It is with deep regret that I inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral Joseph Thomas Horgan on 7 August 2024 at age 99. Rear Admiral Horgan enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve in December 1943, serving as a corpsman/pharmacist’s mate in the Pacific Theater. Following medical school, he was commissioned as a lieutenant (junior grade) in June 1952 and served in the Medical Corps until his retirement in 1981 as commander, National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) Bethesda, Maryland. He previously served as commanding officer of Naval Regional Medical Center, Jacksonville, Florida.
Following graduation from high school, Joseph Horgan entered Harvard University with the intent to become a dentist like his parents. However, during the war he chose to enlist in the U.S. Naval Reserve on 30 December 1943. He reported for active duty on 3 January 1944, serving as a corpsman/pharmacist’s mate in the Pacific and Philippines. He was honorably discharged on 19 May 1946, but remained in the Naval Reserve. He completed his undergraduate studies and then attended medical school at Georgetown University, Washington, DC, graduating in 1951. He received a commission as a lieutenant (junior grade) on 2 June 1952 and was recalled to active duty due to the Korean War.
In January 1953, Lieutenant (j.g.) Horgan reported for duty at Naval Hospital Chelsea, Massachusetts. He was promoted to lieutenant in July 1953. In September 1953, he was assigned to the Headquarters Support Detachment, Izmir, Turkey (a major NATO air base established in 1952 with U.S. Navy support until the U.S. Air Force assumed responsibility in 1956). In August 1955, he reported to Naval Hospital Bethesda as medical service staff member. He was promoted to lieutenant commander in September 1958.
In July 1959, Lieutenant Commander Horgan reported to Naval Hospital Newport, Rhode Island, as an internist. In July 1963, he was promoted to commander and assigned to U.S. Naval Support Activity, Naples, Italy, as chief of medicine/general practitioner. In August 1966, he assumed duty as chief of medical service at Naval Regional Medical Center (NRMC), Portsmouth, Virginia. He was promoted to captain in August 1968. Captain Horgan assumed additional duty with director/commanding officer of NRMC Portsmouth in July 1971.
In July 1972, Captain Horgan assumed duty as executive officer of NRMC Portsmouth with the continuing additional duty with director/commanding officer of NRMC Portsmouth. In September 1973 he became director of professional services at NRMC Portsmouth with continuing additional duty with director/commanding officer of NRMC Portsmouth.
In July 1974, Captain Horgan assumed duty as commanding officer, NRMC Jacksonville, Florida, with additional duty as medical officer on the staff of Deputy Commander, Naval Air Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet for Tactical Air/Commander Tactical Air. He was promoted to rear admiral on 1 July 1975.
In June 1976, Rear Admiral Horgan assumed command of NNMC Bethesda, providing medical care to all presidents of the United States, as well as members of Congress and the Supreme Court. In 1973, all naval health care facilities in Naval District Washington had been consolidated under the command of the Bethesda Medical Center to form the NNMC. Rear Admiral Horgan oversaw the extensive renovation of the hospital (started in 1975) that included the construction of two buildings: Building 9, a three-story outpatient structure, and Building 10, a seven-story, 500-bed in-patient facility, with a combined area of more than 880,000 square feet, which made NNMC one of the largest medical facilities in the country. In 1977, the original Naval Medical Center tower was designated a historical landmark and entered into the Registry of Historical Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Rear Admiral Horgan retired in 1981.
Rear Admiral Horgan’s awards include the Meritorious Service Medal; Joint Service Commendation Medal; Navy Commendation Medal; American Campaign Medal; Asia-Pacific Campaign Medal; World War II Victory Medal; National Defense Service Medal (two awards); and the Philippine Liberation Medal. He would probably have been awarded a Legion of Merit for his last tour, but service transcripts frequently do not show the last award.
After retiring from active duty, Rear Admiral Horgan returned to medical practices in Harwich, Massachusetts, and then Barnstable County Hospital in Pocasset, Massachusetts. He retired from medical practice in 1995.
According to his obituary, Rear Admiral Horgan “asked only to remembered as a family man who served his country with honor and as a doctor who dedicated himself to the care of his patients and who remained true to his oath to do no harm. His life was indeed inspired by his duty to God, country and family.” He was a “student and practitioner of internal medicine, endocrinology and nuclear medicine and a teacher/mentor to interns, a role he loved.” The Navy remembers him as an exceptional leader, who served our nation in far-flung places (Izmir and Naples) and multiple naval hospitals. (His relative paucity of personal awards was typical of staff corps and restricted line communities at the time.) In particular, for more than 15 years, he held key leadership positions in two of the three largest hospitals in the U.S. Navy (Portsmouth and Bethesda). This culminated with command of the newly created “National Naval Medical Center” during a period of major transition, providing superb care to presidents and sailors alike; it was an immense responsibility and he shouldered it superbly. The Navy expresses gratitude for the sacrifice by his family so that he could serve so many thousands of others—a life that truly made a difference.
Rest in Peace, Admiral Horgan.