{"id":33083,"date":"2018-07-30T19:41:59","date_gmt":"2018-07-30T19:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/07\/30\/surface-navy-mourns-the-passing-of-albert-lee-kaiss\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:43:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:43:25","slug":"surface-navy-mourns-the-passing-of-albert-lee-kaiss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/07\/30\/surface-navy-mourns-the-passing-of-albert-lee-kaiss\/","title":{"rendered":"Surface Navy mourns the passing of Albert Lee Kaiss"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the Navy\u2019s most respected ship handlers will be laid to rest Tuesday in Maryland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retired Capt. Albert Lee Kaiss died in his Hagerstown home on July 25 from natural causes. He was 78.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although best known as the 20th and 23rd commander of the battleship Missouri, Kaiss served on numerous vessels after graduating from the University of Maryland in 1962.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They included the dock landing ship Alamo, the destroyer escorts Lester and Charles Berry, the destroyer Henry B. Wilson and the frigate McCandless, where he served as the executive officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The surface warfare officer commanded the destroyer Paul F. Foster and the Belknap-class destroyer leader and cruiser William H. Standley before taking the helm of the recommissioned battleship Missouri in early 1985, according to the USS Missouri Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The warship where Gen. Douglas MacArthur received Japan\u2019s unconditional surrender in 1945, the \u201cMighty Mo\u201d had been mothballed for nearly three decades, even languishing as a museum relic, before the Pentagon ordered it revamped to star in President Ronald Reagan\u2019s 600-ship Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, a heart condition temporarily forced Kaiss into other duties. He commanded the mission task element of the hospital ship Mercy and served as Naval Surface Force\u2019s assistant chief of staff for warfare and tactics before getting cleared in 1990 to return to sea duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He took the helm of the Missouri again during the battleship\u2019s final years of active service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That included the Missouri\u2019s pummeling of Iraqi targets <\/a>with both Tomahawk cruise missiles and naval gunfire in 1991. It was the first time the warship\u2019s 16-inch guns had been fired since 1953 during the Korean War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capt. Kaiss was the commander on March 31, 1992, who ordered his XO to \u201chaul down the colors” in Long Beach, California, decommissioning the Missouri for the second time<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Crew members man the rails aboard the battleship Missouri.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Two days later, Kaiss followed the Mighty Mo into retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was generous,\u201d his daughter Julie Laing told Navy Times. \u201cHis family always came first and his ship was second \u2014 even though he loved that ship, the USS Missouri.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A highly-decorated combat veteran of wars in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf, his personal awards included multiple Legions of Merit and the Bronze Star for Valor. Kaiss was proud of his service, but he never bragged about it, Laing said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what set him apart. He was always more about taking care of his crew than winning accolades. He loved to teach and he loved to solve problems,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t