MACK, William P(aden) 1915-2003

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born August 6, 1915, in Hillsboro, IL; died of cerebral vascular disease January 15, 2003, in Annapolis, MD. Military officer, educator, and author. Mack served in the U.S. Navy with distinction for some forty years, retiring as a vice-admiral in 1975. A 1937 graduate of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, he ended his career there as the superintendent responsible for preparing the institution to accept women and to train increased numbers of minority cadets. During the intervening years Mack spent much of his time at sea, primarily on destroyers. During World War II he served as a gunnery officer and later commander in the South Pacific and Manila; later assignments took him from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska to the East Indies. He served in the Korean war as well, and commanded the Seventh Fleet during the Vietnam conflict, earning dozens of awards and commendations, among them three Distinguished Service medals. As a civilian in retirement, Mack wrote several books, including at least a dozen novels based on his observations of military life and foreign lands. Among these were South to Java (written with his son, William Mack, Jr.), Pursuit of the Seawolf: A Novel of World War II, Straits of Messina, Lieutenant Christopher, and Commodore Kilburnie. Mack remained active in other civilian pursuits as well, serving as the president of Aberdeen Enterprises and the Navy Marine Corps Coast Guard Foundation, and as a board member of the Human Resources Research Organization.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

periodicals

Los Angeles Times, January 22, 2003, p. B11.

New York Times, January 21, 2003, p. C15.

Washington Post, January 21, 2003, obituary by Richard Pearson, p. B7.