Pye, William Satterlee.

Pye, William Satterlee, born 09-06-1880 in Minneapolis, Minnasota, the son of James Pye (1855-1939) and his wife Clara A, born Satterlee (1859-1905) =, The brother of Hugh James Pye (1888-1968) William was married with Annie Etheldra, born Briscoe Pye and the ciouple had two sons, William Satterlee “Bill” Pye Jr (1908-1938) and John Briscoe Pye. (1917-1945) John was Exec Officer on the USS Swordfish which went down off Okinawa in 1945. The last communication received from the submarine took place on 03-01-1945, age 30..

William Sr was an Admiral in the U.S. Navy who served in World Wars I and II. His last active-duty appointment was as President of the Naval War College, 1942-1945. His awards included the Navy Cross  for his service in World War I. Entering the  United States Naval Academy in 1897, he graduated in 1901 and was commissioned an Ensign in June 1903. From 1901 through 1915, he served in several ships, among them five battleship and an armoured cruiser, and was also assigned to the staffs of the Naval Academy and Naval War College. In 1915-1916 he placed the new destroyer USS Jacob Jones (DD-61) into commission, commanding her until early 1917, when he joined the staff of the Atlantic Fleet’s Commander in Chief. He served in that position through the First World War, receiving the Navy Cross for “for exceptionally distinguished and valuable service on the staff of the commander in chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, in addition to excellent performance of his routine staff duties in preparing a series of orders for the conduct of battleship and fleet, based upon the best thought and experience of the United States fleet and British fleet during the late war.”Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 07-12-1941  and the subsequent relief of Admiral, Husband Edward Kimmel

   Vice Admiral Pye was Acting Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet from 17 December until 31 December 1941. His major action in this position was to send a relief force built around the USS Saratoga to the aid of Wake Island. In a controversial decision, Pye recalled the relief force on December 22 after reports of additional landings on the island-for fear of losses. After relinquishing command of the Pacific Fleet to Admiral, Chester William Nimitz, Pye became the commander of Task Force One, comprising the remaining operational battleships in the Pacific fleet, based in San Francisco.    Pye ordered this force to sortie to patrol the West Coast during the Battle of Midway, as a precaution against a possible Japanese attack in that area. His fears proved unfounded and Task Force One remained on training and patrol duties between Hawaii and the West Coast until Pye was relieved in October 1942. After Wake Island and Midway, he never commanded operating forces again. Vice Admiral Pye then became President of the Naval War College and simultaneously commanded the Naval Operating Base, Newport, Rhode Island.

He had two sons, William “Bill” SaterIlee Pye Jr, born 19-01-1908, in Maryland, USA. Lieutenant Pye and Aviation Cadet Charles Frederick Erickson, USNR, members of Fighting Squadron (VF) Three, died when on 30-09-1938 ( William, age 30) their carrier-based fighter aircraft, operating from the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3), collided off the So. California coast. Lieutenant Pye’s body was never recovered.

The other son was Lieutenant Commander John Briscoe Pye John was lost when USS Swordfish (SS-193) was sunk, probably by enemy vessels, off the Ryukyu Islands on 12-01-1945. He was the boat’s executive officer.

Death and burial ground of Pye, William Satterlee.

   Though he officially retired in July 1944, he remained on as War College President until relieved of active duty in December 1945. Vize Admiral William S. Pye died at Bethesda, Maryland, on 04-05-1959, age 78. He is buried with his wife Annie, born Briscoe, who died age 79, in 1959, on Arlington National Cemetery, Section 3.  Close by in Section 3 the graves of the Major General, Commander, G1 (Personnel) Section, Headquarters SHAEF, Charles Bonesteel, 101^st Airborne General, Anthony McAuliffe

   the Bastogne defender, Commanded the 25^st Infantry Division “Tropic Lightning”   during the Attack on Pearl Harbor Maxwell Murray, Major General, adviser MacArthur. Corps Engineers, Hugh Casey, Major General, “Father of the Armoured Forces”, Adna Chaffee, Lieutenant General, Chief of Staff, Hugh Drum, Lieutenant General, 3^rd Service Command and Deputy, Manton Eddy, Rear Admiral, U Boot 505, Daniel Gallery, 1* Brigadier General, Assistant Commanding General 78^th Division “Lightning”  John Kirkland Rice, Lieutenant General, Quartermaster U.S. Army, Thomas Larkin, General Lieutenant, Frank Cadle Mahin, commander of the 45^th Division,