Joseph K. Taussig Jr. Was born in Newport, Rhode Island in 1920. He was Served aboard the USS Nevada at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The collection spans 1996 and 2005 and includes the booklet "The Day I Lost My Foot in the Pentagon and Other Literary Jewels" written by Taussig. The strength of the collection is the assorted published articles about Taussigs experiences in the Navy and Pentagon.
Joseph K. Taussig, Jr. was born in Newport, Rhode Island in 1920. He was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1937. When he graduated in 1941, he was assigned to USS Nevada. USS Nevada was docked at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked by Japanese forces. A metal object or bullet hit Taussig's leg, which led to his leg being amputated in April 1946. For his heroism, Taussig received the Navy Cross for refusing to leave his station during the attack. After the war, Taussig attended law school at George Washington University and graduated in 1949. He returned to serve at an administrative office in Pearl Harbor during the Korean War. In the early 1950s, he taught military law and administration at the Naval Academy. Taussig eventually retired from the Navy in 1954. Then, Taussig spent the next 25 years working as a government relations officer. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to be the Navy's deputy assistant secretary for civilian personnel and equal opportunity. Afterwards, he became assistant undersecretary for safety and survivability for the Navy in the mid 1980s. Taussig departed from the Pentagon in 1993. Taussig passed away from an embolism on December 14, 1999 at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland.
Tim Craig 1999 "Capt. Joseph Taussig Jr., 79, awarded the Navy Cross" Baltimore Sun https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1999-12-18-9912180186-story.html
The collection consists of the booklet "The Day I Lost My Foot in the Pentagon and Other Literary Jewels" by Joseph K. Taussig, which comprises of his assorted published articles. Topics include his experiences with the Navy and the Pentagon. The collection also contains an article from the Sunday Capital-Gazette entitled "Making Waves, Saving Lives, Naval Institute Honors Officer Who Bucked the System" describing why the Naval Institute named its executive suite for Capt. Taussig.
Gift of Betty C. Taussig
Encoded by Lindsay Flood, March 28, 2008
Processed by Aleck Tan, February 2020
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.