Obituary John F. Tarpey

John F. Tarpey, 81, a retired Navy captain whose career included commands at sea and academic posts, died April 13 of kidney failure at Arleigh Burke Pavilion in McLean. He had lived in Alexandria since 1967.

Capt. Tarpey was born in Chicago and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1946. Commissioned as a Navy ensign, he was assigned to the USS De Haven in Shanghai to patrol the Yangtze River, the Hwang Ho (the "Yellow River") and the Chinese coast. The De Haven subsequently joined naval occupation forces in Japan.

He served in the Korean War at the Inchon landing and the evacuation from Hangnam Harbor. After the war, he received his first command, the minesweeper USS Plover. He also commanded Minesweeper Division 45. Both vessels were based in Charleston, S.C.

In 1955, he was an instructor in the NROTC unit at Cornell University. After two more posts at sea, on the battleship USS Iowa and on the USS Galveston, the Navy's first long-range guided missile cruiser, he enrolled at American University and in 1961 received a master's degree in international relations. He received a master's degree in 1963 and a doctorate in 1972, both in political science and both from Stanford University.

In the mid-1960s, Capt. Tarpey served as operations officer on the USS Saint Paul, a heavy cruiser based at North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego. He served as the ship's liaison officer with director Otto Preminger during the filming of the World War II epic "In Harm's Way (1965)," starring John Wayne and Kirk Douglas.

He commanded the USS Shields, also based in San Diego, before returning to Washington in 1967 to head the Middle East and Africa Desk at the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. He held that post during the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. After several other Washington assignments, he taught at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, now part of the National Defense University. After his retirement from the Navy in 1974, he worked as a consultant for several Washington area organizations.

Capt. Tarpey received numerous citations during his military career, including the Legion of Merit. He was a lifetime member of the U.S. Naval Institute and was a contributor to its publication, "The Proceedings." An avid military historian in retirement, he was an active member of the Military Classics Seminar based at Fort Myer.

Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Jean Tarpey of Alexandria; four children, Christine Tarpey and Barbara Cason, both of Portland, Ore., Molly Tarpey of Alexandria and John P. Tarpey of Divonne-les-Bains, France; and six grandchildren.