As a naval aviator, Capt. Harvey Gray Jr. spent much of his career hunting down submarines and then spent his retirement years preserving one of America’s best-known submarines, Hawaii’s USS Bowfin.
Gray, 84, died May 16 in Kailua.
He was born on March 19, 1929, in Memphis, Tenn., to the Rev. and Mrs. Harvey Gray. He graduated from high school at 16 and attended Baylor University for two years while awaiting an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy. He ran a dance band during this time and played first flute in the Dallas Symphony, its ranks thinned by World War II.
Gray graduated from Annapolis in 1952. He won his golden wings as a naval aviator in 1953, and served with various squadrons. His last tour was as commanding officer of Patrol Squadron 28, the "Hawaiian Warriors."
He also captained a flying boat that set a speed record from Naval Air Station Alameda in San Francisco Bay to Ford Island, and was the test pilot for the P-3 Orion submarine hunter.
While stationed at Naval Air Station Key West in 1962, Gray led the U.S. Navy air squadron that monitored Soviet ships carrying nuclear weapons toward Cuba. For this service he received a medal from President John F. Kennedy.
Gray helped design and install the first Navy computer system at the Pentagon after earning a master’s degree in operations analysis. As head of special-projects analysis for the 3rd Fleet in the 1970s, he helped shape the international maritime warfare exercise known as Rim of the Pacific or RIMPAC, which is held biennially in Hawaii.
"Harvey’s contributions to improving the readiness of operational fleet units was significant and spanned the full spectrum of naval warfare, including anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, air warfare, cover and deception and optimal weapons employment," said retired Vice Adm. Robert Kihune.
Gray also served as the adjutant to the chief of naval operations in Washington, D.C., for three terms totaling nine years.
Gray’s decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal and various area and campaign ribbons. His widow, the former Merilyn Cannon, said Gray turned down offers of promotion to admiral to stay in Hawaii.
Retiring from the Navy in 1982, Gray became executive director of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Memorial Association, where he served until 1998.
Gray was responsible for the development of USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park and the creation of the Pacific Submarine Museum, and is largely credited with placing the museum on firm financial footing.
Gray also served as the treasurer and on the board of directors of Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor, as well as at the Hawaii Army Museum Society and the Pacific War Memorial.
"Harvey’s impact on Hawaii, the Navy, and in particular the USS Bowfin, were incredibly positive," said Rear Adm. Winford G. "Jerry" Ellis, former commander of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Force. "He could get things done and they were always done right. I can’t think of anyone that I met and worked with during my tour as COMSUBPAC that influenced me more than Harvey. I will truly miss his friendship."
Gray was also a 32nd Degree Mason, a member of Shriners Aloha Temple, on the Board of Governors of Shriners Hospitals for Children-Honolulu, a member of the Royal Order of Jesters, and was a past president and member of the Rotary Club of Pearl Harbor. He also ran 16 nonprofit golf tournaments every year until recently.
Gray’s first wife, Gloria Limehouse Gray, died in 1990; his son, Chris Gray, died in 2003.
Besides his widow, Merilyn, Gray is survived by his hanai daughter, Yukiko Takaishi of Tokyo; brother, Dr. H. Rhea Gray of Bonita Springs, Fla.; nieces Bevan Rogel of Tampa, Fla., and Dara Gray of Austin, Texas.
Services will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl and will include the Masonic Service. A "Goodbye, Harvey" party will follow at 4 p.m. at the Pacific Aviation Museum, Pearl Harbor.
For more information and instructions on how to get across the Ford Island bridge to the museum, call Loretta at 441-1008 or reach her by email at Loretta.Fung@pacificaviationmuseum.org.
In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to Shriners Aloha Temple Patient Travel Fund, 1611 Kewalo St., Suite 201, Honolulu, HI 96822; Pacific Aviation Museum Scholarship Fund; or USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park Building Fund.
