Charles W. Rush

Charles W. Rush Jr.
Born	March 18, 1919 Greensboro, Alabama
Died	February 27, 2015 (age 95) Port Saint Lucie, Florida
Nationality	American
Occupation	Submarine Captain, US Navy Retired

Charles "Charlie" W. Rush, Jr. (March 18, 1919 – February 27, 2015) was a United States Navy captain who served during World War II and the Korean War. During World War II, Rush saved the entire crew of the submarine USS Billfish from a November 1943 depth charge attack by three Japanese destroyers. His actions remained hidden for nearly 60 years before he was honored with the Navy Cross in 2002 for his actions. Rush served on the USS Thresher, USS Carbonero, and USS Billfish and served in command of the submarines USS Queenfish and USS Blackfin before retiring from the Navy in 1961. Rush developed a number of submarine-launched missiles, including a notable high-speed wake-less torpedo.

"Charlie," son of Charles W. Rush, Sr. and Dorothy McFaddin, was born in Greensboro, Alabama on March 18, 1919. Rush spent his youth in Dothan, Alabama, where he attended public school. In 1935, he was awarded a scholarship to Gulf Coast Military Academy in Gulfport, Mississippi. He graduated from GCMA in 1937 with highest honors and received an appointment to the Naval Academy from the Secretary of the Navy.

He graduated from the Naval Academy a year early in the aftermath of the World War II attacks on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. After the Pearl Harbor attack, there was an immediate and desperate need for naval officers in the Pacific, and the Naval Academy cut the "usual four year matriculation to three." He was immediately signed as an officer upon his early graduation.

Post-World War II, Rush attended graduate school at Caltech in aeronautical engineering.

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