Henry M. Mullinnix

Mullinnix, born in Spencer, Indiana, graduated from Attica High School, class of 1909. He was president of his senior class. He later graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1916. He served in the destroyer Balch (DD-50), engaged in patrol and escort duty off Ireland during World War I. Following service in Gridley (DD-92) and Brooks (DD-232), he completed work in aeronautical engineering at Annapolis and MIT, receiving an M.S. degree in 1923. After flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, he was designated a naval aviator on January 11, 1924. He was one of those mainly responsible for developing the air-cooled engine for naval aircraft. Besides various shore duty, he served in Saratoga (CV-3), Wright (AV-1), and commanded Albemarle (AV-5), between 1924 and 1941.

Mullinnix commanded Saratoga from April 1943, until August 22, when he was transferred to duty with a carrier division, with the rank of rear admiral. Rear Admiral Mullinnix was on board Liscome Bay (CVE-56) when she was torpedoed and sunk off Makin Island, in the Gilberts, November 24, 1943. Declared dead a year later, he was posthumously awarded the Legion of Merit in recognition of his "outstanding initiative and superior executive ability."

In 1957, the destroyer USS Mullinnix (DD-944) was named in his honor.

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

• "Henry M. Mullinnix". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2009-05-18.