Frank Andrews

ANDREWS, FRANK ARLAND - Captain, US Navy (Retired) Captain Frank A. Andrews was born in Newport, Rhode Island on June 30, 1921 and died at the age of 92 from natural causes on February 22, 2014 in Annapolis, MD. Born to Frank A. Andrews, Sr. and Helen Fallon Andrews, Captain Andrews graduated from Rogers High School in Newport, RI. He attended the Worcester Polytechnic Institute on a scholarship for one year before receiving an appointment to the US Naval Academy. While at the Academy, Captain Andrews excelled academically and athletically. He stood first in his class after his plebe year and by the time of graduation stood fourth overall. Captain Andrews was on the school's varsity soccer and lacrosse teams and was the soccer team's captain during his senior year. His roommate and future brother-in-law, James Patrick Neenan, arranged a blind date with his sister, Jean Clair Neenan, who would become his wife after a brief courtship during World War II. Captain Andrews graduated from the Naval Academy as a member of the Class of 1942 and assigned to the destroyer USS DUNCAN (DD-485) in the Pacific. This ship was mortally wounded during the Battle of Cape Esperance resulting in Captain Andrews and his shipmates spending the next eight hours treading water in shark-infested waters. He was then assigned to the USS SHUBRICK (DD-639) in the Atlantic which was sunk in the Mediterranean during a nighttime air raid. In winter 1944 he was transferred to submarines where he continued on four war patrols on USS SENNET (SS-408). Upon completion of WWII, Captain Andrews completed Naval Post Graduate School and then received a Ph.D. in Physics from Yale University. He was then assigned as commissioning Commanding Officer of the USS SSK-1. This boat was the Navy's first submarine built with array sonar technology which considerably improved a submarine's sonar detection ability over WWII generation sonar systems. Captain Andrews made recommendations to improve sound isolation, stealth operating techniques and utilization of passively received sonar signals to detect unseen vessels that were incorporated in later submarine designs. One of the ship's officers later became President of the United States, Jimmy Carter. After K-1, Captain Andrews assumed his second submarine command (USS HARDER, SS-568), became the Submarine Project Officer at David Taylor Model Basin and then Prospective Commanding Officer (PCO) Instructor on SubPac Staff in Pearl Harbor, HI. It was during this tour that Captain Andrews suddenly lost his wife, Jean, and their unborn child from complications of her pregnancy. As a widower and father to five children, Captain Andrews continued onto to ComSub Div 72 in Pearl Harbor in 1957. Serendipitously, he met M. Maxine Johnson through mutual friends and they were married shortly afterwards. Captain Andrews then assumed chairmanship of the Science Department at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. Captain Andrews was then ordered to be Commodore of Submarine Development Group Two in New London, Connecticut. Captain Andrews' efforts there established the foundation for the US Naval submarine's superiority in the 1960's and beyond. During his command the USS Thresher (SSN-593) was tragically lost at sea in April 1963 and Captain Andrews assumed the at sea commander of the search and salvage operation. Under Captain Andrews' leadership, the Thresher was located, mapped and photographed to document all visual data over the course of Summers of 1963 and 1964. This experience was later called upon by the US Navy having Captain Andrews participate in the search operations for the USS SCORPION (SSN-589) and H-Bomb (January 1966). Captain Andrews retired from active military duty in 1964 and his military awards included the Silver Star, Navy-Marine Corps Medal, Bronze Star, National Defense Service Medal and SECNAV Commendation among many others. Upon leaving the military, Captain Andrews joined the Engineering Faculty at the Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington DC where his principal activities included teaching and performing research in sonar and underwater acoustics in the school's Ocean Engineering graduate program. In this role, he focused graduate research efforts to areas of high interest to the Office of Naval Research (ONR). In parallel to his efforts at Catholic University, Captain Andrews was a key principal in the foundation of General Physics Corporation, an organization with training expertise in naval sonar and commercial nuclear power engineering. Captain Andrews fully retired in 1988 and remained in the Annapolis, MD area. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, M. Maxine Johnson Andrews, and his sister, Helen Andrews Flynn of Newport, RI who remained a close friend throughout his life. He is also survived by his 12 children, 24 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Jean Claire Neenan Andrews. Of Captain Andrews' accomplishments, he was most proud of his children and their respective accomplishments. He was completely devoted to his family and did everything possible to ensure their problems were his. Family and friends may call on Thursday, March 6th from 2:00 to 4:00 and 6:00 to 8:00 PM at George P. Kalas Funeral Home, 2973 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater, MD. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10:30 am on Friday, March 7 at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 620 N. Bestgate Road, Annapolis, MD. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Mary's Tuition Angel, 109 Duke of Gloucester St., Annapolis MD 21401. An online guestbook is available at: www.kalasfuneralhomes.com