Robert Samuel Salzer

Robert Samuel Salzer (29 July 1919 – 30 January 1988) was a Vice Admiral of the United States Navy, who served in World War II, and commanded the United States Naval Forces in Vietnam.

Biography Education Salzer was born in New York City, New York. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Yale University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics in 1940. While at Yale, he was a member of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps, and was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve on 23 December 1940.

World War II, 1941-1945 After receiving his commission, Salzer was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations until 1942, when he joined the . In March 1943 he assumed command of the coastal minesweeper , and in July 1943 that of the auxiliary motor minesweeper YMS-347. He then commanded the tank landing ship LST-624 from June 1944 to December 1945,

1946-1964 Salzer returned to the United States and was on inactive status from April to September 1946, before returning to active duty as the executive officer of the replenishment oiler . In February 1948 he joined the staff of the Commander of the Fleet Training Group, Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, as Navigation Officer. After instruction at the Naval Intelligence School from July 1948 until December 1949, he served on the staff of that school. He returned to sea in March 1951 as executive officer of the destroyer , and in March 1952 became Assistant Intelligence Officer on the staff of Commander Naval Forces, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. In August 1952 he was assigned as an Intelligence Staff Officer on the staff of the Commander in Chief, U.S. European Command, and in April 1954 assumed command of the destroyer . He was assigned duty as the Commander of "Operation Sealords" in October 1968. to McLean, Virginia. He then served as president of the Navy Relief Society, a not for profit organization, that provides relief to members of the Navy and Marine Corps.

Salzer died of heart failure at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, on January 30, 1988.