Rear Admiral Robert Witcher Copeland USN |
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(1910-1973) |
Lt. Commander Robert W. Copeland receives the Navy Cross from rear Admiral David M. LeBreton.
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Robert Witcher Copeland was born at Tacoma, Washington, on 9 September 1910. Enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1929, he was commissioned as a Naval Reserve officer in 1935. Copeland practiced law from 1935 until 1940, when he was ordered to active duty during the Navy's pre-World War II expansion. During the War, he commanded USS Pawtucket YT-7, USS Black Douglas PYC-45, USS Wyman DE-38 and USS Samuel B. Roberts DE-413. During the Battle off Samar, 25 October 1944, while commanding Samuel B. Roberts , Lieutenant Commander Copeland led his ship and crew in an attack on a greatly superior Japanese battleship and cruiser force. Though his ship was lost, this action helped defeat the Japanese counter-offensive against the Leyte invasion. For this, he was awarded the Navy Cross. Following World War II, Copeland resumed his law career while remaining a member of the Naval Reserve, in which he rose to the rank of Rear Admiral. Robert W. Copeland died at Tacoma, Washington, on 25 August 1973. |
(Courtesy of the Naval Historical Center)
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Page revised Feb. 2, 2007 |