Name James McNulty Role Rear admiral | Died 2006 | |
Books Words of Power: Religious Invocations and Addresses | ||
James F. McNulty (September 30, 1929 – November 14, 2006) was a United States Maritime Service (USMS) rear admiral (USMS), a U.S Navy captain, and a U.S. Naval Officers and Merchant Marine Officers educator. He began his naval career in 1953 after graduating from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. He served as a Navy Surface Warfare Officer for twenty-two years, and was a veteran of the Korean War and the Vietnam War. McNulty retired from the U.S. Navy in 1977, after serving as Chief of Staff of the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. As a firm believer in "giving back", he went on to serve in the United States Maritime Service, as Dean of Maine Maritime Academy, Head of the Marine Transportation Department at Texas A&M University Maritime Academy, and ultimately as Superintendent of the Great Lakes Maritime Academy.
Contents
- Early life education and military career
- Later life and death
- Military awards
- Memorial scholarship
- Papers
- Citations to the papers
- References
Early life, education and military career
McNulty was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He received a B.S. in Marine Engineering from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. While under the sponsorship of the U.S. Navy, he received a B.A. in History from Tufts University, a Masters in International Affairs from George Washington University and a Masters in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island. During his U.S. Navy career, McNulty served principally on destroyers. During the Vietnam War, he was executive officer of the Guided Missile Destroyer USS Robison (DDG-12) and later was the commanding officer of the Guided Missile Destroyer USS Farragut (DDG-37) from May 10, 1972 to August 10, 1973. The USS Farragut (DDG-37) was the lead ship of her Farragut class of 10 guided missile destroyers in the U.S. Fleet. As an accomplished naval combat commander, McNulty was thereafter appointed Chief of Staff of the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.
McNulty’s historical papers (1955-1977), being his tactically implemented papers delivered on U.S. naval presence and U.S. and Soviet sea power, other of his published writings and his personal papers, including notebooks and photographs, are archived in 10 boxes in the War College’s Naval Historical Collection. The U.S. Naval War College's Naval Historical Collection's contents and collections of personal manuscripts are those "personal papers of naval officer or civilians who have been associated with the College during their careers and have made major contributions to the evolution of naval warfare."
After his retirement from the U.S. Navy in 1977, McNulty began a new career as an educator of Merchant marine officers. He retired for good in 1993, as Superintendent of the Great Lakes Maritime Academy.[2] While serving as an educator of commercial rather than military seaman, McNulty continued to train, lead and develop competent mariners for both active Naval duty and commercial maritime service. His legacy continued long after his passing. His daughter and son in law both graduated from Texas Maritime Academy and are both maritime industry executives. In addition, two of his grandsons pursued Congressional appointments to attend the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY. One grandson graduated in 2014 and is presently an officer aboard a state of the art LNG carrier and the other graduated in 2015 and is 3rd officer aboard a US Flag product tanker. McNulty continued to publish articles about naval training well after retiring, for example in Proceedings magazine and others.
Later life and death
McNulty retired with his wife Mary Grace McNulty née Young in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they enjoyed yachting and were involved with the Navy League of the United States. McNulty died at home in Punta Gorda on November 14, 2006. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. He was followed in death by his wife of 53 years on October 8, 2011. James F. McNulty and his wife Mary were Roman Catholics.
Military awards
McNulty's military decorations and awards include:
Legion of Merit
Meritorious Service Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with two 5⁄16" Gold Stars and Combat "V"
Combat Action Ribbon
Meritorious Unit Commendation
National Defense Service Medal with one 3⁄16" bronze star
Korean Service Medal with one 3⁄16" bronze star
Vietnam Service Medal with one 3⁄16" bronze star
Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960- device
Memorial scholarship
The Great Lakes Maritime Academy RADM J.F. McNulty Scholarship Fund is named for Rear Admiral McNulty.
Papers
Rear Admiral McNulty began contributing papers to scholarly journals in 1962. Some of Rear Admiral McNulty’s more influential papers on naval tactics, particularly, blockade tactics include:
The papers remain relevant.
Citations to the papers
Among the publications on naval tactics citing to one or more of these of Rear Admiral McNulty's papers over the ensuing 35–50 years are …