Don P. Moon

Don Pardee Moon (April 18, 1894 – August 5, 1944) was a Rear Admiral of the United States Navy, who fought in the invasion of Europe. He was born in Kokomo, Indiana, United States. He married and had four children.

Don Pardee Moon
RADM Don P. Moon
Born(1894-04-18)April 18, 1894
Kokomo, Indiana
DiedAugust 5, 1944(1944-08-05) (aged 50)
Aboard the USS Bayfield, Naples, Italy
Place of burial
Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service1916–1944
Rank Rear Admiral
Commands heldUSS John D. Ford
Battles/warsWorld War I
World War II
AwardsDistinguished Service Medal
Legion of Merit

Biography

Moon entered the United States Naval Academy and later graduated fourth in the Class of 1916, being particularly efficient in gunnery.

He was assigned to the battleship Arizona (BB-39) and while there developed several instruments to improve gunnery. He later served in the battleships Colorado (BB-45) and Nevada (BB-36) before returning to shore duty in 1926.

By 1934 he was commanding officer of the Asiatic Fleet destroyer John D. Ford (DD-228).

He was later put in command of a destroyer division in 1940 and became a captain in 1941. He took part in the invasion of North Africa in 1942.

In 1944 he was promoted to rear admiral. He commanded Exercise Tiger, a rehearsal for D-Day in which three LSTs were torpedoed and sunk by German E-boats near Slapton Sands.

During the June 6, 1944 invasion of Normandy he directed the landings on Utah Beach from the attack transport Bayfield (APA-33). For three weeks the Bayfield was in position off Utah beach and officers and men were on four hour rotating shifts for this entire time. Shortly afterwards the Bayfield was sent to Naples for the invasion of Southern France. However, on August 5, 1944, Moon shot himself with his .45 caliber pistol. His suicide was blamed on battle fatigue. He was posthumously decorated with Legion of Honour by the Government of France.[1]

He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

He was survived by his wife Sibyl, and his four children, Meredith, Don, David, and Peter.

Memorials

Moon was depicted on a 2004 postage stamp issued to mark the 60th anniversary of D-Day by Sierra Leone.[2]

See also

References
  1. "All Hands – The Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin; June 1945" (PDF). navy.mil. United States Navy Websites. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  2. "D Day June 6, 1944 / Eisenhower / Moon / Kirk / Taylor / Bradley / Huebner". store.coolstamps.com. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  • D-Day 1944 – Voices from Normandy, Robert Neillands and Roderick de Normann, Cold Spring Press, New York, 2004 ISBN 1-59360-012-7
  • My Dear Moon, Jonathan P. Alter, BookSurge Publishing, 2005 ISBN 978-1-4196-1253-4

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Naval History and Heritage Command document: "Rear Admiral Don P. Moon". Retrieved 6 September 2010.

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