Vice Admiral F. E. M. Whiting, who retired in 1947 as commandant of the Third Naval District, which is headquartered in New York, died yesterday in Rockledge, Fla., where he had moved from Manhattan a year ago. He was 87 years old.
A graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1912, Francis E. M. Whiting served in both World Wars. In World War I, he served in the Mediterranean area and after the war he was executive officer of two destroyers.
When the United States entered World War II, Admiral Whiting, then a captain, was given command of the new battleship Massachusetts. He took her into the battle of Casablanca in 1942.
For his performance there, he was promoted in the same year to rear admiral and given command of the Southeast Pacific naval forces, and then became the first commandant of the 17th Naval District, which included Alaska and the Aleutian‐Islands.
In 1944, Admiral Whiting was in command of a Navy cruiser division in Iwo Jima and Okinawa and was awarded the Bronze Star medal for his leadership at the battle of Leyte Gulf.
He later became the Navy commander at Saipan, and in August 1945 he accepted the surrender of the Japanese garrison on Marcus Island.
When the war ended, he was given command of the Third Naval District and when he retired in 1947 was promoted to vice admiral.
The year he retired he became president of the Licensed Beverage Industries in New York, a public relations organization for the liquor industry. He retired from business about seven years later. His home in the meantime had been in Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y.
Admiral Whiting, a native New Yorker, was a lifelong member of the New York Yacht Club, and was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, an organization of descendants of Revolutionary War officers.
A graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1912, Francis E. M. Whiting served in both World Wars. In World War I, he served in the Mediterranean area and after the war he was executive officer of two destroyers.
When the United States entered World War II, Admiral Whiting, then a captain, was given command of the new battleship Massachusetts. He took her into the battle of Casablanca in 1942.
For his performance there, he was promoted in the same year to rear admiral and given command of the Southeast Pacific naval forces, and then became the first commandant of the 17th Naval District, which included Alaska and the Aleutian‐Islands.
In 1944, Admiral Whiting was in command of a Navy cruiser division in Iwo Jima and Okinawa and was awarded the Bronze Star medal for his leadership at the battle of Leyte Gulf.
He later became the Navy commander at Saipan, and in August 1945 he accepted the surrender of the Japanese garrison on Marcus Island.
When the war ended, he was given command of the Third Naval District and when he retired in 1947 was promoted to vice admiral.
The year he retired he became president of the Licensed Beverage Industries in New York, a public relations organization for the liquor industry. He retired from business about seven years later. His home in the meantime had been in Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y.
Admiral Whiting, a native New Yorker, was a lifelong member of the New York Yacht Club, and was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, an organization of descendants of Revolutionary War officers.
Vice Admiral F. E. M. Whiting, who retired in 1947 as commandant of the Third Naval District, which is headquartered in New York, died yesterday in Rockledge, Fla., where he had moved from Manhattan a year ago. He was 87 years old.
A graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1912, Francis E. M. Whiting served in both World Wars. In World War I, he served in the Mediterranean area and after the war he was executive officer of two destroyers.
When the United States entered World War II, Admiral Whiting, then a captain, was given command of the new battleship Massachusetts. He took her into the battle of Casablanca in 1942.
For his performance there, he was promoted in the same year to rear admiral and given command of the Southeast Pacific naval forces, and then became the first commandant of the 17th Naval District, which included Alaska and the Aleutian‐Islands.
In 1944, Admiral Whiting was in command of a Navy cruiser division in Iwo Jima and Okinawa and was awarded the Bronze Star medal for his leadership at the battle of Leyte Gulf.
He later became the Navy commander at Saipan, and in August 1945 he accepted the surrender of the Japanese garrison on Marcus Island.
When the war ended, he was given command of the Third Naval District and when he retired in 1947 was promoted to vice admiral.
The year he retired he became president of the Licensed Beverage Industries in New York, a public relations organization for the liquor industry. He retired from business about seven years later. His home in the meantime had been in Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y.
Admiral Whiting, a native New Yorker, was a lifelong member of the New York Yacht Club, and was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, an organization of descendants of Revolutionary War officers.
A graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1912, Francis E. M. Whiting served in both World Wars. In World War I, he served in the Mediterranean area and after the war he was executive officer of two destroyers.
When the United States entered World War II, Admiral Whiting, then a captain, was given command of the new battleship Massachusetts. He took her into the battle of Casablanca in 1942.
For his performance there, he was promoted in the same year to rear admiral and given command of the Southeast Pacific naval forces, and then became the first commandant of the 17th Naval District, which included Alaska and the Aleutian‐Islands.
In 1944, Admiral Whiting was in command of a Navy cruiser division in Iwo Jima and Okinawa and was awarded the Bronze Star medal for his leadership at the battle of Leyte Gulf.
He later became the Navy commander at Saipan, and in August 1945 he accepted the surrender of the Japanese garrison on Marcus Island.
When the war ended, he was given command of the Third Naval District and when he retired in 1947 was promoted to vice admiral.
The year he retired he became president of the Licensed Beverage Industries in New York, a public relations organization for the liquor industry. He retired from business about seven years later. His home in the meantime had been in Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y.
Admiral Whiting, a native New Yorker, was a lifelong member of the New York Yacht Club, and was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati, an organization of descendants of Revolutionary War officers.
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