Information provided by: Thomas Scanlan, The Commander’s Son, March 2005
Memories live on,
Conjured up by name alone,
Where only bodies lie
And fresh cut flowers slowly die.
Fred Joseph Scanlan was born at Highland Falls, New York, on 5 March 1903.
He originally served in the United States Navy from 21 September 1920 to 20 September 1922, when he was honorably discharged as a Yeoman Second Class. He then served again from 23 November 1922 to 18 February 1952, when he retired as a Lieutenant Commander.
He served on various ships at sea, including the USS Dixie, USS J. Fred Talbot, USS Huron, USS Lexington, USS Arkansas, USS Texas, USS New York, USS Washington (flagship, Atlantic Fleet, 10 December 1941), and USS Shangri-La in the Pacific Theater of Operations from July 1944 to the end of World War II. He was present at the peace treaty signing in Japan and at the early nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific following the war (Operation Crossroads).
His military decorations included the Good Conduct Medal with four stars, the Yangtze Campaign Medal, the Atlantic-Pacific Defense Medal with two bronze stars, the World War II Victory Medal and a commendation letter from the Chief, Naval Bureau of Personnel.
Following his retirement, Commander Scanlan was the National Secretary of the Fleet Reserve Association from 1959 to 1963.
Commander Scanlan died at Olney, Maryland, on 23 July 1993 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors (Section 3, Grave 2047-A-4. Buried with him are his wives, Iris I. Scanlan, 21 September 1905-19 May 1952, and Mary E. Scanlan, who died on 16 November 1988.
SCANLAN, IRIS I W/O FREDERICK J
- DATE OF BIRTH: 09/21/1905
- DATE OF DEATH: 05/19/1952
- BURIED AT: SECTION 3 SITE 2047-A-3
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY - WIFE OF FREDERICK J. SCANLAN, LT CDR USN
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard