In Memoriam

113 WINTER 2001 NAVAL ENGINEERS JOURNAL

Rear Admiral Nathan Sonenshein, USN (Ret)Past President of ASNE 1970 - 1971

I t is with deepest regretthat the Societyannounces the death of

our former President,RAdm. Nathan Sonenshein,USN (Ret.) who passedaway on Friday, April 13,2001.

A New Jersey native,RAdm. Sonenshein beganhis naval career after grad-uating from the UnitedStates Naval Academy inJune 1938 within the topfour percent of his class.The newly commissionedensign participated in out-fitting the cruisers USSBoise and the USS Phoenixfor the next three years.As a Lieutenant he wasselected for a postgraduatecourse in naval construc-tion and marine engineer-ing at MIT, completing hismaster’s degree and hold-ing the rank of LieutenantCommander by 1944. Hewas then transferred toMare Island NavalShipyard in Californiaserving as ShipSuperintendent, and laterbecoming AssistantPlanning and EstimatingSuperintendent. AfterWorld War II, he was sentto Japan with the NavalTechnical Mission.

With his promotion to

Commander he returnedto Mare Island to becomeAssistant RepairSuperintendent, DockingOfficer and IndustrialEngineer, successively.Upon his assignment toWashington, DC inFebruary 1949 he servedas Director of the NavalFacilities Division of theBureau of Ships untilAugust 1951.

Seeing wartime serviceduring the Korean Waraboard the USS PhilippineSea (CV-47) Cdr.Sonenshein diagnosedand directed the repair ofa rare engineering casu-alty to the two mainpropulsion units of theship while under air com-bat conditions. Hisaccomplishment earnedhim the NavyCommendation Ribbonwith Combat “V” from theCommander, SeventhFleet, as well as the NavyUnit Commendation wonby the crew of thePhilippine Sea.

He then served as thePlanning and EstimatingSuperintendent at the NewYork Naval Shipyardreturning to the Bureau ofShips in 1956 where hewas promoted to Captainwhile a member of the

Hull Design Branch. Hisnext tour of duty took himto Pearl Harbor where heserved as the Fleet andForce Maintenance Officeron the staffs ofCommander-in-Chief andCommander ServiceForce, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Upon his promotion toRear Admiral in May, 1965,he became the AssistantChief of the Bureau ofShips for Ship Design,Shipbuilding and FleetMaintenance. He was

later selected by theSecretary of the Navy asProject Manager foracquiring the FastDeployment LogisticsShips. As a result of hisperformance in this capac-ity he was awarded theLegion of Merit for pio-neering new concepts ofship design, procurement,and construction. InAugust 1967 RAdm.Sonenshein assumed theduties of Deputy Chief ofNaval Material forLogistics Support also

It is with sadness that the Societyannounces the passing of the following members. Our deepestsympathy is extended to family and

friends.

Capt. Joseph F. Brady, USNR

Mr. Curtis T. Clayton

Capt. John F. Kalina, USN (Ret.)

Cdr. Charles W. Matchett, USN

Mr. James C. Nilsen

Mr. Joseph F. Sanders

Mr. George A. Uberti

114 WINTER 2001 NAVAL ENGINEERS JOURNAL

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serving until July 1969when he assumed theduties of Commander,Naval Ship SystemsCommand. Upon comple-tion of this assignment hewas awarded a Gold Star inlieu of a second Legion ofMerit. Following this heserved as Chairman, NavalMaterial CommandShipbuilding Council;Director, Defense EnergyTask Group; andDepartment of DefenseDirector for Energy priorto his retirement andsimultaneous recall in Julyof 1974. On November 15,1974 he was released from

active duty service andawarded a second GoldStar in lieu of a thirdLegion of Merit.

Other decorations heldby the Admiral include:American Defense ServiceMedal, Fleet ClaspAmerican CampaignMedal; Asiatic-PacificCampaign Medal; WorldWar II Victory Medal;Navy Occupation ServiceMedal; Asia Clasp; ChinaService Medal; NationalDefense Service Medalwith Bronze Star; KoreanService Medal; and theUnited Nations ServiceMedal, as well as the

Korean Presidential UnitCitation.

Since his retirement,RAdm. Sonenshein acted asassistant to the president,Global MarineDevelopment, Inc., and wasa member of its ExecutiveCommittee. In this capacityhe was active in the plan-ning, execution, and studyof advanced ocean engi-neering projects for ther-mal energy conversion;incineration of toxic chem-icals; and sea bed disposalof radioactive waste. Inaddition to his many activi-ties with ASNE, he was anHonorary Life Vice-

President of SNAME, amember of Sigma Xi, andcan be found in both Who’sWho in America and Who’sWho in Engineering.

RAdm. Sonenshein waspreceded in death by hisbeloved wife of 60 years,Ila, by two months. Ourdeepest sympathies go outto his family. He will longbe remembered not onlyfor his active role inASNE, but also for hisdevotion to duty and hismany fine contributions tothe naval engineering com-munity and the nation. ❋

In MemoriamSonenshein, cont.