Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy, (Ret). Graduate, U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1949.
The son of a Navy vice admiral, William McCombe Callaghan Jr. was born in New York and raised in Washington, DC, where he graduated from Gonzaga College High School. In 1949 he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, and was commissioned as an Ensign. He then completed flight training and earned the "wings of gold" of a naval aviator at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Pensacola, FL. In 1958, he received an aeronautical engineering degree from the College of Aeronautics in Cranfield, England.
As a carrier pilot, Callaghan recorded more than 500 night-time landings. He also commanded two aircraft carriers, the USS Bennington and the USS Iwo Jima.
His other assignments included serving as chairman of the U.S. delegation to the Joint Brazil-U.S. Military Commission in the late 1970s. In his final active-duty assignment, at Naples, Italy, he also held additional NATO responsibility for all maritime air units in the Mediterranean.
In 1980, then-Rear Admiral Callaghan retired from the Navy while serving as Commander, Fleet Air Mediterranean, based in Naples, Italy. His decorations included the Legion of Merit.
Following his retirement from the Navy, Callaghan settled in the Washington, DC, area. He was active in the Knights of Malta and, for many years, organized the Washington chapter's annual pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. He was a member of the Catholic Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, DC.
On December 22, 2013, Callaghan, age 88, died of pneumonia at Walter Reed National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.
His wife of 60 years, Elizabeth Reidy Callaghan, died in 2009. Survivors include three sons, William M. Callaghan III of Orinda, CA; Charles E. Callaghan of San Francisco, CA; and A. Carey Callaghan of Norwich, VT; as well as nine grandchildren.
Honors
RADM William M. Callaghan, Jr. has Honoree Record 306518 at MilitaryHallofHonor.com.
The son of a Navy vice admiral, William McCombe Callaghan Jr. was born in New York and raised in Washington, DC, where he graduated from Gonzaga College High School. In 1949 he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, and was commissioned as an Ensign. He then completed flight training and earned the "wings of gold" of a naval aviator at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Pensacola, FL. In 1958, he received an aeronautical engineering degree from the College of Aeronautics in Cranfield, England.
As a carrier pilot, Callaghan recorded more than 500 night-time landings. He also commanded two aircraft carriers, the USS Bennington and the USS Iwo Jima.
His other assignments included serving as chairman of the U.S. delegation to the Joint Brazil-U.S. Military Commission in the late 1970s. In his final active-duty assignment, at Naples, Italy, he also held additional NATO responsibility for all maritime air units in the Mediterranean.
In 1980, then-Rear Admiral Callaghan retired from the Navy while serving as Commander, Fleet Air Mediterranean, based in Naples, Italy. His decorations included the Legion of Merit.
Following his retirement from the Navy, Callaghan settled in the Washington, DC, area. He was active in the Knights of Malta and, for many years, organized the Washington chapter's annual pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. He was a member of the Catholic Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, DC.
On December 22, 2013, Callaghan, age 88, died of pneumonia at Walter Reed National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.
His wife of 60 years, Elizabeth Reidy Callaghan, died in 2009. Survivors include three sons, William M. Callaghan III of Orinda, CA; Charles E. Callaghan of San Francisco, CA; and A. Carey Callaghan of Norwich, VT; as well as nine grandchildren.
Honors
RADM William M. Callaghan, Jr. has Honoree Record 306518 at MilitaryHallofHonor.com.
Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy, (Ret). Graduate, U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1949.
The son of a Navy vice admiral, William McCombe Callaghan Jr. was born in New York and raised in Washington, DC, where he graduated from Gonzaga College High School. In 1949 he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, and was commissioned as an Ensign. He then completed flight training and earned the "wings of gold" of a naval aviator at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Pensacola, FL. In 1958, he received an aeronautical engineering degree from the College of Aeronautics in Cranfield, England.
As a carrier pilot, Callaghan recorded more than 500 night-time landings. He also commanded two aircraft carriers, the USS Bennington and the USS Iwo Jima.
His other assignments included serving as chairman of the U.S. delegation to the Joint Brazil-U.S. Military Commission in the late 1970s. In his final active-duty assignment, at Naples, Italy, he also held additional NATO responsibility for all maritime air units in the Mediterranean.
In 1980, then-Rear Admiral Callaghan retired from the Navy while serving as Commander, Fleet Air Mediterranean, based in Naples, Italy. His decorations included the Legion of Merit.
Following his retirement from the Navy, Callaghan settled in the Washington, DC, area. He was active in the Knights of Malta and, for many years, organized the Washington chapter's annual pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. He was a member of the Catholic Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, DC.
On December 22, 2013, Callaghan, age 88, died of pneumonia at Walter Reed National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.
His wife of 60 years, Elizabeth Reidy Callaghan, died in 2009. Survivors include three sons, William M. Callaghan III of Orinda, CA; Charles E. Callaghan of San Francisco, CA; and A. Carey Callaghan of Norwich, VT; as well as nine grandchildren.
Honors
RADM William M. Callaghan, Jr. has Honoree Record 306518 at MilitaryHallofHonor.com.
The son of a Navy vice admiral, William McCombe Callaghan Jr. was born in New York and raised in Washington, DC, where he graduated from Gonzaga College High School. In 1949 he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, and was commissioned as an Ensign. He then completed flight training and earned the "wings of gold" of a naval aviator at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Pensacola, FL. In 1958, he received an aeronautical engineering degree from the College of Aeronautics in Cranfield, England.
As a carrier pilot, Callaghan recorded more than 500 night-time landings. He also commanded two aircraft carriers, the USS Bennington and the USS Iwo Jima.
His other assignments included serving as chairman of the U.S. delegation to the Joint Brazil-U.S. Military Commission in the late 1970s. In his final active-duty assignment, at Naples, Italy, he also held additional NATO responsibility for all maritime air units in the Mediterranean.
In 1980, then-Rear Admiral Callaghan retired from the Navy while serving as Commander, Fleet Air Mediterranean, based in Naples, Italy. His decorations included the Legion of Merit.
Following his retirement from the Navy, Callaghan settled in the Washington, DC, area. He was active in the Knights of Malta and, for many years, organized the Washington chapter's annual pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. He was a member of the Catholic Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, DC.
On December 22, 2013, Callaghan, age 88, died of pneumonia at Walter Reed National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.
His wife of 60 years, Elizabeth Reidy Callaghan, died in 2009. Survivors include three sons, William M. Callaghan III of Orinda, CA; Charles E. Callaghan of San Francisco, CA; and A. Carey Callaghan of Norwich, VT; as well as nine grandchildren.
Honors
RADM William M. Callaghan, Jr. has Honoree Record 306518 at MilitaryHallofHonor.com.
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