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- Leonard Flourney Bassett
Captain Leonard Flourney Bassett was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. After graduating from high school, he attended Arkansas State College prior to entering the Naval Academy. During World War II he served in the USS Concord and as Assistant Gunnery Officer aboard USS St. Louis, and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Navy Unit Commendation and the Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal with seven combat stars.
Following a tour with the Staff, Eighth Fleet, he attended Post-Graduate School, then the Graduate School of MIT, earning a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering. His next three years he spent at sea as Executive Officer of the USS Norriis and as Gunnery Officer of USS Rochester and USS Iowa. During this period he received a second and third Bronze Star Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Korean Service Medal with three combat stars.
Coming ashore in 1952 he was assigned to the U.S. Naval Aviation Ordnance Test Station at Chincoteague, Virginia, and participated in the research development of naval weapons and missiles. The next three years were spent at sea. He was Executive Officer of the USS Bexar and Commanding Officer of the USS Rowan. In July of 1958 he was assigned to duty as Naval Inspector of Ordnance at Mishawaka, Indiana, where the Bendix Corporation produced the TALOS missile. In November 1961 he again went to sea as Commanding Officer of USS Union. From November 1962 until July of 1965 Captain Bassett served as Senior Member of the Board of Inspection and Survey, Pacific Coast Section. The next three years were spent as Commanding Officer of the Naval Ammunition Depot, Oahu. His last tour was Assistant Chief of Staff for Administration COM 11.
After retiring from the Navy in 1970 he worked for six years for the United Way in San Diego County where he spent most of his time with the Combined Federal Campaign. Now he spends most of his time golfing, playing with the computer he built and enjoying the weather in Coronado, California with his wife Cathie.
Coronado Eagle & Journal
Captain Leonard F. Bassett
January 13, 1917 - February 8, 2006
Whether he was designing an advanced missile guidance system or putting together a foursome at the Coronado Golf Course, Captain Leonard F. Bassett had a reputation as a man who knew how to get things done, and who could always be counted on for a good laugh.
Captain Bassett passed away February 8 after a long illness, only a few weeks after his 89th birthday.
Leonard Bassett was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He attended Arkansas State College before receiving a presidential appointment to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where he graduated in 1940. In 1943, he married Catherine Garthwaite of Oakland, a marriage that lasted 62 years.
In his thirty year naval career, Captain Bassett served on a number of ships in the Pacific Fleet. He saw action during World War II aboard the USS Concord and the USS St. Louis, where he was awarded the Bronze Star, the Navy Unit Commendation and the Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal with seven combat stars for his service as an assistant gunnery officer. He eventually served on the staff of legendary Admiral Arleight "Knots" Burke. During the Korean conflict, Captain Bassett served as gunnery officer aboard the USS Rochester and the USS Iowa, for which he was awarded two additional Bronze Stars, the Koren Presidential Unit Citation and the Korean Service Medal with three combat stars.
Following World War II, Captain Bassett attended both the Naval Postgraduate School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a master's of science degree in electrical engineering in 1949.
During the 1950s Captain Bassett developed a reputation as one of the Navy's top weapons experts. He served with the Navy's Bureau of Weapons and Inspector of Ordnance service, assisting in the development of guidance technology for the TALOS missile system. He attained the rank of captain in 1959, and served as commanding officer of both the USS Rowan and USS Union. In 1965, Captain Bassett was appointed commander of the Naval Ammunition Depot at Oahu, Hawaii. His last tour of duty was assistant chief of staff for administration COM 11.
After his retirement from the Navy in 1970, Captain Bassett worked for the United Way, where he headed up the Combind Federal Campaign. He left that job in 1977, and devoted his time to playing golf, building a computer, and spending time with his wife, Cathie in Coronado, their home for 45 years. He was a member of the Coronado Men's Golf Club for more than 35 years, and served on its board of governors in 1971. He played to a 12 handicap, and scored two holes-in-one at the Coronado Golf Course, in 1972 and 1974.
Throughout his life, Captain Bassett was known and loved for his wonderful and mischievous sense of humor. While serving as commander of the Ammunitions Depot in Hawaii, he once, according to legend, showed up dressed as a ballerina, complete with leotard and tutu, at a base Halloween party. At sea, at home, or on the golf course, Captain Bassett was always making the people around him laugh. The men who served under his command remembered his sense of humor, and also knew him as an inspirational by-the-book leader with an unshakable sense of fair play.
Captain Bassett was preceded in death by his wife, Cathie, and by his brother, Dr. John W. Bassett of Portland, Oregon. He is survived by his two daughters and sons-in-law, Ann and Bob Hite of Basalt, Colorado; and Cee Cee and Emile Barrios of San Diego.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to San Diego Hospice, The Parkinson's Disease Foundation, or the National Kidney Foundation.
1920 Federal Census of Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Arkansas (14 Jan 1920)
L.E. Bassett - 37 - M - MD-MD-MD - Head - Teacher School
Anna - 30 - F - TX-VA-TX - Wife
Leonard F. - 2-11/12 - M - AR-MD-TX - Son
(Living at 1718 Linden Street)
1930 Federal Census of Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Arkansas (5 Apr 1930)
Leonard E. Bassett - 45 - M - MD-MD-MD - Head - Superintendent Oil Corp.
Anna - 39 - F - TX-VA-TX - Wife - Librarian Public School
L. Flournoy - 13 - M - AR-MD-TX - Son
John W. - 9 - M - AR-MD-TX - Son
(Living at 1718 Linden Street)
(Married at 30 & 24)
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Bassett Family Association Database
1917 - 2006 (89 years)