James Dunne O'Connell

James Dunne O'Connell (September 25, 1899 – July 28, 1984) was a United States Army Lieutenant General who was noteworthy for serving as Chief of the United States Army Signal Corps.

Chief Signal Officer, U.S. Army

James Dunne O'Connell
O'Connell as Chief of the U.S. Army Signal Corps
BornSeptember 25, 1899 (1899-09-25)
Chicago, Illinois
DiedJuly 28, 1984 (1984-07-29) (aged 84)
Washington, D.C.
Place of burial
Arlington National Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service1922–1959
Rank Lieutenant General
Commands held
Battles/warsWorld War II
Awards
Other work
  • Vice President, General Telephone and Electronics Laboratories
  • Consultant, Stanford Research Institute
  • Special Assistant to the President for Telecommunications
  • Director of Telecommunications Management, Office of Emergency Planning

Early life

O'Connell was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 25, 1899.[1] He was educated in Chicago, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1922 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of infantry.[2]

Start of military career

After completing his initial infantry assignment, in 1925 O'Connell graduated from the Signal School at Camp Alfred Vail, New Jersey.[3]

During the early 1920s he served as communications officer for the 35th Infantry Regiment at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii,[4] and commanded a company in the 24th Infantry Regiment.[5]

In 1928 O'Connell was assigned as an instructor at the Signal School.[6] In 1930 he received a master's degree in communications engineering from Yale University.[7][8]

O'Connell graduated from the Army's Command and General Staff College in 1937.[9] He was then assigned to Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, first as a project officer and later as executive officer (second in command) of the Army's Signal Corps Laboratories.[10]

World War II

During World War II, O'Connell served initially in the Office of the Chief Signal Officer as head of the General Development Branch. He was then assigned as executive officer of the Signal Supply Service. O'Connell also served on the staff of the 12th Army Group in England, France and Germany.[11]

Post World War II

When the war ended, O'Connell returned to the United States as Chief of Engineering at the Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories at Fort Monmouth, which he subsequently commanded.[12][13]

O'Connell served as Signal Officer of the Eighth Army in Japan from 1947 to 1948, afterwards serving as Chief Signal Officer of the Second Army.[14]

From 1955 to 1959 O'Connell was assigned as the Army's Chief Signal Officer.[15]

Military retirement and awards

General O'Connell retired in 1959.[16] His military awards included the Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit.[17][18]

Civilian career

After leaving the Army O'Connell was Vice President of the General Telephone and Electronics Laboratories in Palo Alto, California for three years,[19] and he spent two years as a consultant with the Stanford Research Institute and manager of its Washington, D.C. office.[20]

O'Connell was a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and chaired its Joint Technical Advisory Committee from 1961 to 1964.[21]

In 1964 O'Connell joined the staff of President Lyndon Johnson, serving until 1969 as Special Assistant to the President for Telecommunications and Director of Telecommunications Management in the Office of Emergency Planning.[22]

Retirement and death

After retiring from full-time employment in 1969, O'Connell resided in Bethesda, Maryland and Boca Raton, Florida. From 1978 to 1982 he served on the Secretary of Commerce's Frequency Management Advisory Council. He died of cancer on July 28, 1984 at Walter Reed Hospital.[23] General O'Connell was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on August 2, 1984.[24]

Personal

In 1933 O'Connell married Edith Chase Scholosberg (born 1908), who died in 1965.[25] He was survived by his second wife, Helen and two children, Peter D. O'Connell of Bethesda and Sally Ann O'Connell of Fairbanks, Alaska.

References
  1. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Region 6, published by the institute, 1969, p. 119
  2. Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., compiled by George Washington Cullum and Edward Singleton Holden, Volume 9, 1950, p. 385
  3. Telephone Engineer & Management, published by Telephone Engineer Publishing Corp., Volume 59, 1959, p. 26
  4. Quadrennial Report of the Chief Signal Officer, U. S. Army, published by U.S. Army Signal Corps, 1955
  5. Biography, James D. O'Connell, published in "A Concise History of the U.S. Army Signal Corps", by Kathy R. Coker and Carol E. Stokes, Office of the Command Historian, U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, 1964, p. 75
  6. Official U.S. Army Register, published by U.S. Army Adjutant General, 1957, p. 641
  7. Getting the Message Through: A Branch History of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, by Rebecca Robbins Raines, Center of Military History, 1996, p. 344
  8. Necrology, Yale Alumni Magazine Archived 2008-10-23 at the Wayback Machine, September/October 2008
  9. Official U.S. Army Register, published by U.S. Army Adjutant General], 1956, p. 636
  10. Electronics World, published by Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., 1942, Volume 27, p. 35
  11. Biography, James Dunne O'Connell Archived 2010-11-29 at the Wayback Machine, Signal Corps 150th Anniversary web site, published by U.S. Army, accessed March 19, 2011
  12. The Amphibious Eighth, prepared and edited by Eighth United States Army Historical Section, 1948, pp. 110, 113
  13. Fort Monmouth, Wendy A. Rejan, 2009, p. 62
  14. Biography, James Dunne O'Connell, published in Getting the Message Through: A Branch History of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, by Rebecca Robbins Raines, 1996, chapter IX, p. 344
  15. Newspaper article, Gen. O'Connell Chosen Chief of Signal Corps, by United Press International, published in Lawrence (Kansas) Journal-World, February 28, 1955
  16. Newspaper article, Signal Chief Honored; Retiring General Is Feted at Fort Monmouth, New York Times, April 27, 1959
  17. Official U.S. Army Register, published by U.S. Army Adjutant General, 1954, p. 557
  18. Index of recipients, Major U.S. Military Awards Archived 2011-05-25 at the Wayback Machine, Military Times Hall of Valor web site, accessed March 19, 2011
  19. Army, Navy, and Air Force Journal, Volume 96, 1959, Issues 27-52, p. 839
  20. Pacific Research & World Empire Telegram, Volumes 1-6, 1969
  21. Newsletter Article, Ninth Armour Conference History of the Armour Conferences, by Daniel Hoolihan, History and 50th Anniversary Chair of the Electromagnetic Compatibility Society Society, and Warren Kesselman, Founder of the EMC Society, 2006, p. 4
  22. LBJ and the Presidential Management of Foreign Relations, by Paul Y. Hammond, 1992, p. 213
  23. In Memorium, James D. O'Connell, published in Signals, the magazine of the Armed Forces Communications Association, Volume 39, 1984, Issues 1-4, p. 87
  24. Burial Detail: O'Connell, James D – ANC Explorer
  25. Newspaper article, Mrs. James O. O'Connell, Wife of Presidential Aide, New York Times, September 12, 1965
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