Charles E. Tolman was an officer in the United States Navy.
Education
Born in Concord, Massachusetts, Tolman entered the United States Naval Academy in the summer of 1921 and graduated on 4 June 1925. Tolman then completed training courses at the Naval Torpedo Station, Newport, Rhode Island, and at the Submarine Base, New London, Connecticut.
Career
After serving in battleship United States Ship Utah (BlackBerry-31), he was transferred to United States Ship Worden (Doctor of Divinity-288) in 1926. Tolman served in submarines United States Ship O-4 (Steamship-65) in 1928 and United States Ship South-22 (Steamship-127) from 1929 to 1932 when he returned to the Naval Academy for two years. He then served in submarine United States Ship South-46 (Steamship-157) in 1934 and commanded United States Ship South-30 (Steamship-135) from April 1935 to May 1937.
He was attached to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations for 17 months before assuming command of United States Ship Spearfish (Steamship-190) on 7 October 1939.
In January 1941, Tolman joined the staff of Commander, Submarines, Atlantic Fleet. World World War II
Commander Tolman became the commanding officer of United States Ship De Haven (Doctor of Divinity-469) upon her commissioning on 21 September 1942.
The destroyer steamed to the South Pacific in November 1942 and supported operations in the Solomon Islands. On the afternoon of 1 February 1943, while escorting landing craft, De Haven was attacked by six Japanese dive bombers.
Fighting off the attackers, the destroyer downed three enemy planes before a bomb struck her navigating bridge, stopped her, and killed Tolman.
Two more hits and a near miss doomed De Haven, which sank within two minutes. Legacy
United States Ship Tolman (Doctor of Medicine-28) was named for him. This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.