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Vice Admiral Uniform WWII


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I have had this uniform in my collection for around 15 years. Have done a bunch of research but have never found anything conclusive. Here is what I know:

 

1. The uniform has an 11/25/41 date in the inside pocket, can barely make it out.

2. The uniform was made and purchased in Norfolk, VA.

3. The medals are all wwii vintage, navy version and all quality sewn on to the uniform.

4. It doesn't appear that anyone has messed with it or has tried to misrepresent it (fake it).

5. There is a sewn monogram inside the pocket. W, A, the third can be open to interpretation G, L, S.

6. No wwii victory medal......which seems odd, unless it is someone who died or retired before the war ended.

 

My research has lead me to Willis A. Lee who died in August of 1945. Many of the medals seem to match. He received 2 navy distinguished service medals. However, the second one came just before he died. The things that concern me are the foreign medals and the light blue colored medal. Not sure what foreign medals he could have received. The light blue medal is either a Silver Life Saving Medal or a 2nd Byrd Expeditionary Medal. I simply don't know what else that medal could be? The Silver Life Saving Medal is typically wider and Lee was never awarded a life saving medal....at least from what I can tell. It is not recorded in his biography. The second Byrd Expeditionary Medal was not awarded to Lee either. Again, according to his biography. It might be a shooting award, as Lee was a marksman and a Olympic medal winner.

 

The other possibility is that it is not Lee's uniform. It was purchased on the east coast in the late 1990's. I would like to hear from other forum members. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

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Hi!

 

It's a nice looking uniform, but in my humble opinion it is not Lee's. All the letters are capitalized and there is no reason the last would be any different; and it's clearly not a capital 'L'.

 

Myself and a friend just went through everthing we could and did not find a match in the NDSM or NC indexes. It seems possible the uniform was used by someone else, or the ribbons were a later addition.

 

We were unable to find any match between the ribbons and the initials present, even accounting for all possible letters.

 

RC

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Hi RC,

 

Thanks for note back! This is exactly why I have been frustrated...... Can't find a match. If I felt the uniform was messed with or faked i would be satisfied. However, everything looks original or damn good.

 

Marc

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Or he was retired and came back on active duty for WW2, or was a RAdm with WW2 service and had a tombstone retirement promotion; lots of possibilities. I'm pretty sure the initials are W.A.S. but I can't find any active or retired VAdm W.A.S. that would fit the timeline. There's an active RAdm W. A. Sutherland in 1956, but with a 1906 DOB he would have been too young to have Mexican and WW1 service.

 

Pretty interesting set of ribbons; my feeling on the Navy Cross is it might be from WW1 when they were handed out pretty freely. I don't know what the regs were for navy personnel to get the WW1 Army of Occupation medal, but this one's an early model with wavy edges. The pale blue one almost has to be the Treasury Dept. Silver Lifesaving Medal, as said in the OP it was usually wider at that time, but it wouldn't surprise me if someone had it cut down to fit with the rest.

 

Thanks for posting, I will be interested to see further developments with this one!

 

Justin B.

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  • 5 weeks later...

I wanted to thank everyone responding to the topic. Some interesting thoughts and ideas. Over the holidays, I went back to look at the US Navy Officer and Warrant Officer publications. I did look at the retired list. Based on the initials W and A, Willis A. Lee is the closest to matching the medals. Lee was awarded the Navy Cross, Navy Distinguished Service Medal (awarded two, last one right before his death) and the Legion of Merit. No WWII victory medal or occupation medals. Lee died in August 1945. I'm not sure it is Lee's uniform, but still not willing to rule it out. I have a biography from the Navy Library on Willis A. Lee. Nothing mentioned regarding a Silver Life Saving Medal. I do know that in the early morning hours of November 15th, 1942, Lee purposely directed the USS Washington to pick up survivors and drop life rafts as the Washington passed sailors sunk from the Walke and I believe the Benham or Preston. I really feel like I am starting to reach for something that is not there. Nothing mentioned on Foreign Medals.......which I am not surprised. What is the accuracy of the these biography's. Where would I look to find his Personnel File (this would most likely be the most accurate)? St. Louis or College Park, MD.

 

Thanks,

 

Marc

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If this helps, I believe the last letter is a "S". So the initials are W. A. S.

 

The only officers I could find of any rank to have those initials and were awarded the Navy Cross are Willard A. Saunders and William A. Stevenson and neither reached flag rank.

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No offense at all intended, but I just don't think it is very likely it was made for Willis Lee.

 

The ribbons are close, but no exact match. I don't believe the records of recipients is that far off on both the NC and NDSM lists. I also wouldn't think the tailor would get two out of three initials right, but mess up on the last. I was hopeful when I tried researching it the night of December 20th, and indeed at first thought it was 'probably' his. But once I started digging with a friend, nothing really came up with enough of a match to be 100%, or even 90% probable it was his.

 

It's a great uniform, but it doesn't seem to have been Lee's at least. Don't give up searching, but don't box yourself into a corner with wishful thinking until something solid turns up. One day you might find the answers, but so far it is too indefinite for me to accept as his.

 

Good luck though,

RC

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This is a mystery uniform like the one below. I sold this (below) one in 1996. It was a fully legitimate uniform...absolutely right as rain. No name inside, just the initials "EEE". Sadly, I could never match up a Captain or Admiral with those initials (save for Ernest E. Evans...but it wasn't his!) Almost 20 years later, I still wonder about who it belonged to...

USUni21.jpg

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Dave -- , wouldn't this last one have belonged to a Commodore? They did not use that sleeve braid then for RADM (lower half) then, but did for Commodores. No one with those initials is listed in my GO/Flag Rank book, so I wonder if this was a retirement rank.

 

G

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Dave -- , wouldn't this last one have belonged to a Commodore? They did not use that sleeve braid then for RADM (lower half) then, but did for Commodores. No one with those initials is listed in my GO/Flag Rank book, so I wonder if this was a retirement rank.

 

G

 

Yes...that's why I was searching for Captains with those initials as well...or a uniform that never got promoted with the guy. But either way...I could never find anything (I actually had to go to the library to read through the old registers back then...ah...the memories!) :D

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Thanks for posting the Commodore's Uniform. I remember purchasing the Vice Admiral uniform thinking that I will be able to research and uncover the owner's name......piece of cake. Like your Commodore's uniform, it has been anything but. Rusty Canteen is right, I need to keep an open mind and continue to dig. Maybe some day the name of the owner will be found. If not, the research is fun to do. Add to it, I will most likely learn a few things along the way.

 

I am traveling this week, but when I get back home. I will post a Lt. Colonels uniform that has a really nice sewn on ribbon bar. I purchased it in 1992. When I bought it I thought that it would be easy uniform to research and put a name to it. In the 1990's it was not easy. The uniform had a 79th division patch. The 79th division unit history was some help, but nothing definitive. It took 15 years and the internet to finally uncover the owner. It was Olin Teague, a bonafide war hero and congressman from East Texas.

 

Thanks,

 

Marc

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Sometimes the best motivator is the quest to solve the unsolvable; to answer the unknown, and to find the missing pieces. Some might even say that researching is the best reward in the hobby (owning is fun, but researching something to prove a direct link to history is rewarding) and a big part of preserving the history we strive to preserve.

 

I think your best lead is an officer with the W.A.S. initials who was active in November 1941. I couldn't find one, but sometimes it is harder than just looking.

 

RC

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