SAGAMORE —

Retired Navy Capt. Harry H. Caldwell, of Sagamore, died on July 8, 2008, at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, Brighton, of complications following recent heart surgery. He was 86 years of age.

Born in Hempstead, N.Y., on April 11, 1922, Harry grew up in New York City. His early years were passed in the company of his parents, writers of plays and films, as he traveled with them to projects in Hollywood, Calif., and New York City.

After high school, he moved to Groton, Conn., where he worked for the Electric Boat Co. for a year prior to entering the U.S. Naval Academy in 1940. He graduated in 1943 with the accelerated class of 1944. In 1948, Harry was married to Mary Deane Hilliker, a fellow New Yorker.

Harry spent most of his first 20 years of commissioned service in submarine billets. Sea duty included war-time service in Dace (SS 247), followed by tours in several other diesel-electric submarines. In 1956, he took command of Spikefish (SS 404), and in 1961 he became commander of Submarine Division 22. In 1964, Harry was assigned to command Marias (A0 57), a fleet oiler. Later came a pleasant and educational tour in London as C.O. Fleet Operations Control Center, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe, followed by a twilight tour as C.O. Fleet Training Center, Newport, R.I.

In 1968, Harry was awarded a master's degree in administration by The George Washington University. After retirement from the Navy in 1973, Harry and his family settled in eastern Connecticut. He was employed by General Dynamics Corp. in Groton, Conn., until his second retirement in 1978. During this time, Harry served the town of East Lyme, Conn., as a selectman and water and sewer commissioner. In 2002, Harry and Deannie moved to Cape Cod to be near family.

Influenced by the naval career of his father, Cmdr. H.H. Caldwell, and his own experiences, Harry researched and published articles in the Submarine Review as well as The U.S. Naval Institute's Proceedings. He donated documents and photographs to the U.S. Submarine Force Museum and Archives as it prepared to open a new addition in 1999. From 2000 to 2002, he worked as an editor and contributing author of the coffee table book, "United States Submarines."

Harry enjoyed playing tennis, hiking and traveling. He and Deannie joined the Appalachian Mountain Club, for which he led major excursions in Europe, Canada and Hawaii, as well as local hikes in eastern Connecticut during the 1980s and 1990s. During the same period, he and Deannie made numerous trips to the English midlands to explore the British waterways by narrow-boat.

Harry is survived by his wife of 60 years; two daughters, Barbara Caldwell Siegel of Wawarsing, N.Y., and Katharine C. Parsons of Bourne; a son, Douglas R. Caldwell, of West Roxbury; and seven grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at the U.S. Navy Submarine Force Museum, 1 Crystal Lake Road, Groton, Conn., on Saturday, Sept. 13, at 11 a.m. Burial is at sea.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Submarine Force Library and Museum Association.