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Capt. Alexander Tyree (left), commanding officer of the USS Bowfin, greets Adm. Lockwood aboard the submarine in 1945.
Former submarine commander Alexander Tyree in Hawaii in 1996. |
WHEN LINDA GREEN Gaskins attended Mary Washington College in the mid-'70s, there wasn't much doubt about what she'd major in.
The Colonial Beach native was a whiz at math, a passion that grew as professors walked her through the discipline that helped make sense of the universe.
One professor was Alexander K. Tyree, a tall, stately man teaching her differential equations.
Gaskins said he was a great teacher, with a keen grasp of his subject and a caring attitude toward students.
When she got her yearbook after graduating in 1977, there was a hint of his military service. He'd never mentioned it, but there was a little notation under his yearbook picture--"United States Navy, retired."
Gaskins didn't dwell on Tyree in the years that followed, as she began a career that would have her working for or with the Navy as a mathematician, sometimes on ships doing calculations for weapons systems.
She worked at Dahlgren, in Washington and in other spots before shifting to work for the USDA and other agencies.
The Spotsylvania County woman recently retired from the government, and joined relatives for a Hawaiian cruise.
She was at Pearl Harbor, on a visit to the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park, when she heard a name from the past.
Donning a headset to begin a tour, Gaskins was shocked to hear the name of her former math professor, who was one of the Bowfin's skippers.
"Then suddenly, I heard his voice, talking about his days on the sub," said Gaskins, moved by the moment.
She quickly told her parents about the connection. To make sure it was the same Tyree, Gaskins found Nancy Richards, curator of the museum and park.
Yes, she learned, it was the same Tyree. It surprised Gaskins to learn that Richards and the museum didn't know about Tyree's career as college professor.
Gaskins had to know more.
She did some research and found out that the Bowfin was one of nine submarines, known as "The Hellcats," that regularly operated along the mined Tsushima Strait, eventually destroying much of Japan's remaining merchant fleet.
The commanding officer on patrols seven, eight, and nine of the Bowfin, Capt. Tyree was one of the youngest sub commanders in World War II. He earned two Navy Crosses and the Legion of Merit.
When she got back to Spotsylvania after the trip, Gaskins sent a note to her former professor, who Richards told her was living in Florida.
Sadly, the letter was too late. Tyree died in early May in Fort Myers, Fla., of lung cancer. A relative wrote to thank Gaskins for the effort and for the nice things she'd said about her professor.
That provided some closure, but not all Gaskins wanted.
Bothered by the fact that there hadn't been much information included in an obituary here or in Mary Washington publications, she mounted an effort to get something done.
The result: Gaskins is writing a tribute to her former professor for an upcoming edition of the school's alumni magazine.
"I just couldn't let this go," she said. "People at Mary Washington never really knew much about professor Tyree's distinguished Naval career, his accomplishments while in harm's way."
This past Thursday, Gaskins got a chance to say goodbye to her professor. She was invited to Tyree's military funeral.
After beginning at the Fort Myer Chapel, Gaskins said the funeral procession "followed a horse-drawn caisson and military band for about two miles to the burial site. The dignified and solemn ceremony included full military honors for Capt. Tyree, and a 21-gun salute."
At the reception that followed in the Fort Myer Officers Club, Gaskins said she got to meet the Tyree family, five crew members from the Bowfin and representatives from the Pacific Fleet Submarine Memorial Association.
She was glad to learn that the The Bowfin Memorial has established a $25,000 annual scholarship, for children of submariners, in Tyree's memory.
For her tribute to Tyree, Gaskins got in touch with a former colleague on the math faculty, Al Lindsey, asking about her former teacher.
"Alex's teaching and mathematics skills grew every year he was with us. I will never forget how excited he became when I asked him to teach differential equations to the mathematics majors," said Lindsey. "He spent the entire summer preparing, he solved every problem in the textbook, all this resulting in a spectacularly successful course and student evaluation rankings as high as I ever saw as department chairperson."
A fitting tribute to a man who excelled both on the battlefield and in the classroom; put into motion by a student who thought he deserved no less.
To reach ROB HEDELT:
Email: rhedelt@freelancestar.com
