Hometown Heroes of WWII
Rockwell:Distinguished Service in 2 world wars
By Michael Rocchetti
Francis W. Rockwell served in the Navy for 44 years, from 1904 till 1948. During WWII, he fought at sea to keep the French seaports open and to protect allied shipping. Germany had deployed their fleet of submarines to disrupt trade and supply routes vital to the Allies. The German’s use of unrestricted submarine warfare was especially effective against merchant shipping. The French seaports of Brest, Boulogne, Calais, and Dunkirk had to be vigorously defended in order to keep them open to commercial and military shipping. The sea routes also needed to be protected so that troops and supplies could reach these ports.
The U.S. Navy played an important role in protecting these French ports. One of the ships that was part of this effort was the Navy destroyer USS Winslow (DD-53) commanded by Lt Commander Francis W. Rockwell. The French government was so appreciative of his efforts, that they gave him their highest award – the Legion of Honor “Chevalier”. He was also awarded the Navy Cross, with the following citation: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Commander Francis Warren Rockwell, United States Navy, for distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the USS WINSLOW, engaged in the important, exacting and hazardous duty of patrolling the waters infested with enemy submarines and mines, in escorting and protecting vitally important convoys of troops and supplies through these waters, and in offensive and defensive action, vigorously and unremittingly prosecuted against all forms of enemy naval activity during World War I.
Francis W Rockwell was born in South Woodstock CT on July 2, 1886, the son of Francis W. Rockwell and Elizabeth (Trowbridge) Rockwell. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1908. He was a career Naval Officer, so after WW1 he had numerous assignments and commands both ashore and at sea – including service as a professor of electrical engineering and physics at the Naval Academy. By the time of WWII, Francis Rockwell was a Rear Admiral commanding the 16th Naval District in the Philippine Islands. In early 1942, he was awarded the Silver Star for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service for safely evacuating General MacArthur after the fall of the Philippines. He was also awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for organizing the orderly withdrawal of remaining US Naval Forces from the Philippines. He would then command the Naval Task Force that invaded Attu during the Aleutian Islands Campaign. Later he commanded the Atlantic Fleet’s Amphibious Training Command until the end of the war.
Rockwell retired as a Vice Admiral in 1948, and lived in Georgia until his death in 1979. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery along with his wife, Mary Allison (Wilmer) Rockwell.
Hometown Heroes is a series published in the Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger with this mission: We owe it to our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines to make sure that they are never forgotten, and that the memory of their service and sacrifice will forever live on in the hearts and minds of the grateful people of Putnam.
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