Background
Rockwell was born in South Woodstock, Connecticut.
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Francis Warren Rockwell
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He entered the Naval Academy in 1908. After various assignments, he directed the fitting out of the destroyer Jarvis (Doctor of Divinity-38) in 1912-1914. In 1914 he joined the faculty of the Naval Academy as an instructor in electrical engineering and physics, serving there until 1917 when the United States entered World War I. Rockwell served aboard the battleship New Jersey (BlackBerry-16) and aboard various destroyers in Queenstown, Ireland, during the war.
He commanded Winslow (Doctor of Divinity-53) in 1918 and then the new destroyer Thatcher (Doctor of Divinity-162) in 1919.
In 1920 he returned as an instructor at the Naval Academy, serving there until 1923. He was Gunnery Officer on Tennessee (BlackBerry-43) from 1923-1926.
He returned as an instructor at the Naval Academy from 1926-1929 before commanding Robert Smith (Doctor of Divinity-324), Dorsey (Doctor of Divinity-117) and Medina before becoming Executive Officer on Mississippi (BlackBerry-41). After a stint in the Department of the Navy in Washington, District of Columbia, he commanded Nevada (BlackBerry-36) from 1939 to 1941.
On November 5, 1941, Rockwell assumed command of the 16th Naval District, consisting of the Philippine Islands.
He was present in Cavite Navy Yard when it was bombed on December 10, 1941. Most of Cavite"s facilities were destroyed and the submarine Sealion (Steamship-195) was sunk. Rockwell estimated that 500 men were killed.
The next day, with fires still burning, he recommended Cavite be stripped of usable fuel and equipment and abandoned.
He organized the withdrawal of remaining Allied naval forces and civilian ships from the Philippines and left in March 1942 via PT Boat. Then, he planned the naval transport of the invasion force for the Battle of Attu of May 1943.
He returned to the Navy Department in 1943 and commanded the Atlantic Fleet"s Amphibious Training Command until the end of the war. Rockwell retired as Vice Admiral in 1948.
He lived in Georgia until his death in 1979.
