David B. Bell, 92, a retired Navy rear admiral who twice during World War II received the Navy Cross, the branch's
second-highest medal for extraordinary heroism, died July 9, 2005 of congestive heart failure at Ginger Cove assisted living
facility in Annapolis.
Adm. Bell was awarded his Navy Crosses while serving in the Pacific as commanding officer of the submarine USS Pargo in
1945.
The citation for the first Navy Cross states that Adm. Bell, then a lieutenant commander, directed the submarine in a special
three-day mission that greatly assisted Allied navies in clearing an area in Japanese enemy waters. The Pargo sank hostile
ships, then avoided two severe depth-charge attacks before returning safely to port.
In a subsequent war patrol, for which Adm. Bell received the gold star denoting a second award, the submarine penetrated
anti-submarine barriers in the Sea of Japan, where it launched torpedo attacks against heavily escorted Japanese convoys,
sinking two freighters and damaging two others.
His duties after World War II included commands of two other submarines, flag secretary to the commander of submarines in
the Atlantic Fleet, submarine detail officer in the Bureau of Naval Personnel and commander of Submarine Division 62 and
Submarine Squadron Six.
In the 1960s, he served as commodore of Submarine Squadron 14 in Holy Loch, Scotland, and as Supreme Allied Deputy
Commander Atlantic for NATO. He appeared to be in line for the post of commander of the submarine fleet in the Pacific in 1968
when he had a heart attack.
He finished his tour with the chief of naval operations staff at the Pentagon, then served as deputy commandant of academic
affairs at the National War College at Fort Meade. He retired from active military duty in 1970.
Adm. Bell, who lived in Annapolis since 1991, was born in Fargo, N.D., and raised in Washington, where he attended Central
High School, Columbian Preparatory School and George Washington University. As a young man, he served as a fireman in the
Naval Reserve
He entered the Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1934, served as captain of the fencing team and graduated in 1937. He also
received a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Annapolis. He served on
battleships before transferring to the submarine fleet.
In addition to the Navy Cross with gold star, his military decorations include the Silver Star and Bronze Star.
In recent years, Adm. Bell belonged to St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Annapolis and attended Naval Academy functions, sailed
and traveled abroad.
His wife, Mary Elizabeth Bell, died in 1985.
Survivors include his wife of four years, Margaret Bomar Bell of Annapolis; two children from his first marriage, Ann Bell Layman
of Daleville, Va., and William Bonar Bell of Oakton; four stepchildren, Patricia Ray Nalley of Annapolis and Lycille Ray Stabler,
Thomas D. Ray III and Edward Bomar Ray, all of Birmingham, Ala.; and 13 grandchildren.