us navy
command. Following that assignment, he was promoted to Lt. Commander and awarded the Navy Cross by Admiral Chester Nimitz. He was then assigned to the office of the Chief of Naval Transportation in Washington, DC. In June 1944, now Commander Outerbridge, he was assigned command of USS O’Brien, a brand-new destroyer commissioned earlier that year. Following escort and patrol duty near England, the O’Brien participated in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, using her guns to
Lt. Commander William W. Outerbridge, USN; photo taken circa 1942. pound German positions near the landing zones. She then moved on to bombard German positions at Cape Levi near Cherbourg. There she received a direct hit from an enemy shore battery, killing thirteen and wounding nineteen sailors. The destroyer sought temporary repairs in England before returning to Boston for extensive repair work. By the end of 1944, Commander Outerbridge and the O’Brien were in the Western Pacific as part of the assault forces at Ormoc Bay, in the Philippines. After World War II, Captain Outerbridge served in various staff positions in Washington. His last command at sea was the heavy cruiser USS Los Angeles (1953– 55). He retired from the US Navy in 1957 with the rank of Rear Admiral. He spent his retirement years in Tifton, Georgia, where he died on 19 September 1986. He is buried in the Oakridge Cemetery in Tifton. His naval and genealogical papers are on file at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, in Abilene, Kansas. J. Robert Outerbridge Southport, North Carolina
Stobart at Noble An exhibition of oil paintings and drawings by the preeminent marine artist, John Stobart, friend and inspiration to John A. Noble
On view now through December 2018
Noble Maritime Collection
at the 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building D, Staten Island, NY 10301 (718) 447-6490 2 www.noblemaritime.org John Stobart, San Pedro: e Bark Vidette Towing into Port at Sunrise in 1890, oil on canvas, 1983; courtesy of Kensington Galleries
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