Richard G. Colbert
| Richard G. Colbert | |
|---|---|
As President of the Naval War College, circa 1968.
|
|
| Nickname(s) | Mr. International Navy |
| Born |
February 12, 1915 Brownsville, Pennsylvania |
| Died | December 2, 1973 (aged 58) Bethesda, Maryland |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1937–1973 |
| Rank |
 Admiral
|
| Commands held | Allied Forces Southern Europe |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Medal (2) Legion of Merit |
Richard Gary Colbert (February 12, 1915 – December 2, 1973) was a four-star admiral in the United States Navy who served as President of the Naval War College from 1968 to 1971, and as commander in chief of all NATO forces in southern Europe from 1972 to 1973. He was nicknamed "Mr. International Navy" as one of the very few senior admirals in the U.S. Navy identified with international naval cooperation during the Cold War.
Born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania to Charles F. Colbert, Jr., president of the Pittsburgh Metallurgical Company, and the former Marie Louise Benford, he attended Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, before being appointed to the United States Naval Academy by Congressman Harry A. Estep in 1933. He graduated from the Naval Academy in June 1937 as one of the four midshipmen officers appointed to command a battalion of the Naval Academy regiment for that academic year, with a class rank of 247/331.
Commissioned ensign, he served aboard the aircraft carrier Yorktown from its commissioning on September 30, 1937, until 1939, when he was assigned to the destroyer Barker in the Asiatic Fleet. He remained aboard Barker for the next five years, rising from junior ensign to lieutenant commander and commanding officer.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Barker operated with the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM) in Southeast Asian and Australian waters until May 1942, then escorted convoys between San Francisco, California, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii until May 1943, when the destroyer transferred to the Atlantic Fleet to join Task Group 21.12, a hunter-killer group centered on the escort carrier Core.
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