In honor of Memorial Day 2019, we are highlighting one of the founding members of Haddam who had a history of military service in this three part series compiled by Stew Gillmor. Part One of the series can be found HERE. Part Two of the series can be found HERE.
Part Three
Philip Wells Porter, Jr. (whom everyone called “Bud”), born June 19, 1919, finished Haddam Elementary School in June 1932 and then graduated from Middletown High School in 1936, where he was voted the “wittiest” in his class. Bud wrote in his diary “I guess I just look witty.” He also noted, ”They sure are raising the devil over in Europe. If there isn’t a war over this, I’ll eat my hat.” Following high school, Bud took a Post Graduate year at Worcester Academy. That May, 1937, he noted that the German dirigible “Graf von Hindenburg” flew over the Worcester campus, and then exploded and crashed just several days later.”
US Navy LCI landing craft
The next month, June 1937, Bud graduated from Worcester, and proceeded to Brown University, where he graduated with a B.A. in English in June 1941. That following year, Bud worked nights at the Glenn Martin Aircraft factory in Baltimore, Maryland and also studied at Johns Hopkins University, learning math and technical subjects. He then entered the Naval Reserve Officers Training school housed at Columbia University and was commissioned Ensign in the US Navy on October 1, 1942. Bud wrote “College I breezed through with no effort. Here it is all worry and work.” Bud went on to serve in the Mediterranean from November 1942 until December 1943 in Command of Landing Craft-Infantry (LCI) ships. These vessels were introduced to the US and British fleets in late 1942 and were 160 feet in length, diesel powered, with four 20mm cannon and handled 180 to 210 troops. Over 900 were constructed and served in all theatres. They would come in close to shore and even beach themselves to deliver troops and provide protective fire support. They were used also for smoke screen protection, and numerous other tasks. The ships had a crew of 3 officers and 21 crew. Bud participated in numerous landings in the Mediterranean, including having his ship sunk by a bomb during the invasion of Salerno. Bud was later spot promoted to Lieutenant Commander while commanding LCI(L) group 66 in the Southwest Pacific. Bud modestly told me some years ago that he was put in command of these landing craft because he had sailed some at YMCA camps as a counselor and done a little sailing in college! Whatever, Bud was in April 1944 the youngest Lieutenant Commander in the entire US Navy.
His service continued with the Bronze Star with Combat V awarded for successful operations in the Philippines. He rose to command a Flotilla of LCIs in the Pacific, and later to serve as Flag Secretary to four Admirals. Bud taught Naval Science at his alma mater Brown University from 1952-54, and then was Executive Officer on the destroyer USS Mullany. Following a year at the US Naval War College, Bud captained the 16,000-ton USS Cadmus in the Atlantic Fleet. From 1959-61 Commander Bud Porter was Captain of the then largest icebreaker in the world, the USS Glacier. As Captain of the Glacier, on April 1st 1960, Bud almost lost his life in a helicopter crash during a humanitarian mission to aid 10,000 flood victims in coastal Brazil. Bud has “Porter’s Pinnacles” a series of hazardous reefs discovered by the Glacier and named for him in Antarctica. Following this, he served in Vietnam as Deputy Chief of the US Naval Advisory Group, in charge of Naval Operations off Vietnam, until succeeded by Captain (later Admiral) Elmo Zumwalt after the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964. Bud was next transferred back to New York, then to Taiwan as Chief of the Navy Section of the Military Assistance Advisory Group. Captain Bud Porter retired from The Navy in July 1973 and joined the faculty of the College of Chinese Culture in Taiwan. He made dear and lasting friendships with those he worked with in Taiwan.
Bud remained in the Far East until 1987, where he again took up residence in Higganum at 8 Landing Road until his death in August 2011. He was an extremely accomplished and terribly modest patriot and native of Higganum. I knew Bud for over 30 years. The only time he ever talked about his Naval career was to tell a couple of light jokes, about shelling an iceberg to see what would happen or about his “initial seagoing profession” sailing little boats as a camp counselor. As with other Haddam families who have ancestors who served in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars and later, the Porter family, with its direct links to the Scovil family, has a long and distinguished career of military service.
I am grateful to several persons for information and photographs for this article. Especially I am in debt to Charles Rounds, Jr, and members of the larger Porter family, to the Choate Rosemary Hall School archives, to Elizabeth Malloy and the Haddam Historical Society, to the Haddam Veteran’s Museum, and to Bud’s life-long friend and neighbor Jack Calhoun.
Photo Credit: US Navy LCI Landing Craft US Navy photo. Bud as Captain from New Zealand movie when the Glacier was in Wellington harbor for repairs.
