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Capt. Tom Keagan, USN (RET)
June 21, 1984

From: Dick Terwilliger
Sent: Saturday, September 09, 2006 3:52 AM
Subject: Obituary for Tom Keagan

       Attached as a dot doc item is an obituary that you may wish to post on the NWSA website.

       Tom Keegan, CAPT USN (Ret.), was an aerological engineering classmate of mine at the U. S. Postgraduate School from July 1946 until June 1948.  After I saw him briefly in Pearl Harbor when passed through there on my way to Fleet Weather Central, Shanghai, our paths never crossed again.  As you will note when you read his obituary, Tom, who was qualified in both submarines and surface warfare, was awarded the Silver Star Medal, two Bronze Star Medals, and a Presidential Unit Citation for his wartime operations.

       Aerological/meteorological personnel who served with him may never have learned of his World War II service and his service after the 1948-1950 period or that he died years ago.

Dick Terwilliger
NWSA Life Member No. 121

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Capt. Thomas D. Keegan, USN RET
June 21, 1984 

            CAPT Thomas D. Keegan, USN (Ret.) died on 21 June 1984 in Charleston, South Carolina.  His remains were interred in Beaufort.

            A native of New York, he was appointed to the U. S. Naval Academy from that State and entered with the Class of 1939.  On graduation, as an ensign he reported to USS PORTLAND and spent the following year and a half aboard.  He then attended Submarine School in the Spring of 1941.  Upon graduation he was ordered to the S-25 and then, when that boat was turned over to the Poles in November 1941, he joined the commissioning crew of the USS SILVERSIDES.  After seven war patrols in SILVERSIDES, one of the war’s most successful boats, he joined the commissioning crew of USS SEACAT and, in 1944, he made two patrols in SEACAT as executive officer.  Just before the war’s end, he took over the submarine USS KINGFISH as commanding officer and conducted one war patrol in the Kuriles Islands area.  He was awarded two Silver Star Medals, one Bronze Star Medal, and a Presidential Unit Citation for his war operations.  At the end of World War II, he put the KINGFISH out of commission, and then, in 1946, he joined the Staff of the 16^th Fleet in New London, Connecticut, for a short tour.

            In July 1946, he entered the U. S. Naval Postgraduate School, then on the grounds of the U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland.  In June 1948, he graduated having been awarded a master’s degree in aerological engineering.  Following his graduation, he had a two-year tour at the Navy Weather Central, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  In 1950, he spent a tour of several months in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV)  before being ordered to CINCNELM’s Staff in London, England.  In 1953, he was ordered to duty under instruction at the Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia.  Upon graduation, he joined the USS GOODRICH (DD-831) as commanding officer.

            In 1955, he reported once again to OPNAV for duties in the Fleet Operations Section.  In 1958, he assumed the duty of Squadron Commander of Minecraft Squadron 8.  In 1958, he was ordered to Ohio State University to head the Naval ROTC unit there.  In 1962, he took command of the USS ROCKBRIDGE (APA-228) from which he retired in 1963 to become a mathematics and science teacher in Charleston.  For the 12-year period prior to his death, he was a teacher in a private school, the College Preparatory School, in Charleston.    At the time of his death, he was serving a volunteer at the Charleston Museum.  He was an active member of the U. S. Naval Academy’s Alumni Association.

            He is survived by his widow, Jean Phillips Keegan and three children.
 

Northwest Chapter
Puget Sound, WA