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Lee B. Crane was born in
Providence, Rhode Island. His father, David Crane, was from a wealthy family of
jewelers and was expected to follow into the family business. Instead, he chose
a career in the Navy. He held the rank of full Commander when he was killed in
a steam explosion on his ship, when Lee was only seven years old. Crane’s
mother, Helen Bradford, was also from old Providence money, and when her husband
was killed in the accident on his ship, she was left to raise their only child
alone.
She rarely talked of her
husband to her son. She had quickly put away all of the mementoes of David
Crane’s life, hoping to drive the love of the sea from her only child’s
memories, along with the memories of his father and the Navy. Unfortunately,
that was not to be.
His father’s
sudden death piqued the boy’s imagination, and he began to read voraciously of
the sea and ships. He read all of the classic tales of Captain Nemo and Moby
Dick, as well as the biographies and works of Admirals Falk, Rickover, Nimitz,
and other famous Naval heroes. Interested in the sea, he read all he could
about it, as well the books of Rachel Carson, Beebe, the books of Cousteau and
so many more. On his vacations, he often begged his mother to take him to the
seaside for a week or two, and he would spend days just swimming and sitting on
the beach, watching the ocean.
The handsome young man
never lacked for female company. As a leader of his class from the beginning,
he always had the attention of the opposite sex. He excelled in football,
boxing and track, and was a straight ‘A’ student. He was President of his
senior class, and was well liked by every one, except, at this point, by his
mother. He had sought and received an appointment to the U. S. Naval Academy
without his mother’s knowledge or consent. He then accepted and informed Helen
Crane that he was following in his father’s footsteps. At that point, Helen’s
relationship with her son became remote and proper, and for years, lacked
warmth.
Many things, three of
which were outstanding, at least in regard to the man that he was becoming,
marked Lee’s four years at the Academy. One was that he met, and became friends
with, Charles Philip ‘Chip’ Morton. They were roommates, and their friendship
began, and was cemented, during those four years.
He had taken a Marine
Biology class and it was in that class that he met Captain Harriman Nelson, and
Nelson made a profound change in his life. The Captain, although not old
enough, became for Lee Crane, a mentor and a father figure. His impact on Lee
Crane’s life began there, and carried through for the rest of Nelson’s life.
The third thing that
happened at the Academy was the development of a character trait in Lee Crane
that would direct all of the man’s actions for the rest of his life. During
those years, Crane developed the self-guiding concept for ‘doing the right
thing’. At that time in his life, Lee Crane realized that there were several
ways of accomplishing directives; to do what society thought was fair; to do
what was just; and to do what was ‘right’. Most of the time, the ‘right thing’
meant putting the good of others before the good of himself. To him, it became
the only way to do things, one that would put him at odds with many a commanding
officer in his Naval career, but one that would earn him the respect of many,
and the undying faithfulness of each crew that he commanded.
After graduation at the
top of his class, he rose quickly in the ranks. ONI recruited him and he
willingly ‘signed on’ for duty, only because to him, the ‘right thing’ was to do
whatever he could to serve and protect his country. He was also ‘recruited’ by
the Firm but turned them down, after realizing the shades of gray that colored
that part of the Intelligence world. Because of his innate ability to command
well, and his often heroic actions on the part of his crews and his country, he
rose quickly in rank.
He attended sub school at
New London, CT and was sent to the USS Halibut to serve on the boat’s
mission to observe the Russian coast. After the Halibut, he was sent to
serve on the Nautilus, captained by Harriman Nelson on her last tour
before decommissioning. On the Nautilus, Crane and Nelson cemented the
friendship that had begun at the Academy. From there, Lee Crane was given his
first command, the USS Kingfisher, making him the youngest Sub skipper in
the Navy.
Following two more
successful commands, Crane was tapped by Harriman Nelson to take over the
command of the SSRN Seaview after the murder of the original Captain,
John Philips.
He married Nelson’s
administrative assistant, Cathy Connors, several years after coming to the
Institute, and together they had a son, Robert Charles Harriman Crane. Cathy
was killed in a car accident and Lee then remained alone for a number of years.
He finally remarried, this time to Caitlin Davis, Karen Davis Nelson’s daughter,
when she was 30. They remain married and devoted to one another, and to Lee’s
son, Robert, as well as the rest of the family of the Institute.
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