Harllee, John
WESTERN HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
John HarLlee, ’30
Admiral; chairman of federal maritime commission
John Harllee, 91, a retired Navy rear admiral and former chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, died Feb. 5 of pneumonia at the Maplewood Park Place assisted living and nursing home in Bethesda.
As a lieutenant, he was stationed at Pearl Harbor when Japan attacked on Dec. 7, 1941. During World War II, he commanded a torpedo boat squadron in the Southwest Pacific that was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. He received the Silver Star and Legion of Merit. From 1947 to 1948, he served in the Navy’s congressional liaison unit on special assignment to John F. Kennedy when the future president was a member of Congress. During the Korean War, he served as executive officer aboard the cruiser Manchester, for which he was decorated with the Navy Commendation Medal. He retired from the Navy in 1959 with the rank of rear admiral.
Adm. Harllee served as chairman of Citizens for Kennedy and Johnson in northern California during the 1960 presidential campaign. Kennedy appointed him to the newly formed Federal Maritime Commission in 1961. He was promoted to chairman of the commission in 1963 and was reappointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. He retired in 1969. He then worked as a maritime consultant until 1974. He traveled extensively to more than 30 countries around the world, including Morocco, Turkey, Russia and China.
He wrote articles for professional magazines as well as three books, “The Marine from Manatee: A Tradition of Rifle Marksmanship” (1984), “Terror and Triumph: The Saga of Frank Carden” (1990) and “From Ships Destroyed to Ships Enjoyed: One Man’s Experiences at Sea From Pearl Harbor to the Captain’s Table” (1997).
He was born in Washington, the son of Marine Corps Brig. Gen. William C. Harllee and Ella Fulmore Harllee. He graduated from Western High School, the U. S. Naval Academy and the Naval War College. He was a former Washington resident and a member of the Chevy Chase Club, PT Boats Inc., Peter Tare, the Army-Navy Club of Washington, the New York Yacht Club and the National Press Club.
His first wife, Jo Beth Carden Harllee, whom he married in 1937, died in 1985. His second wife, Helen Tewksbury King Harllee, whom he married in 1986, died in 2001.
Citation: John Harllee Dies, Washington Post, February 14, 2005, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2005/02/15/john-harllee-dies/e4813614-ecc5-4f40-a2ac-cce64e82e8a2/
