Richard George Voge

Richard George Voge, Jr., (4 May 1904 – 17 November 1948), was an officer in the Submarine Service of the United States Navy. Most civilians "did not realize that he was one of the foremost world authorities on underseas warfare, that he had figured in some of the most thrilling episodes of the vast conflict in the Pacific, or that he had been decorated, with citations drawn in the most laudatory terms, by Admiral Chester Nimitz and the President of the United States."

Early life Voge was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Harriet Fish and Richard George Voge, Sr. He completed the course at Harrison Technical High School in Chicago in 1921, and entered the Naval Academy later that year, graduating on June 4, 1925 with high honors and receiving his ensign's commission. His first assignment was three years in the armored cruiser Pittsburgh (CA-4). Until the Battles of Coral Sea and of Midway in May and June, respectively, only Pacific Fleet submarines like Sailfish were able to fight to impede the Japanese onslaught; and their war patrols provided the one bright spot for the Allied cause in the Pacific.

Military honors Voge was awarded a Bronze Star in 1942 for a disabling attack on a heavily-escorted Japanese aircraft carrier. That same year he earned the Navy Cross for, as master of the U.S.S. Sailfish, sinking a large Japanese cruiser, and scoring two torpedo hits on another Japanese aircraft carrier, knocking it out of commission.

In April 1946, U. S. President Harry S. Truman awarded Voge the Distinguished Service Cross, saying "A forceful and inspiring leader, tireless and zealous in his devotion to duty, Captain Voge rendered distinguished and invaluable service toward the ultimate blockade of the enemy's empire and, in consequence, the neutralization of his ability to maintain a war machine." Voge's award also stated: "Captain Voge placed into operation the highly effective method by which our submarines have sought out and destroyed the enemy. In his intelligent analysis of Japanese ship movements and strategy, he was able to coordinate the operations of all submarines in the Pacific fleet with other forces, with the result that millions of tons of enemy merchant and combat shipping were sunk or damaged. He also contributed immeasurably to the inauguration and success of air-sea rescue operations in support of air strikes against the Japanese home islands."

Retirement and death On 1 November 1946, Captain Voge voluntarily retired from the Navy at the age of 42 and was promoted to the rank of rear admiral. He lived in Rye, New York, and then Port Chester, with his wife Alice Atkinson Voge and their daughter, Gretchen. He became president of the Port Chester Fuel Company (which he renamed Sound Shore Fuel Corporation) and the Monolith Company, a concrete construction firm.

A little more than two years after he left the Navy, Voge suffered a coronary thrombosis in his home and died at the United Hospital at Port Chester, New York.