Captain Leroy Thomas Taylor, Usn, Ret

MIDDLETOWN, RI ? Retired Navy Captain LeRoy Taylor, 94, died Monday, April 23, 2007. He was the husband of the late Floride Hewitt Taylor. A native of Mississippi, he graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy and was commissioned in 1935. He served in the heavy cruiser LOUISVILLE, on the staff of Commander Cruisers, Scouting Force, in the destroyer DAVIS, and the Navy?s first PT boat squadron. During the first year of World War II, as Executive Officer and as Gunnery Officer of the destroyer RUSSELL, he fought in the First Marshall Island Raid, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway, and the Battle of Santa Cruz. Later he commanded motor torpedo boat squadrons during the Solomon Islands Campaign, and the destroyer PARKER in the Mediterranean and the Western Pacific. He was awarded two Silver Star medals and two letters of commendation for action in combat. He earned seven battle stars. After the war he served on the faculty of the General Line School in Newport, was Captain of the destroyer CONE and the LSD SHADWELL, served in Naples, and was on the staff of Admiral the Earl Mountbatten of Burma in Malta. He commanded Destroyer Division 302, attended and was on the staff of the Naval War College, and served in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations until retirement. After being retired he earned a master?s degree in international relations from Boston University and taught in the Middletown schools for sixteen years. He is survived by a son Kent Hewitt Taylor, a daughter Martha Sims Taylor Schantz three grandchildren and one great grandchild.His burial will be private.A Memorial service will be held in June at a place and time to be announced.Memorial contributions in his memory may be made to the John Clarke Nursing Center, 600 Valley Road, Middletown, RI 02842.