Up for sale is another of the autographs collected by San Diego City Clerk, Allen Wright in the 1920's and 1930's. All autographs are guaranteed authentic.
Collected shortly before Coontz's death by San Diego City Clerk. The typed comments are Wright's. Guaranteed authentic.Robert Edward Coontz, born in Hannibal, Mo., on 11 June 1864, graduated in the Naval Academy Class of 1885, and served in the screw sloops-of-war Mohican and Juniata, the screw steamer Galena, and the protected cruiser Atlanta before he received his ensign's commission in 1887. He assisted in the development of the first modern signal code used by the Navy, and served in Alaskan waters and on the Great Lakes.Duty in the Bureau of Navigation, correcting and updating officer records, followed. During this time, he worked toward the formulation of legislation favorably affecting junior officers. Coontz later served with the Coast and Geodetic Survey; and, in the cruiser Charleston, took part in the seizure of Guam and the bombardment of Manila during the Spanish-AmericanHe became Governor of Guam in April 1912. After exercising "efficient and enlightened" leadership in that island possession, Coontz assumed command of Georgia (Battleship No. 15), and saw expeditionary service in Mexican and Haitian waters during 1914.As commandant of the Puget Sound Navy Yard and the 13th Naval District from 1915 to 1918, Coontz won the Distinguished Service Medal. Becoming acting Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) in December 1918 while Admiral William S. Benson was on special duty in London, Coontz assisted the General Board in preparing a plan for a possible international navy under the League of Nations to maintain world peace.Given command of a battleship division in January 1919, Coontz supported the July 1919 flight of the NC flying boats across the Atlantic. After serving as Commander, Battleship Division 6, Pacific Fleet in September and October, Coontz became Chief of Naval Operations on 1 November 1919.Coontz became Commander in Chief of the United States Fleet. Maneuvers in Hawaiian waters in 1925 were the largest ever conducted by the assembled fleet. In the fall of 1925, Coontz became Commandant of the 5th Naval District and commanding officer of the Naval Operating Base, Norfolk. Following his retirement in 1928, Coontz was recalled briefly to active duty in 1930 to investigate Alaskan railroads. He became national commander in chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1932 and, that same year, represented Alaska at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Coontz died on 26 January 1935 in the naval hospital at Bremerton, Wash
A Very Rare signature.
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