Richard O'Kane

Richard Hetherington O'Kane
Commander Richard H. O'Kane, USN
Born	(1911-02-02)February 2, 1911 Dover, New Hampshire
Died	February 16, 1994(1994-02-16) (aged 83) Petaluma, California
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Virginia
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1934-1957
Rank	Rear Admiral
Commands held	USS Tang
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Medal of Honor Navy Cross (3) Silver Star (3) Legion of Merit Purple Heart Presidential Unit Citation (2)

Rear Admiral Richard Hetherington “Dick” O'Kane (February 2, 1911 – February 16, 1994) was a United States Navy submarine commander in World War II, who received a Medal of Honor for his service on the Tang, leading the Tang to the most successful record of any US submarine during WWII. He also received three Navy Crosses and three Silver Stars, for a total of seven awards of the United States military's three highest decorations for valor in combat. He originally saw WWII combat service on the highly successful Wahoo, as executive officer and approach officer under noted LTCDR Dudley "Mush" Morton. In his ten highly productive combat patrols, five on Wahoo that were surpassed by five on Tang, O'Kane participated in more successful attacks on Japanese shipping than any other submarine officer during the war.

O'Kane was born in Dover, New Hampshire. He was the youngest of four children of University of New Hampshire entomology professor Walter Collins O'Kane, of Irish ancestry, and his wife, Clifford Hetherington. He graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover in 1930, and the U.S. Naval Academy in May 1934. He spent his first years of active duty on the heavy cruiser Chester and destroyer Pruitt. He received submarine instruction in 1938 and was then assigned to the USS Argonaut. O'Kane qualified for submarines aboard Argonaut in 1938 and remained aboard until her overhaul at Mare Island in 1942.