John J. Ekelund

John J. “Joe” Ekelund entered the U.S. Naval Academy in June 1945 and retired as a rear admiral in 1983. Ekelund served on board the submarine USS Growler (SSG-577) as part of its commissioning crew in 1958. He started as the navigator/operations officer. By the time Growler began its first patrol in 1960, he was the executive officer. He left Growler in 1961 to become the commanding officer of USS Grayback (SSG-574), Growler’s sister ship. He served as Grayback's commanding officer until January 1964.

Ekelund had many assignments during his long career in the U.S. Navy. One notable accomplishment was the development of a mathematical formula for calculating the range of a target, which is known as the Ekelund range or Ekelund ranging.

On March 15, 2017, museum staff interviewed Ekelund as part of our oral history project (OHP.127).