Ships
- USS Knapp (DD-653) Captain, 16 September 1943 – 10 July 1944
Frank Virden was born on 25 January 1905 in Cynthia, Mississippi, the son of Walter Virden and Fanny Mayes Harris Virden. He attended Millsaps Academy in Jackson and Marion Institute in Marion, Alabama, and received an appointment to the Naval Academy from Mississippi. He graduated and was commissioned ensign on 2 June 1927.
His first sea duty was in the battleship Arkansas, where he served as a junior officer until May 1929. Later assignments took him to sea with the Atlantic, Pacific, and Asiatic Fleets. He completed the Postgraduate School in 1937 and served ashore in naval science at Northwestern University in Evanston. He also trained in underwater sound at the Sound School in Key West, Florida.
On 30 July 1942 he took command of the destroyer Frazier at her commissioning and remained in her until 8 June 1943. In that year she operated in the Solomons and in the Aleutians. He then returned to the Sound School at Key West.
Commander Virden became captain of Knapp (DD-653) when the Fletcher-class destroyer commissioned at Boston on 16 September 1943, and he held the command until 10 July 1944. Under him the ship joined the drive across the Central Pacific: the Marshall Islands operation and the occupation of Kwajalein, attacks on Truk and the Marianas, raids on Palau, Yap, and neighboring islands, the Hollandia operation on New Guinea, and the Marianas campaign, including the capture of Saipan and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. For gallantry in action against Japanese bases on Tinian, Saipan, and Guam on 22 February 1944, the Commander in Chief, Pacific, awarded him a Letter of Commendation with ribbon and Combat V.
After he left Knapp he spent the last year of the war in communications on the staff of Commander Amphibious Group Five, embarked in the flagships Mount McKinley and Ancon, and then with Commander Amphibious Forces, Pacific, in Eldorado. By March 1945 he held the temporary rank of captain. For duty from July 1944 to June 1945, during the assaults on Peleliu and Okinawa and a period as acting communications officer of the amphibious force, he received the Bronze Star Medal with Combat V. The citation recognized his work in obtaining communications equipment the attack force needed, supervising its installation and upkeep in the ships, and organizing, training, and directing the command's communicators.
He returned to the United States in October 1945 and served a year as district communications officer of the Eighth Naval District, with headquarters in New Orleans. From November 1946 to April 1949 he worked in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, in the Operational Readiness Division, as coordinator of electronics and as a member of the Air Defense Board. In May 1949 he went again to the Fleet Sonar School at Key West. On 14 June 1949 he assumed command of Destroyer Squadron 18, with additional duty as commander of Destroyer Division 181, and served in that assignment until August 1950. He studied strategy and tactics at the Naval War College until June 1951, then spent two years on the college staff. In April 1953, while on that staff, he published an account of the War College in the Naval Institute Proceedings.
He became assistant director of the General Planning Group under the Vice Chief of Naval Operations on 14 February 1955, and he was promoted to rear admiral with date of rank 1 August 1955. From August 1955 to November 1956 he commanded Destroyer Flotilla Six. He next served on the joint staff of the United States Commander in Chief, Europe, as director of the communications-electronics division. In July 1958 he became Director of Naval Communications in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, and on 5 May 1959 he was named Assistant Chief of Naval Operations for Communications while continuing as director. In November 1961 he took command of the Cruiser-Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet, and during April and May 1962 he also served as Commander First Fleet. His decorations included the Bronze Star Medal and the Commendation Ribbon, each with Combat V, the Navy Unit Commendation awarded Mount McKinley, the China Service Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon, and the National Defense Service Medal. He died in Pensacola, Florida, on 19 March 1990, and was buried in the Naval Academy Cemetery at Annapolis.