Personal records (1935-2000) of U.S. Naval officer, U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1941, including orders, reports, correspondence, photographs, and miscellany.
Cdr. Henry J. Conger, USN (Ret).was born in Norman Park, GA, on May 11, 1916, to Isaac Young and Mary Willis Conger. He lived in Tifton, GA, and was a 1933 graduate of Tifton High School. Conger also attended Marion Military Institute from 1934-1935. In 1936 he enrolled in the U.S. Naval Academy and graduated with the Class of '41.
During the next four years, Conger served on the USS Idaho, participating in the Atlantic Neutrality Patrol, as well as twelve major engagements in the south and northern Pacific, and on the USS Tarawa. Conger also served on The Board of Inspections and Survey in Washington, D.C., and as Head of the Electrical Engineering Department at the U.S. Naval Academy. In addition, he was an executive officer on the USS Porter and commanding officer on the destroyer USS Laffey, DD-724, now home ported in Charleston, South Carolina. As commanding officer of the USS Laffey, his ship received several citations for knocking out shore batteries in Wonsan Harbor during the longest ship-to-shore battle of the Korean War. Conger was awarded the Bronze Star with a "V" for valor for this engagement.
Conger retired from military service in 1961 and went on to obtain his Master's Degree in Physics and Mathematics from the College of William and Mary. He joined the Norfolk School System, where he taught physics at Norview High School. Conger retired from teaching in 1981 as head of the Science Department.
Conger was a member and Deacon of Royster Memorial Presbyterian Church, as well as a life member of the Retired Officers Association, the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and the American Philatelic Society. He died in 2012 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Conger was survived by his wife, Greta Ginnuth Conger; a son, Capt. Michael Dewitt Conger, USN (Ret.); a daughter, Patricia Jean Noble and two grandchildren. Conger was predeceased by his first wife, Lois Jane Conger; a son, James Rodreick Conger; a brother, Dr. Preston Dewitt Conger, MD; and a sister, Elizabeth "Sister" Harris.
All materials in the collection are photocopies of the originals. Correspondence includes ship communications, change of duties, press releases (including one discussing festivities honoring the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in 1953), and a letter updating information for the next edition of The Lucky Bag as well as the Class of '41 publication, Shipmate. These letters offer further insight into Conger's life and military experience. Military records consist of leave records, assignments, report of officer's fitness, annual qualifications questionnaire, biography sheets, data cards, roster of officers and travel claims. Among the printed materials are certificates, citation awards, resumes, biographies and clippings. Photographs are all undated reprints. Subject matter of the images feature activity around a naval ship, two portraits of Conger and one image of a man (possibly Conger) in an ancient city.
Gift of Cdr. Henry J. Conger
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Processed by Dale Sauter, January 26, 2016.
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.