DeLong Mills Papers

DeLong Mills was born on January 31, 1897 in Fairhaven, Massachusetts to Dr. Walter Sand Mills (1865-1934) and Sylvie Laure Mills, née DeLong (1871-1925). He was the grandson of Lt. Commander George Washington DeLong who commanded the Jeannette expedition to the Arctic in 1879. He had a sister, Emma DeLong Mills, and in 1932, was married to Ms. Martha J. Scott (1898-1965) who passed away in 1965. The couple had one daughter, Martha Elizabeth Mills Webster (1925-1970).

DeLong Mills attended New York Trinity School and the Army-Navy Prep School in Washington, D.C. prior to graduating from the Naval Academy and commissioning as Ensign in 1920. After graduation until October 1922, he served on the USS Melville and until June 1923 on the USS Stoddert.

On July 1, 1923, Mills started his pilot training at Pensacola, Florida from which he graduated on January 11, 1924. On February 11, 1924 Mills was injured in an airplane crash, causing him to pause his training, which he completed in November of that year. In April 1924, Mills was promoted to Lieutenant (Junior Grade). After his training, he was assigned to the Torpedo Squadron No. 1. In 1924, Mills took part in a war exercise on Hawaii and in 1925 flew to Cuba where he stayed until the following year.

Mills was commandeered to Hartford, Connecticut in late summer of 1926 to conduct fog dispersal experiments, which later were continued at the Naval Station at Lakehurst, New Jersey until 1928. During his deployment, in June 1927, Mills was promoted to Lieutenant. In 1928, Mills took part in the Curtiss Trophy Race and in February of 1928, he assisted in the search for Commander Theodore G. Ellyson, who was killed during a crash in a Loening OL-7.

From 1928 to 1929, Mills was a flight instructor at the NAS Pensacola. From summer 1929 to 1931, Mills was attached to the Torpedo Squadron No. 2 serving on the USS Saratoga. Mills was a member of the Coco Solo Ferry Detachment at the NAS Norfolk, Virginia from July to September 1931, where he oversaw a four-plane flight. Mills served with the squadron until spring of 1934 participating in exercises in various locations.

From 1934 to 1936, Mills was Executive Officer of Scouting Squadron No. 10 and served as Senior Watch Officer and Senior Aviator on the USS Chicago taking part in several exercises. During this assignment, he led the first night attach ever made by Cruiser Based Planes. From July 1926 to April of 1937, Mills could not fly because of injuries sustained in the line of duty. He was given an executive assignment and he managed the PBY Pilot and Flight Crew School.

In spring of 1937, Mills was Senior Patrol Officer in San Diego, California. From July 1937 to January 1939, he served at the Naval Training Section in Norfolk as a Classification Officer, Moral Officer, and as officer of the Naval Air Priorities Office (NAPC).

Mills served in World War II with the Seventh Fleet. From 1939 to 1940 he served on the USS Nitro as First Lieutenant and for nine months as Navigating Officer. In spring of 1941, Mills reported to duty on the USS Polaris as an Executive Officer with additional duties as Navigating Officer until 1942. In fall of 1942, Mills was sent to NSD Oakland, California as an Aviation Technical Officer and Aviation Representative at the Aviation Supply Depot Annex. Mills reported to duty on the USS San Carlos in December of 1943, which he commanded until the end of the Second World War. With the USS San Carlos, Mills participated in the Moratai Campaign and the invasion of Leyte and liberation of the Philippines. He received the Bronze Star Medal for operation of his Task Unit at Leyte. After the War, he served at the Fifth Naval District in Norfolk, Virginia in September 1945 from which he retired in 1947.

Delong Mills passed away on January 31, 1972 suffering from a heart attack at the age of seventy-four.

Source

"Comdr. Delong Mills," "The New York Times," February 4, 1972, accessed May 6, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/04/archives/comdr-delong-mills.html

Source

"DeLong Mills," "Find A Grave," accessed May 6, 2021, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48861929/delong-mills

Source

"DeLong Mills Papers," Memorandum to Captain A. D. Brown, Folder 5, Box 1, Series II, Subseries 1, History of Aviation Archives, Special Collections and Archives Division, Eugene McDermott Library, The University of Texas at Dallas.

Source

"DeLong Mills Papers," Obituary "De Long Mills, 74 Decorated Flier of WWII," Folder 12, Box 1, Series II, Subseries 6, History of Aviation Archives, Special Collections and Archives Division, Eugene McDermott Library, The University of Texas at Dallas.

Source

"DeLong Mills Papers," Obituary "Comdr. DeLong Mills," Folder 12, Box 1, Series II, Subseries 6, History of Aviation Archives, Special Collections and Archives Division, Eugene McDermott Library, The University of Texas at Dallas.

Source

"Theodore G. Ellyson", "Wikipedia," accessed May 12, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_G._Ellyson#Postwar_service_and_death