Awarded for actions during the World War II
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Legion of Merit (Posthumously) to Commander (CEC) Harry A. Bolles (NSN: 0-57936), United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States. On 18 March 1942, Commander Bolles became the Executive Officer of the Naval Construction Training Center, Camp Allen, Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia, which had just previously been designated as the training center for the newly organized U.S. Naval Construction Battalions. The function of the Naval Construction Training Center was to organize, condition, and train officers and men, most of whom were just entering the Navy, to form Construction Battalions for assignment to advance base construction projects. The work accomplished on this tremendous task is indicated by the fact that during the first year of existence, there were trained and sent overseas 48 Battalions, approximately 49,000 men, and that an additional 44 Battalions, approximately 49,000 men, were trained and ready for embarkation or in the various stages of training. In this tremendous task of organizing and training the first Construction Battalions, Commander Bolles was one of the major driving forces. His initiative, forward thinking, perseverance in the face of many difficulties, devotion to duty, and his ability to organize and lead men, entitles him to a good share of the credit for this great accomplishment. On 27 October 1942, Commander Bolles was relieved as Executive Officer at Camp Allen and designated as Training and Inspection Officer of the Construction Battalions. Commander Bolles was the first officer to fill this important position and was acting in that capacity, inspection Construction Battalion activities in Alaska, when killed in a plane crash on 18 July 1943. As Training and Inspection Officer of the Construction Battalions, reporting to the Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, Commander Bolles maintained, as far as possible, personal contact with Construction Battalion activities now actively engaged in advance base construction the world over, as well as the tremendous training program for new battalions now under way in the United States. The Chief of the Bureau has received many enthusiastic expressions of commendation from high-ranking officers, afloat and ashore, in regard to the Navy's Construction Battalions. In view of the outstanding accomplishments of these Construction Battalions, the Chief of the Bureau is of the opinion that the officer who is in a large way responsible for these accomplishments, which would not have been possible without the thorough and efficient training program which they have been given, should be appropriately recognized.
Action Date: March 18, 1942 - July 18, 1943
Service: Navy
Rank: Commander
Harry Albert Bolles was born July 3, 1899, in Milward, Minnesota in the second homestead used by his father. When Harry was about four, the family moved to Washington, traveling by train on the Northern Pacific Railroad. After his parents divorced, Harry and his younger brother, Tom, went to live with their mother, Edith Lewis Bolles, first in Blaine and then in Sumas, Washington. When Harry was about twelve, he and Tom went to live with their father in Cushman, Montana. The first year there, a tutor was arranged for Harry and Tom. The next year, they walked to school three miles away at Big Coulee (near Billings, Montana). After finishing 8th grade, his father sent Harry to the Billing Polytechnic Institute because Harry was "hard to handle".
The United States entered World War I just as Harry was graduating from Billings Polytechnic Institute. He enrolled as a seaman in the U.S. Navy. When the war ended in 1919, Harry went on to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. There he excelled in athletics. Harry was known mysteriously at the Academy as "Lucy" and also as "the gorilla". Harry was substitute "stroke" with the varsity crew which took the rowing championship at the Olympics in 1920 in Brussels and team captain on the varsity crew by his senior year. He was also a two-year letterman in football, playing in the Army-Navy games in 1920 and 1921 as well as inter-class wrestling and boxing champion. He graduated from the academy in 1923 and was awarded the Thompson Trophy for outstanding achievement in athletics and is listed in the Naval Academy's Hall of Fame for crew.
After a tour of sea-duty he returned to the Naval Academy for post-graduate work and served as assistant crew coach. He next transferred to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he received degrees in Civil Engineering and Master of Civil Engineers. During the next 14 years he served as a civil engineer officer all over the world. In 1941 he was assigned to the American Embassy in London, England, as Naval Observer on a mission of the utmost importance in connection with the construction of bases in Scotland and Ireland. In December 1941, Admiral Ben Moreell organized the U.S. Naval Construction Battalions "C.B.s" which became known as "Seabees". Commander Bolles was assigned, following Pearl Harbor, to the organizing, conditioning, and training of officers and men in the new Seabees, working directly under Admiral Moreell. On July 11, 1943 he was appointed to the rank of Captain, Civil Engineer Corps, USN.
Harry arrived at Adak, Alaska in July 1943 where he addressed a meeting of Seabee officers in the area. On the morning of July 18, 1943, he boarded a Coast Guard photographic plane on a mapping mission of the bases. The plane, a P.B.Y., crashed on Mount Moffett after takeoff, and Captain Bolles and the entire crew were killed instantly. Posthumously, he was presented with the Legion of Merit by the President of the United States for exceptional meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the government of the United States as a training and inspection officer of the Construction Battalion from October 27, 1942 until his death by a plane crash during a trip to Alaska. On September 4, 1943, the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, named the new dry dock at the Naval Operation Base, Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, after Captain Bolles; it was dedicated as Bolles Dry Dock on February 15, 1944. The Bolles Recreational Field, also named in his honor, is located at the Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme, Oxnard, California. This is the home port for administrative and logistic support for Seabees serving in many parts of the world. Richard L. Humphrey [FAG #47141124]. Some information from Edith Bolles Humphrey, sister of Harry Albert Bolles, before her death in 1977.
Contributor: Richard Humphrey (#47141124)
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Legion of Merit (Posthumously) to Commander (CEC) Harry A. Bolles (NSN: 0-57936), United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States. On 18 March 1942, Commander Bolles became the Executive Officer of the Naval Construction Training Center, Camp Allen, Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia, which had just previously been designated as the training center for the newly organized U.S. Naval Construction Battalions. The function of the Naval Construction Training Center was to organize, condition, and train officers and men, most of whom were just entering the Navy, to form Construction Battalions for assignment to advance base construction projects. The work accomplished on this tremendous task is indicated by the fact that during the first year of existence, there were trained and sent overseas 48 Battalions, approximately 49,000 men, and that an additional 44 Battalions, approximately 49,000 men, were trained and ready for embarkation or in the various stages of training. In this tremendous task of organizing and training the first Construction Battalions, Commander Bolles was one of the major driving forces. His initiative, forward thinking, perseverance in the face of many difficulties, devotion to duty, and his ability to organize and lead men, entitles him to a good share of the credit for this great accomplishment. On 27 October 1942, Commander Bolles was relieved as Executive Officer at Camp Allen and designated as Training and Inspection Officer of the Construction Battalions. Commander Bolles was the first officer to fill this important position and was acting in that capacity, inspection Construction Battalion activities in Alaska, when killed in a plane crash on 18 July 1943. As Training and Inspection Officer of the Construction Battalions, reporting to the Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, Commander Bolles maintained, as far as possible, personal contact with Construction Battalion activities now actively engaged in advance base construction the world over, as well as the tremendous training program for new battalions now under way in the United States. The Chief of the Bureau has received many enthusiastic expressions of commendation from high-ranking officers, afloat and ashore, in regard to the Navy's Construction Battalions. In view of the outstanding accomplishments of these Construction Battalions, the Chief of the Bureau is of the opinion that the officer who is in a large way responsible for these accomplishments, which would not have been possible without the thorough and efficient training program which they have been given, should be appropriately recognized.
Action Date: March 18, 1942 - July 18, 1943
Service: Navy
Rank: Commander
Harry Albert Bolles was born July 3, 1899, in Milward, Minnesota in the second homestead used by his father. When Harry was about four, the family moved to Washington, traveling by train on the Northern Pacific Railroad. After his parents divorced, Harry and his younger brother, Tom, went to live with their mother, Edith Lewis Bolles, first in Blaine and then in Sumas, Washington. When Harry was about twelve, he and Tom went to live with their father in Cushman, Montana. The first year there, a tutor was arranged for Harry and Tom. The next year, they walked to school three miles away at Big Coulee (near Billings, Montana). After finishing 8th grade, his father sent Harry to the Billing Polytechnic Institute because Harry was "hard to handle".
The United States entered World War I just as Harry was graduating from Billings Polytechnic Institute. He enrolled as a seaman in the U.S. Navy. When the war ended in 1919, Harry went on to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. There he excelled in athletics. Harry was known mysteriously at the Academy as "Lucy" and also as "the gorilla". Harry was substitute "stroke" with the varsity crew which took the rowing championship at the Olympics in 1920 in Brussels and team captain on the varsity crew by his senior year. He was also a two-year letterman in football, playing in the Army-Navy games in 1920 and 1921 as well as inter-class wrestling and boxing champion. He graduated from the academy in 1923 and was awarded the Thompson Trophy for outstanding achievement in athletics and is listed in the Naval Academy's Hall of Fame for crew.
After a tour of sea-duty he returned to the Naval Academy for post-graduate work and served as assistant crew coach. He next transferred to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he received degrees in Civil Engineering and Master of Civil Engineers. During the next 14 years he served as a civil engineer officer all over the world. In 1941 he was assigned to the American Embassy in London, England, as Naval Observer on a mission of the utmost importance in connection with the construction of bases in Scotland and Ireland. In December 1941, Admiral Ben Moreell organized the U.S. Naval Construction Battalions "C.B.s" which became known as "Seabees". Commander Bolles was assigned, following Pearl Harbor, to the organizing, conditioning, and training of officers and men in the new Seabees, working directly under Admiral Moreell. On July 11, 1943 he was appointed to the rank of Captain, Civil Engineer Corps, USN.
Harry arrived at Adak, Alaska in July 1943 where he addressed a meeting of Seabee officers in the area. On the morning of July 18, 1943, he boarded a Coast Guard photographic plane on a mapping mission of the bases. The plane, a P.B.Y., crashed on Mount Moffett after takeoff, and Captain Bolles and the entire crew were killed instantly. Posthumously, he was presented with the Legion of Merit by the President of the United States for exceptional meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the government of the United States as a training and inspection officer of the Construction Battalion from October 27, 1942 until his death by a plane crash during a trip to Alaska. On September 4, 1943, the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, named the new dry dock at the Naval Operation Base, Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, after Captain Bolles; it was dedicated as Bolles Dry Dock on February 15, 1944. The Bolles Recreational Field, also named in his honor, is located at the Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme, Oxnard, California. This is the home port for administrative and logistic support for Seabees serving in many parts of the world. Richard L. Humphrey [FAG #47141124]. Some information from Edith Bolles Humphrey, sister of Harry Albert Bolles, before her death in 1977.
Contributor: Richard Humphrey (#47141124)
Awarded for actions during the World War II
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Legion of Merit (Posthumously) to Commander (CEC) Harry A. Bolles (NSN: 0-57936), United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States. On 18 March 1942, Commander Bolles became the Executive Officer of the Naval Construction Training Center, Camp Allen, Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia, which had just previously been designated as the training center for the newly organized U.S. Naval Construction Battalions. The function of the Naval Construction Training Center was to organize, condition, and train officers and men, most of whom were just entering the Navy, to form Construction Battalions for assignment to advance base construction projects. The work accomplished on this tremendous task is indicated by the fact that during the first year of existence, there were trained and sent overseas 48 Battalions, approximately 49,000 men, and that an additional 44 Battalions, approximately 49,000 men, were trained and ready for embarkation or in the various stages of training. In this tremendous task of organizing and training the first Construction Battalions, Commander Bolles was one of the major driving forces. His initiative, forward thinking, perseverance in the face of many difficulties, devotion to duty, and his ability to organize and lead men, entitles him to a good share of the credit for this great accomplishment. On 27 October 1942, Commander Bolles was relieved as Executive Officer at Camp Allen and designated as Training and Inspection Officer of the Construction Battalions. Commander Bolles was the first officer to fill this important position and was acting in that capacity, inspection Construction Battalion activities in Alaska, when killed in a plane crash on 18 July 1943. As Training and Inspection Officer of the Construction Battalions, reporting to the Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, Commander Bolles maintained, as far as possible, personal contact with Construction Battalion activities now actively engaged in advance base construction the world over, as well as the tremendous training program for new battalions now under way in the United States. The Chief of the Bureau has received many enthusiastic expressions of commendation from high-ranking officers, afloat and ashore, in regard to the Navy's Construction Battalions. In view of the outstanding accomplishments of these Construction Battalions, the Chief of the Bureau is of the opinion that the officer who is in a large way responsible for these accomplishments, which would not have been possible without the thorough and efficient training program which they have been given, should be appropriately recognized.
Action Date: March 18, 1942 - July 18, 1943
Service: Navy
Rank: Commander
Harry Albert Bolles was born July 3, 1899, in Milward, Minnesota in the second homestead used by his father. When Harry was about four, the family moved to Washington, traveling by train on the Northern Pacific Railroad. After his parents divorced, Harry and his younger brother, Tom, went to live with their mother, Edith Lewis Bolles, first in Blaine and then in Sumas, Washington. When Harry was about twelve, he and Tom went to live with their father in Cushman, Montana. The first year there, a tutor was arranged for Harry and Tom. The next year, they walked to school three miles away at Big Coulee (near Billings, Montana). After finishing 8th grade, his father sent Harry to the Billing Polytechnic Institute because Harry was "hard to handle".
The United States entered World War I just as Harry was graduating from Billings Polytechnic Institute. He enrolled as a seaman in the U.S. Navy. When the war ended in 1919, Harry went on to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. There he excelled in athletics. Harry was known mysteriously at the Academy as "Lucy" and also as "the gorilla". Harry was substitute "stroke" with the varsity crew which took the rowing championship at the Olympics in 1920 in Brussels and team captain on the varsity crew by his senior year. He was also a two-year letterman in football, playing in the Army-Navy games in 1920 and 1921 as well as inter-class wrestling and boxing champion. He graduated from the academy in 1923 and was awarded the Thompson Trophy for outstanding achievement in athletics and is listed in the Naval Academy's Hall of Fame for crew.
After a tour of sea-duty he returned to the Naval Academy for post-graduate work and served as assistant crew coach. He next transferred to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he received degrees in Civil Engineering and Master of Civil Engineers. During the next 14 years he served as a civil engineer officer all over the world. In 1941 he was assigned to the American Embassy in London, England, as Naval Observer on a mission of the utmost importance in connection with the construction of bases in Scotland and Ireland. In December 1941, Admiral Ben Moreell organized the U.S. Naval Construction Battalions "C.B.s" which became known as "Seabees". Commander Bolles was assigned, following Pearl Harbor, to the organizing, conditioning, and training of officers and men in the new Seabees, working directly under Admiral Moreell. On July 11, 1943 he was appointed to the rank of Captain, Civil Engineer Corps, USN.
Harry arrived at Adak, Alaska in July 1943 where he addressed a meeting of Seabee officers in the area. On the morning of July 18, 1943, he boarded a Coast Guard photographic plane on a mapping mission of the bases. The plane, a P.B.Y., crashed on Mount Moffett after takeoff, and Captain Bolles and the entire crew were killed instantly. Posthumously, he was presented with the Legion of Merit by the President of the United States for exceptional meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the government of the United States as a training and inspection officer of the Construction Battalion from October 27, 1942 until his death by a plane crash during a trip to Alaska. On September 4, 1943, the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, named the new dry dock at the Naval Operation Base, Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, after Captain Bolles; it was dedicated as Bolles Dry Dock on February 15, 1944. The Bolles Recreational Field, also named in his honor, is located at the Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme, Oxnard, California. This is the home port for administrative and logistic support for Seabees serving in many parts of the world. Richard L. Humphrey [FAG #47141124]. Some information from Edith Bolles Humphrey, sister of Harry Albert Bolles, before her death in 1977.
Contributor: Richard Humphrey (#47141124)
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Legion of Merit (Posthumously) to Commander (CEC) Harry A. Bolles (NSN: 0-57936), United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States. On 18 March 1942, Commander Bolles became the Executive Officer of the Naval Construction Training Center, Camp Allen, Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, Virginia, which had just previously been designated as the training center for the newly organized U.S. Naval Construction Battalions. The function of the Naval Construction Training Center was to organize, condition, and train officers and men, most of whom were just entering the Navy, to form Construction Battalions for assignment to advance base construction projects. The work accomplished on this tremendous task is indicated by the fact that during the first year of existence, there were trained and sent overseas 48 Battalions, approximately 49,000 men, and that an additional 44 Battalions, approximately 49,000 men, were trained and ready for embarkation or in the various stages of training. In this tremendous task of organizing and training the first Construction Battalions, Commander Bolles was one of the major driving forces. His initiative, forward thinking, perseverance in the face of many difficulties, devotion to duty, and his ability to organize and lead men, entitles him to a good share of the credit for this great accomplishment. On 27 October 1942, Commander Bolles was relieved as Executive Officer at Camp Allen and designated as Training and Inspection Officer of the Construction Battalions. Commander Bolles was the first officer to fill this important position and was acting in that capacity, inspection Construction Battalion activities in Alaska, when killed in a plane crash on 18 July 1943. As Training and Inspection Officer of the Construction Battalions, reporting to the Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, Commander Bolles maintained, as far as possible, personal contact with Construction Battalion activities now actively engaged in advance base construction the world over, as well as the tremendous training program for new battalions now under way in the United States. The Chief of the Bureau has received many enthusiastic expressions of commendation from high-ranking officers, afloat and ashore, in regard to the Navy's Construction Battalions. In view of the outstanding accomplishments of these Construction Battalions, the Chief of the Bureau is of the opinion that the officer who is in a large way responsible for these accomplishments, which would not have been possible without the thorough and efficient training program which they have been given, should be appropriately recognized.
Action Date: March 18, 1942 - July 18, 1943
Service: Navy
Rank: Commander
Harry Albert Bolles was born July 3, 1899, in Milward, Minnesota in the second homestead used by his father. When Harry was about four, the family moved to Washington, traveling by train on the Northern Pacific Railroad. After his parents divorced, Harry and his younger brother, Tom, went to live with their mother, Edith Lewis Bolles, first in Blaine and then in Sumas, Washington. When Harry was about twelve, he and Tom went to live with their father in Cushman, Montana. The first year there, a tutor was arranged for Harry and Tom. The next year, they walked to school three miles away at Big Coulee (near Billings, Montana). After finishing 8th grade, his father sent Harry to the Billing Polytechnic Institute because Harry was "hard to handle".
The United States entered World War I just as Harry was graduating from Billings Polytechnic Institute. He enrolled as a seaman in the U.S. Navy. When the war ended in 1919, Harry went on to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. There he excelled in athletics. Harry was known mysteriously at the Academy as "Lucy" and also as "the gorilla". Harry was substitute "stroke" with the varsity crew which took the rowing championship at the Olympics in 1920 in Brussels and team captain on the varsity crew by his senior year. He was also a two-year letterman in football, playing in the Army-Navy games in 1920 and 1921 as well as inter-class wrestling and boxing champion. He graduated from the academy in 1923 and was awarded the Thompson Trophy for outstanding achievement in athletics and is listed in the Naval Academy's Hall of Fame for crew.
After a tour of sea-duty he returned to the Naval Academy for post-graduate work and served as assistant crew coach. He next transferred to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he received degrees in Civil Engineering and Master of Civil Engineers. During the next 14 years he served as a civil engineer officer all over the world. In 1941 he was assigned to the American Embassy in London, England, as Naval Observer on a mission of the utmost importance in connection with the construction of bases in Scotland and Ireland. In December 1941, Admiral Ben Moreell organized the U.S. Naval Construction Battalions "C.B.s" which became known as "Seabees". Commander Bolles was assigned, following Pearl Harbor, to the organizing, conditioning, and training of officers and men in the new Seabees, working directly under Admiral Moreell. On July 11, 1943 he was appointed to the rank of Captain, Civil Engineer Corps, USN.
Harry arrived at Adak, Alaska in July 1943 where he addressed a meeting of Seabee officers in the area. On the morning of July 18, 1943, he boarded a Coast Guard photographic plane on a mapping mission of the bases. The plane, a P.B.Y., crashed on Mount Moffett after takeoff, and Captain Bolles and the entire crew were killed instantly. Posthumously, he was presented with the Legion of Merit by the President of the United States for exceptional meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the government of the United States as a training and inspection officer of the Construction Battalion from October 27, 1942 until his death by a plane crash during a trip to Alaska. On September 4, 1943, the Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, named the new dry dock at the Naval Operation Base, Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, after Captain Bolles; it was dedicated as Bolles Dry Dock on February 15, 1944. The Bolles Recreational Field, also named in his honor, is located at the Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme, Oxnard, California. This is the home port for administrative and logistic support for Seabees serving in many parts of the world. Richard L. Humphrey [FAG #47141124]. Some information from Edith Bolles Humphrey, sister of Harry Albert Bolles, before her death in 1977.
Contributor: Richard Humphrey (#47141124)
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