Charles B. McVay, Jr.

Who was Charles B. McVay, Jr.?

Charles Butler McVay II was an admiral in the United States Navy after World War I.

In 1907-1909, After the cruise of the Great White Fleet, he commanded the tender, Yankton. He then held various assignments of increasing importance throughout and after World War I. Later, in the earlier 1930s, he served as Commander-in-Chief, Asiatic Fleet.

Rear Admiral Charles Butler McVay Jr. was born on September 9, 1868 at Edgeworth, Pennsylvania. He was an 1890 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. During the Spanish-American War, Ensign McVay served aboard the USS Amphitrite, a double-turret monitor. They patrolled the waters off Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Key West and participated in the shelling of San Juan in May 1898.

In 1908, after serving as a navigator aboard USS Hartford and USS Alabama and a tour at the US Naval Academy, Commander McVay was given command of the USS Yankton. In 1909, Lieutenant Commander McVay, was stationed at Norfolk, Virginia, as the USS Yankton had just returned from an around the world cruise with the Great White Fleet.