Admiral Harry Lafayette Harty, Jr.
Admiral Harry Lafayette Harty, Jr is my second cousin, twice removed. I am incredibly proud to share one iota of DNA with this man.
Thank you again to Mr. Paul Harty, Jr. for the photograph and the history of the Admiral's life.
Harry Lafayette Harty, Jr. was born on 25 July 1917 in Gray's Point, Lawrence County, Missouri to Harry Lafayette Harty Sr. and Terzah (Mechin) Harty. He married Joan Brown and together they had four children. Admiral Harty died on 15 August 1986 in Duval County, Florida.
Harry Lafayette Jr., son of Harry Lafayette Sr., son of Alfred Lafayette Harty, son of William C Harty. William C Harty was father to my 2nd Great Grandmother, Sarah Elizabeth "Betty" Harty.
Admiral Harty started his military career at VMI (Virginia Military Institute) in Lexington, Virginia and was then accepted at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1935 and graduated from there in 1939. He served in WWII, the Korean War, and also the Vietnam War before retiring after 39 years of service.
He served on board the USS Saratoga; was on the staff of the Supreme Allied Powers under the command of Field Marshal Montogomery; in Naval Operations for NATO and served as the Military Advisor to George Herbert Walker Bush. He won two Distinguished Service Medals, two Legion of Merits awards and retired in 1974.
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| VMI 1930's |
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| U.S. Navy |
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| Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery (center). |
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| Navy Distinguished Service Medal |
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI'm Melissa, youngest daughter of Harry Harty, Jr. He was a wonderful father. He always told his girls the same thing he told his men. Always be honest, try your hardest and do your best. He always had an open door policy when in command and encouraged his men to talk about anything troubling them. This was one of the reasons his ship, the Randolf got the E for excellence the year he was skipper. Thank you for your nice post.
Erica, thank you for this peek into your father's life and what makes us most interesting; our kindness and wisdom. I am so happy you enjoyed this piece on him and that you stopped to say so.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I have to apologize for calling you Erica when I responded over a year ago. Please forgive me! I would like to get in contatct with you to introduce you to a member of our Harty family and the sole reason why I knew so much about your father. I hope this note finds you well.
ReplyDeleteHello, I'm a somewhat distant relative of Admiral Harty as he was my great uncle on my father's side (Robert J. Harty). I visited Harry's grave a year and a half ago as I was living in Gainesville, FL at the time. I wish I could find more information about him, as he seems to be a prominent member of my family.
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