Dedication of memorial plaque at Purvis Bay, Solomon Islands, 30 April 1944.
THE ILLUSTRATED SHIPS’ HISTORIES OF
E. ANDREW WILDE, JR.
E. Andrew Wilde, Jr., Commander, USNR (Ret.), received his commission through the NROTC program at Dartmouth College in 1950. Following graduation he saw action off Korea aboard the
USS Douglas H. Fox (DD 779) when this destroyer dueled with numerous North Korean shore batteries in the Sea of Japan. He donated many of the photographs he took during this period to the Naval Historical Foundation, two of which appeared in the coffee table book
The Navy, published by the foundation in 2000. After completing three years of active duty, he began a civilian career in in public accounting and later in management positions at Raytheon Company in Waltham, Massachusetts.
In 1993, Commmander Wilde developed a strong interest in naval history and began editing a series of illustrated ships’ histories primarily of destroyers sunk in World War II. In them, he included primary source documents such as action reports, ships’ war diaries, medal citations and muster rolls as well as many firsthand accounts. He did not offer these booklets for sale but sent complimentary copies to survivors and families of deceased crewmembers and to selected libraries. Under his supervison, they now appear on this web site.
Commander Wilde is a life member of the Naval Historical Foundation and the US Naval Institute.
