Comment: Winning Legon of Merit more than once helps pass WP:SOLDER but this is evidenty written by the subject's children. There are no references at all. Legacypac (talk) 16:33, 29 July 2017 (UTC)
Frederick T. Moore, Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Captain U.S. Navy | |
| Nickname(s) | FT |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/ |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1937-1969 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Commands held | Air Group 35 Air Training Pensacola USS Suribachi (AE-21) USS Saratoga (CV-60) |
| Battles/wars | World War II • Battle of Tawara • Marianas • Battle of Guam • Battle of Leyte Gulf Korean War Vietnam War |
| Awards | Legion of Merit with Combat "V" (1) Air Medal (3) Commendation Ribbon with Combat "V" Navy Unit Commendation (See Awards Section) |
Frederick T. Moore, Jr. new article content ...
Captain (naval) Frederick T. Moore, Jr., USN was a decorated World War II naval aviator as Executive Officer of Fighter Squadron 1 (VF-1) operating off the carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10) and Commanding Officer of the famed “Fighting 35” Air Group (AG) operating off the carrier USS Chenango (CVE-28) in the Pacific. During the Korean War, he was the Commanding Officer of naval air training at NAS Pensacola and the Air Officer on the USS Coral Sea (CV-43). Captain Moore's first sea command was Commanding Officer of the USS Suribachi (AE-21). In 1962-1963, Captain Moore was the eight Commanding Officer of USS Saratoga (CV-60). Late in his navy career during the Viet Nam War, Captain Moore was Chief of Staff of the Naval Air Training Command at Naval Air Station Pensacola in 1965-1969.
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Early Years
Frederick Thomas Moore, Jr. was born in the Oak Square section of Brighton, Massachusetts in Boston on May 18, 1914, the son of Frederick T. Moore, Sr. and Susan Frances (O’Donnell) Moore. He was the second oldest of six children. Frederick came from a family whose roots in the United States of America go back to the 1630’s and include ancestors who fought in the American Revolution at the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill and the American Civil War.
He attended Boston Latin School and Boston College graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1936. During his scholastic years at Boston Latin, Fred Moore was the top goal scorer of all the Boston high school ice hockey leagues. At Boston College, he was captain of and top scorer on the hockey team, played on the football team and was a key player on the golf team. In a football game between Boston College and Fordham University on October 5, 1935 at the Polo Grounds in NYC, Fred Moore played against Vince Lombardi, one of the “The Seven Blocks of Granite”.
Among his contemporaries and close friends at BC were future Congressman and Speaker of the House Tip O'Neil and future naval aviator Admiral John J. Lynch.
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Upon graduation, Moore reported to Naval Air Station Pensacola for flight training and was commissioned Ensign, USNR and designated a Naval Aviator on August 1, 1938.
Early Naval Career
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In September 1938, Ensign Moore joined Fighting Squadron Five (VF-5) onboard the USS Yorktown (CV-5) operating out of NAS North Island in San Diego, CA. In October 1940, Lieutenant Moore was transferred back to NAS Pensacola as Executive Officer (XO) of the naval flight school. As the nations of the world moved toward World War II, NAS Pensacola once again became the hub of air training activities, training 1,100 cadets a month or 13,220 annually. Lieutenant Moore played a key role in making this massive ramp up in naval aviators to become known as one of ‘the wonders of the modern world’.
World War II
In March 1943, Lieutenant Moore headed to Pearl Harbor to meet up with fighter squadron VF1 and later that summer VF1 joined the new USS Yorkton (CV-10).
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The squadron was established in March 1943, operating Grumman F6F Hellcat and was assigned to the United States Pacific Fleet to participate in numerous missions during World War II. With Lieutenant Moore as the XO, VF1 first fought the Japanese enemy at the Battle of Tarawa and continued fighting with their F6F Hellcat aircraft in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, Marianas, Bonin Islands, and Caroline Islands. The squadron was both land based and carrier based and it did night fighting, day fighting, bombing, and escort work. Over a fifteen month period, VF1 attacked the Imperial Japanese Navy, sank 8 ships and damaged 16. It destroyed 102 airborne enemy planes plus 20 probables while losing only 5 in aerial combat. VF1 also ruined 61 enemy planes on the ground, silenced 46 A-A batteries, and blew up or burned 10 fuel or ammunition dumps. In June 1943, Moore transferred from the USNR to USN. Lieutenant Moore reported aboard the in March 1944 as the Commanding Officer (CO) of Air Group 35. Chenango arrived at Espiritu Santo in April 1944 and sortied for the landings at Aitape and Hollandia and then joined the invasion of the Marianas. Air Group 35 crippled airfield installations, sank enemy shipping, and hammered harbor facilities on Pagan Island, as well as conducting valuable photographic reconnaissance on Guam.
In May 1944, Moore was promoted to Lieutenant Commander.
In June 1944, launching 32 planes in the attack on Pagan Island, Air Group 35 absolutely crippled Japanese airfield installations there, and shot up gun positions and personnel. At the Battle of Guam (1944), AG35 dropped 74 tons of bombs, destroying many Jap gun emplacements, troop concentrations, bridges, and truck convoys. A desperately needed Japanese ammunition storage dump exploded with spectacular violence. In October 1944, Chenango Hellcats conducted softening up strikes on Leyte in preparation for the invasion landings at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Air Group 35 shot down 93 Japanese planes and sunk or destroyed 91 ships. AG35 lost only five pilots. Throughout its thirteen months of flying through the fiercest kind of anti-aircraft fire, Air Group 35 flew 4,644 sorties in combat zones and not one enemy plane or submarine succeeded in damaging the USA surface vessels that AG35 was covering.
Post War Naval Assignments
- Jan 1945 – June 1946 – Training - Fighter Squadrons Chief of Naval Operations - Washington, DC
- July 1946 – June 1947 - General Line School - Newport, RI
- July 1947 – December 1949 - Commander FASRON 11 - NAS North Island, San Diego, CA & Ford Island, Pearl Harbor
- Jan 1950 – May 1950 - Joint Forces Staff College - Norfolk, VA
- June 1950 – December 1951 – Commanding Officer Air Training - NAS Pensacola
- January 1952 – June 1953 Air Officer - USS Coral Sea (CV-43) - Norfolk, VA
- July 1953 - July 1954 - Student - Naval War College - Newport, RI
- August 1954 – July 1956 – Faculty Staff - Naval War College - Newport, RI
- August 1956 – February - 1958 Operations Officer - Com Car Div 4, USS Forrestal (CV-59) - Norfolk, VA
- March 1958 – November 1958 - Assistant Head Special Weapons Branch Chief of Naval Operations, Wash, DC
- December 1958 – August 1961 - Navy Rep to Atomic Branch, Joint Chiefs of Staff - The Pentagon
- August 1961 – October 1962 - Commanding Officer - USS Suribachi (AE-21) – Earle, NJ
November 1962 – September 1963 – Commanding Officer - USS Saratoga (CV-60)
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Captain Moore was now the eighth Commanding Officer of the USS Saratoga (CV-60) homeported in Mayport, FL, one of the most powerful warships in the world at the time. The first deployment for Captain Moore after he took command was to sail to the Caribbean Sea in December 1962 to conduct flight operations off the coast of Cuba. Although the flash points of the Cuban Missile Crisis had cooled a month earlier, the United States wanted to maintain a presence in the area until all of the Soviet Union missile sites were fully dismantled. This was called the Cuban Quarantine Operation. During this time, a Russian ship was spotted moving toward Cuba and close to the embargo line. The crew of the Saratoga was called to battle stations and general quarters by Captain Moore. The fighter jets on the flight deck readied for launch. Captain Moore was about to be tested in a potentially large scale international incident and he wasn’t about to back down. The Russian ship saw the preparations for battle aboard the Saratoga and quickly turned around and sailed away. The Saratoga remained in the Caribbean waters throughout the winter.
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The Saratoga deployed to the Mediterranean Sea from March 1963 through October 1963. When not conducting flight operations underway, the Saratoga entered several ports on the mission of goodwill ambassador for the United States. Ports visited were: Marseille; Barcelona; Cannes; Naples; Athens; Taranto; Genoa; Istanbul; Palma de Mallorca; Palermo; Venice; Capri; and Gibraltar.
While operating in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of France, a Grumman E-1 Tracer landed on the deck of the Saratoga, logging the carriers 69,000th arrested landing. Later on the cruise, the 72,000th arrested landing was made with an Douglas A-1 Skyraider off the coast of Italy. Newest addition to the “Ten Thousand Trap Club” was Captain Moore, who was credited with 10,000 arrested landings when an McDonnell F3H Demon landed on the carrier in the Mediterranean. Yet another milestone was reached on the 1963 cruise with the 76,000th landing.
Late Naval Career
- October 1963 – January 1965 – Chief of Staff - United States Sixth Fleet - USS Independence (CV-62) and USS Shangri-La (CV-38) – Mayport, FL
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- February 1965 – October 1965 - Joint Chiefs of Staff - Service Staff Officer - The Pentagon
- October 1965 – June 1969 - Chief of Staff – Naval Air Training Command – Naval Air Station Pensacola
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Personal Life
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After 32 years of service to his country, Captain Moore retired in May 1969 and tragically died of a heart attack in August 1969 at the age of 55. Captain Moore is buried at the Barrancas National Cemetery at NAS Pensacola. He was survived by his wife Catherine M. (Donovan) Moore, who died in February 2007 and is buried alongside her beloved husband at Barrancas National Cemetery. Captain and Mrs. Moore are survived by seven children: Maureen C. Sullivan (Annadale, VA), Frederick T. Moore III (Jacksonvile, FL), Michael D. Moore (Boston, MA), Susan F. Ferrell (Logan, WV), Patricia E. Moore (Alexandria, VA), Christopher G. Moore (Asbury Park, NJ) and Timothy X. Moore (Washington, DC). They are also survived by thirteen (13) grand-children and twenty (20) great-grand-children. During the Viet Nam War, Captain Moore was proud to have two sons (Frederick T. Moore III, Commander-USNR-Ret) and (Michael D. Moore, Lieutenant-USNR-Ret) and 2 sons-in-law (D. Michael Ferrell, Lieutenant Commander-USNR-Ret) and (Kevin Moore, Commander-USN-Ret) serving on active duty in the United States Navy.
Awards
After WWII, Captain Moore was cited for his leadership and bravery as CO of Air Group 35. “For outstanding service in that capacity, Lieutenant Commander Moore was awarded the Legion of Merit with combat” V” and the Air Medal with Gold Star in lieu of Second Air Medal.”
Legion of Merit: "For exceptionally meritorious conduct, as Commanding Officer of an Air Group operation against enemy Japanese forces in the Pacific War Area from March 15 to November 18, 1944. Inculcating in the pilots of his group his own indomitable fighting spirit, Lieutenant Commander Moore directed the operations of his command with brilliant tactical skill and resourceful initiative, maintaining his unit at the peak of battle efficiency and striking repeated blows at Japanese strength in the enemy-held islands of Palau, New Guinea, the Marianas, Halmahera and Leyte, to inflict devastating loss and destruction upon a ruthless and fanatic enemy despite savage opposition. An inspiring leader, he by his outstanding executive ability, decisive judgment and relentless determination in the face of tremendous odds, contributed materially to the success of our powerful aerial offensive in the strategic areas..." Gold Star in lieu of the Second Legion of Merit. Captain Moore received a second Legion of Merit for meritorious conduct as the Chief of Staff for the Commander of Naval Air Training from November 1965 to July 1969 directing the training operations at 22 naval air stations throughout the country and being liaison officer with 13 commercial airports during the Viet Nam War.
Air Medal: "For meritorious achievement during action against enemy Japanese forces in the Marianas Islands, from June 21 to August 1, 1944. Serving with distinction as Air Group Commander in the Marianas Campaign and as Air Coordinator at Guam, he contributed materially to the infliction of extensive damage upon the enemy and aided the advance of our troops towards important objectives.Gold Star in lieu of the Second Air Medal: For meritorious achievement against enemy Japanese forces at Pagan Island, on June 22, 1944. A fearless and aggressive leader, Lieutenant Commander Moore repeatedly braved enemy antiaircraft fire to lead a series of vigorous attacks against hostile shipping and installations contributing to the success of his flight in burning three Japanese cargo vessels and in damaging personnel and positions...”
He also received a Letter of Commendation, with authorization to wear the Commendation Ribbon and Combat "V" and is entitled to the ribbon for, and a facsimile of the Navy Unit Commendation awarded to the USS CHENANGO.
In addition to the Legion of Merit with Combat "V” and one Gold Star, the Air Medal with three Gold Stars, the Commendation Ribbon with Combat "V" and the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon, Captain Moore has the American Defense Service Medal with one silver star and one bronze star (six operations); the American Campaign Medal; the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; the World War II Victory Medal; the Navy Occupation Service Medal, Europe Clasp; the National Defense Service Medal; and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon.
Naval Aviator Wings
Legion of Merit with Combat "V" for Valor with one gold award star
Air Medal with three gold award stars
Commendation Ribbon with Combat "V"
American Defense Service Medal with one silver award star and one bronze award star
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