Scope and Contents

Photographs, books, VHS tapes, letters, documents and other items document the careers of Admiral Frances T. Shea Buckley and her husband, Captain Emanuel Navarro Buckley, in the United States Navy, including her tour in Vietnam on the USS Repose.

Biographical / Historical

RADM Frances Shea Buckley, USN (Retired) (26 February 1929 - 8 July 2015).

RADM Buckley was born on 26 February 1929 in Chicopee, Massachusetts. She volunteered for the United States Navy in 1951 and was commissioned as an Ensign in the Navy Nurse Corps. She had numerous assignments throughout her career, including Operating Room Supervisor on the USS Repose (AH-16) from March 1968 through April 1969. This hospital ship sailed between the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to south of Danang, receiving casualties from Phu Bai, Chu Lai, Quang Tri, Hue and other sites where fighting was occuring.

After her Vietnam tour she served as Director of Nursing Services at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and the Naval Regional Medical Center, San Diego, California. As the first Nurse Corps officer to be promoted to a two star Flag Officer, she was Director of the Navy Nurse Corps, Commanding Officer Naval School Health Science Education and Training Command, and Deputy Commander for Medical Department Personnel and the Selection and Promotions boards.

In 1983, RADM Buckley retired from the United States Navy having received the following awards: Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Unit Commendation Medal, the National Defense Medal with one star, the Vietnam Service medal with four stars, the Humanitarian Serivce Medal, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry Citation, the Vietnam Civil Action Medal and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

RADM Buckley died on July 8, 2015.

Series

• Series - Military Administrative Documents
• Sub-Series - Correspondence and Speeches
• Sub-Series - Nursing material
• Sub-Series - Publications
• Sub-Series - Assorted Materials