Henry Hartley

Henry Hartley
Born	(1884-05-08)8 May 1884 Bladensburg, Maryland, US
Died	6 March 1953(1953-03-06) (aged 68) Bethesda, Maryland, US
Buried	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1901 – 1946
Rank	Rear admiral
Commands	Service Division 103 USS Chester USS Susan B. Anthony USS Arcturus USS Falcon USS SC-21
Battles / wars	World War I Battle of the Atlantic World War II Operation Torch Invasion of Sicily Battle of Leyte Gulf Battle of Iwo Jima Battle of Okinawa
Awards	Navy Cross Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit (3) Navy Commendation Medal

Henry Hartley (8 May 1884 – 6 March 1953) was a highly decorated officer in the United States Navy who reached the rank of rear admiral. A veteran of both World Wars, he began his career as Apprentice seaman and rose to the rank of commodore during World War II. During his 45 years long career in the Navy, Hartley trained as Diver and was involved in research of techniques of salvage work. He distinguished himself during the salvage works on the sunken submarines USS S-51 in July 1926; USS S-4 in March 1928 and USS Squalus in May 1939, receiving the Navy Cross and Distinguished Service Medal.^[1][2]

During World War II, Hartley commanded the troopship USS Susan B. Anthony during the invasions in North Africa and Sicily, before being transferred to Pacific Theater as commanding officer of cruiser USS Chester. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of commodore commanding Service Division 103 during the final days of combats in Pacific. He retired in May 1946 with the rank of rear admiral.^[2]