among the attacking ships and the surviving crew abandoned ship. The deserted U-515 was hammered by rockets and gunfire before she finally sank. Captain Gallery saw that this would have been a perfect opportunity to capture the vessel. He decided to be ready the next time such an opportunity presented itself. The next night aircraft from the task group caught U-68 on the surface, in broad moonlight, and sank her with one survivor, a lookout caught on-deck when the U-boat crash dived.
On the next cruise of TG 22.3, Captain Gallery took the unusual step of forming boarding parties, in case of another chance to capture a U-boat arose. On 4 June 1944 the task group crossed paths with U-505 off the coast of Africa
. U-505 was spotted running on the surface by two F4F Wildcat
fighters from Guadalcanal. Her captain, Oberleutnant
Harald Lange dived the boat to avoid the fighters. But they could see the submerged submarine and vectored destroyers onto her track. The experienced antisubmarine warfare team laid down patterns of depth charges that shook U-505 up badly, popping relief valves and breaking gaskets, resulting in water sprays in her engine room. Based on reports from the engine room, the captain believed his boat to be heavily damaged and ordered the crew to abandon ship, which was done so hastily that full scuttling
measures were not completed.
Captain Gallery's boarding party from the destroyer escort
USS Pillsbury
(DE-133) was ordered to board the foundering submarine and if possible capture her. The destroyers in range used their .50 caliber and 20 mm antiaircraft guns to chase the Germans off the vessel so the boarding party could get onto her. They replaced the cover of the sea strainer, thus keeping the U-boat from sinking immediately. The boarders retrieved the submarine's Enigma
coding machine and current code books. (This was a primary goal of the mission because it would enable the codebreakers in Tenth Fleet
to read German signals immediately, without having to break the codes first). They got her under control, making U-505 the first foreign man-of-war captured in battle on the high seas by the U.S. Navy since the War of 1812
.
This incident was the last time that the order "Away All Boarders!" was given by a U.S. Navy captain. Lieutenant
Albert David
, who led the boarding party, received the Medal of Honor
for his courage in boarding a foundering submarine that presumably had scuttling charges set to explode — the only Medal of Honor awarded in the Atlantic Fleet during World War II. Task Group 22.3 was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation
and Captain Gallery received the Distinguished Service Medal for capturing U-505.
He also received a blistering dressing-down from Admiral Ernest J. King, Chief of Naval Operations
. King pointed out that unless U-505s capture could be kept an absolute secret, the Germans would change their codes and change out the cipher wheels in the Enigma. Gallery managed to impress his crews with the vital importance of maintaining silence on the best sea story any of them would ever see. His success made the difference between his getting a medal or getting a court-martial. (It is interesting that two noted naval historians, Samuel Eliot Morison
and Clay Blair, Jr.
are on opposite sides of Gallery's case.)
Toward the end of World War II Captain Gallery was given command of the aircraft carrier USS Hancock
(CV-19).
he became Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations
. He commanded Carrier Division Six during the Korean War
.
" broke out during Louis Johnson
's tenure as Secretary of Defense
. Johnson planned to scrap the carrier fleet, merge the Marine Corps into the Army, and reduce the Navy to a convoy-escort force. Gallery wrote a series of articles for The Saturday Evening Post
fiercely criticizing these plans. The final article, "Don't Let Them Scuttle the Navy!" was so inflammatory that Gallery barely escaped court-martial for insubordination. Even so, the episode perhaps cost Gallery his third star. It effectively finished his career, though he served twelve more years on active duty. At the time of his retirement, he was second in seniority on the Rear Admirals' List.
, Puerto Rico
, from December 1956 to July 1960. During this command, with the help of the Rotary
and Lions
clubs, he established the first Little League
s in Puerto Rico. It was also there that he first heard the steel bands
of Trinidad
. He was so taken by the sound that he invested $120 in steel drums for his command's Navy band. He established the first all-American and the only military steel band in 1957. The Tenth Naval District Steel Band — or Admiral Dan's Pandemoniacs, as they called themselves — became the U.S. Navy Steel Band
and toured the world as ambassadors of the U.S. Navy until 1999.
Admiral Gallery was forced to retire from the Navy in 1960 when he was found medically unfit for service. Shortly before Gallery's retirement, the custom of "tombstone promotion" was abolished. So he was one of the few Rear Admirals of his era to be retired as only a Rear Admiral. Most of his contemporaries retired as Vice Admirals.
He died at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center on January 16, 1977 at the age of 75. He was buried with full military honors in Section 3 of Arlington National Cemetery
, adjacent to his two brothers.Fair Wind's & Following SEA'S Admiral.
frigate
USS Gallery
was named for Daniel V. Gallery and his two brothers, Rear Admiral William O. Gallery
and Rear Admiral Phillip D. Gallery.
Gallery Park in Glenview, Illinois
(where he commanded the Naval Air Reserve Training forces at the Naval Air Station Glenview from 1952-54) is named after him. The park is located at the former site of the Naval Air Station.
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
Daniel Vincent Gallery (July 10, 1901–January 16, 1977) was an officer in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
who saw extensive action during World War II. He fought in the Second Battle of the Atlantic
Second Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, running from 1939 to the defeat of Germany in 1945. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. It was at its...
, his most notable achievement was the capture of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
U-505, on June 4, 1944. In the post-war era, he was a leading player in the so-called "Revolt of the Admirals
Revolt of the Admirals
The Revolt of the Admirals is a name given to an episode that took place in the late 1940s in which several United States Navy admirals and high-ranking civilian officials publicly disagreed with the President and the Secretary of Defense's strategy and plans for the military forces in the early...
" — the dispute between the Navy and the Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
over whether the U.S. Armed Forces should emphasize aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s or strategic bomber
Strategic bomber
A strategic bomber is a heavy bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of ordnance onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating an enemy's capacity to wage war. Unlike tactical bombers, which are used in the battle zone to attack troops and military equipment, strategic bombers are...
s. Gallery was also a prolific author of both fiction and non-fiction.
Early life and career
In 1917, at the age of sixteen, Daniel V. Gallery entered the U.S. Naval AcademyUnited States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
at Annapolis
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. He graduated a year early, in 1920, and competed in the 1920 Olympics
1920 Summer Olympics
The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....
in Antwerp on the U.S. wrestling team.
He had three younger brothers, all of whom had careers in the U.S. Navy. Two brothers, William O. Gallery
William O. Gallery
Rear Admiral William Onahan Gallery was a United States Navy admiral — one of three brothers who became United States Navy admirals...
and Philip D. Gallery
Philip D. Gallery
Rear Admiral Philip Daly Gallery was a U.S. Naval officer who served with distinction on Naval destroyers in the Pacific Theater during World War II, rising to the rank of Rear-Admiral.Philip Gallery graduated from the United States Naval Academy....
, also rose to the rank of Rear Admiral. The fourth brother, John Ireland Gallery, was a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
and Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
Chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
.
Gallery was an early naval aviator
Naval Aviator
A United States Naval Aviator is a qualified pilot in the United States Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard.-Naming Conventions:Most Naval Aviators are Unrestricted Line Officers; however, a small number of Limited Duty Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are also trained as Naval Aviators.Until 1981...
. He flew seaplanes, torpedo planes, and amphibians. He won first place at the National Air Races
National Air Races
The National Air Races were a series of pylon and cross-country races that took place in the United States from 1920 to 1949. The science of aviation, and the speed and reliability of aircraft and engines grew rapidly during this period; the National Air Races were both a proving ground and...
in a race-tuned Douglas Devastator
TBD Devastator
The Douglas TBD Devastator was a torpedo bomber of the United States Navy, ordered in 1934, first flying in 1935 and entering service in 1937. At that point, it was the most advanced aircraft flying for the USN and possibly for any navy in the world...
torpedo plane in the late 1930s. In 1941, while the U.S. was still neutral, he was assigned as the Naval Attaché
Attaché
Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...
at the U.S. Embassy in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. While in Britain, he earned his flight pay by ferrying Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
s from the factory to RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
aerodromes. He liked to claim that he was the only U.S. Navy aviator who flew Spitfires during the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
— but they were unarmed.
World War II
In 1942, Gallery took command of the Fleet Air Base in ReykjavíkReykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
where he was awarded the Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
for his actions against German
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s. It was there that he first conceived his plan to capture a U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
.
In 1943 Captain Gallery was appointed commander of the escort carrier
Escort aircraft carrier
The escort aircraft carrier or escort carrier, also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the USN or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft carrier used by the British Royal Navy , the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force, and the...
USS Guadalcanal
USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60)
USS Guadalcanal was a Casablanca class escort carrier of the United States Navy. She was the first ship to carry her name.She was converted from a Maritime Commission hull by Kaiser Co., Inc., of Vancouver, Washington...
(CVE-60), which he commissioned. In January 1944 he commanded antisubmarine Task Group 21.12 (TG 21.12) out of Norfolk, Virginia
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...
with Guadalcanal as the flagship. TG 21.12 sank the German submarine U-544.
In March 1944 Task Group 22.3 was formed with Guadalcanal as the flagship. On this cruise Gallery pioneered 24-hour flight operations from escort carriers (By this time, U-boats were remaining submerged during daylight to avoid carrier-based aircraft). On April 9, the task group sank U-515 (commanded by the U-boat ace Kapitänleutnant Werner Henke
Werner Henke
Lieutenant Commander Werner Henke born in Thorn in Germany was the commander of during the Second Battle of the Atlantic of World War II. U-515 was sunk by the American task group 22.3, commanded by Daniel V...
). After a long battle the submarine was forced to the surface among the attacking ships and the surviving crew abandoned ship. The deserted U-515 was hammered by rockets and gunfire before she finally sank. Captain Gallery saw that this would have been a perfect opportunity to capture the vessel. He decided to be ready the next time such an opportunity presented itself. The next night aircraft from the task group caught U-68 on the surface, in broad moonlight, and sank her with one survivor, a lookout caught on-deck when the U-boat crash dived.
On the next cruise of TG 22.3, Captain Gallery took the unusual step of forming boarding parties, in case of another chance to capture a U-boat arose. On 4 June 1944 the task group crossed paths with U-505 off the coast of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. U-505 was spotted running on the surface by two F4F Wildcat
F4F Wildcat
The Grumman F4F Wildcat was an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service with both the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy in 1940...
fighters from Guadalcanal. Her captain, Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
Harald Lange dived the boat to avoid the fighters. But they could see the submerged submarine and vectored destroyers onto her track. The experienced antisubmarine warfare team laid down patterns of depth charges that shook U-505 up badly, popping relief valves and breaking gaskets, resulting in water sprays in her engine room. Based on reports from the engine room, the captain believed his boat to be heavily damaged and ordered the crew to abandon ship, which was done so hastily that full scuttling
Scuttling
Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull.This can be achieved in several ways—valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives...
measures were not completed.
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
USS Pillsbury
USS Pillsbury (DE-133)
USS Pillsbury was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys. She returned at war's end with five battle stars and a...
(DE-133) was ordered to board the foundering submarine and if possible capture her. The destroyers in range used their .50 caliber and 20 mm antiaircraft guns to chase the Germans off the vessel so the boarding party could get onto her. They replaced the cover of the sea strainer, thus keeping the U-boat from sinking immediately. The boarders retrieved the submarine's Enigma
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
coding machine and current code books. (This was a primary goal of the mission because it would enable the codebreakers in Tenth Fleet
United States Tenth Fleet
The Tenth Fleet is a functional formation of the United States Navy responsible for the Navy's cyber warfare programs. It was first created as an anti submarine warfare coordinating organization during the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War...
to read German signals immediately, without having to break the codes first). They got her under control, making U-505 the first foreign man-of-war captured in battle on the high seas by the U.S. Navy since the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.
This incident was the last time that the order "Away All Boarders!" was given by a U.S. Navy captain. Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Albert David
Albert David
Albert Leroy David was an officer in the United States Navy during World War II and a recipient of the Medal of Honor...
, who led the boarding party, received the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for his courage in boarding a foundering submarine that presumably had scuttling charges set to explode — the only Medal of Honor awarded in the Atlantic Fleet during World War II. Task Group 22.3 was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation
Presidential Unit Citation (US)
The Presidential Unit Citation, originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States and allies for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy on or after 7 December 1941...
and Captain Gallery received the Distinguished Service Medal for capturing U-505.
He also received a blistering dressing-down from Admiral Ernest J. King, Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
. King pointed out that unless U-505s capture could be kept an absolute secret, the Germans would change their codes and change out the cipher wheels in the Enigma. Gallery managed to impress his crews with the vital importance of maintaining silence on the best sea story any of them would ever see. His success made the difference between his getting a medal or getting a court-martial. (It is interesting that two noted naval historians, Samuel Eliot Morison
Samuel Eliot Morison
Samuel Eliot Morison, Rear Admiral, United States Naval Reserve was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history that were both authoritative and highly readable. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and taught history at the university for 40 years...
and Clay Blair, Jr.
Clay Blair
Clay Blair, Jr. was an American historian, best known for his books on military history. He served on the fleet submarine Guardfish in World War II and later wrote for Time and Life magazines before becoming editor-in-chief of The Saturday Evening Post. He assisted General Omar Bradley in the...
are on opposite sides of Gallery's case.)
Toward the end of World War II Captain Gallery was given command of the aircraft carrier USS Hancock
USS Hancock (CV-19)
USS Hancock was one of 24 s built during World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress and first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
(CV-19).
Post-World War II service
After promotion to rear admiralRear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
he became Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
. He commanded Carrier Division Six during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
The "Revolt of the Admirals"
The so-called "Revolt of the AdmiralsRevolt of the Admirals
The Revolt of the Admirals is a name given to an episode that took place in the late 1940s in which several United States Navy admirals and high-ranking civilian officials publicly disagreed with the President and the Secretary of Defense's strategy and plans for the military forces in the early...
" broke out during Louis Johnson
Louis A. Johnson
Louis Arthur Johnson was the second United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the cabinet of President Harry S. Truman from March 28, 1949 to September 19, 1950....
's tenure as Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
. Johnson planned to scrap the carrier fleet, merge the Marine Corps into the Army, and reduce the Navy to a convoy-escort force. Gallery wrote a series of articles for The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
fiercely criticizing these plans. The final article, "Don't Let Them Scuttle the Navy!" was so inflammatory that Gallery barely escaped court-martial for insubordination. Even so, the episode perhaps cost Gallery his third star. It effectively finished his career, though he served twelve more years on active duty. At the time of his retirement, he was second in seniority on the Rear Admirals' List.
Command of the Tenth Naval District
Admiral Gallery's final command was the Tenth Naval District in San JuanSan Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, from December 1956 to July 1960. During this command, with the help of the Rotary
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
and Lions
Lions Clubs International
Lions Clubs International is a secular service organization with over 44,500 clubs and more than 1,368,683 members in 191 countries around the world founded by Melvin Jones Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States, the organization aims to meet the needs of communities on a local and...
clubs, he established the first Little League
Little League
Little League Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States which organizes local youth baseball and softball leagues throughout the U.S...
s in Puerto Rico. It was also there that he first heard the steel bands
Steelpan
Steelpans is a musical instrument originating from The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago...
of Trinidad
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
. He was so taken by the sound that he invested $120 in steel drums for his command's Navy band. He established the first all-American and the only military steel band in 1957. The Tenth Naval District Steel Band — or Admiral Dan's Pandemoniacs, as they called themselves — became the U.S. Navy Steel Band
U.S. Navy Steel Band
The US Navy Steel Band was the first all-American and only military steel band. It was organized in 1957 by Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery, from the band assigned to him, while he was commander of the Tenth Naval District in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The band was originally called Admiral Dan's...
and toured the world as ambassadors of the U.S. Navy until 1999.
Admiral Gallery was forced to retire from the Navy in 1960 when he was found medically unfit for service. Shortly before Gallery's retirement, the custom of "tombstone promotion" was abolished. So he was one of the few Rear Admirals of his era to be retired as only a Rear Admiral. Most of his contemporaries retired as Vice Admirals.
He died at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center on January 16, 1977 at the age of 75. He was buried with full military honors in Section 3 of Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
, adjacent to his two brothers.Fair Wind's & Following SEA'S Admiral.
Awards and honors
The guided-missileGuided Missile
Guided Missile is a London based independent record label set up by Paul Kearney in 1994.Guided Missile has always focused on 'the underground', preferring to put out a steady flow of releases and developing the numerous GM events around London and beyond....
frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
USS Gallery
USS Gallery (FFG-26)
USS Gallery , eighteenth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided-missile frigates, was named for three brothers: Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery , Rear Admiral William O. Gallery , and Rear Admiral Philip D. Gallery...
was named for Daniel V. Gallery and his two brothers, Rear Admiral William O. Gallery
William O. Gallery
Rear Admiral William Onahan Gallery was a United States Navy admiral — one of three brothers who became United States Navy admirals...
and Rear Admiral Phillip D. Gallery.
Gallery Park in Glenview, Illinois
Glenview, Cook County, Illinois
Glenview is a suburban village located approximately north of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 41,847...
(where he commanded the Naval Air Reserve Training forces at the Naval Air Station Glenview from 1952-54) is named after him. The park is located at the former site of the Naval Air Station.
Literary career
Daniel Gallery was an author on naval topics, writing ten books and a number of magazine articles and short stories. His fiction books are humorous except The Brink, which is a dramatic novel about the United States and the Soviet Union.Non-fiction
- Clear the Decks (Morrow, 1951)
- U-505 (original title: Twenty Million Tons Under the Sea) (1956)
- We Captured a U-boat (Popular Book Club, 1958)
- The Pueblo Incident (Doubleday, 1970)
- Eight Bells (original title: Eight Bells And All's Well) (Norton, 1965)
Fiction
- Now, Hear This! (Paperback Library, 1966)
- Stand By-y-y to Start Engines (Norton, 1966)
- Cap'n Fatso (sequel to Now, Hear This) (Norton, 1969)
- Away Boarders (sequel to Cap'n Fatso) (Norton, 1971)
- The Brink (Warner Books, 1973)
Quotations by Daniel V. Gallery
- "The definition of a calculated risk is a gamble which military men take when they can't figure out what else to do and which turns out to be right. When it turns out wrong, it wasn't a calculated risk at all. It was a piece of utter stupidity."
- "Some critics have accused the military of being profligate wastrels because we didn't win World War II by killing the last Jap with the last bullet we had in our ammo locker. I would much rather defend myself against such charges than try to explain to my three kids why we lost our liberties because military planners didn't want the war to end with a lot of surplus junk on our hands."
- "When nations, by mutual consent, decide to ignore the commandment 'Thou shall not kill', it is very difficult for the military leaders to restrict the killing to just the right people".
See also
- William O. GalleryWilliam O. GalleryRear Admiral William Onahan Gallery was a United States Navy admiral — one of three brothers who became United States Navy admirals...
- Phillip D. Gallery
- William RynneWilliam RynneWilliam Rynne, known as "Willie" Rynne, was an Irish Republican who fought in the 1916 Rising.He was born in Clouna South, Ennistymon, County Clare. His parents were David Rynne and Bridget Gallery/Rynne. As a young man he worked in a drapery store in Dundalk, Co. Louth and joined the Irish...