Leonard John Haywood Jr., a World War II submariner and a retired deputy city Fire Department chief, died Sunday of cancer at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. He was 81.
Mr. Haywood, who was born in Baltimore and raised in Highlandtown, graduated from Patterson Park High School.
"He tried to enlist in the Navy when he was 16, but they wouldn't take him because he was underage and needed his mother's permission," said a daughter, Carolynne H. Dorsey of Cockeysville.
On his 17th birthday, he enlisted in the Navy because he wanted to "serve his country," said his son, Kirk Haywood, a retired city Fire Department captain.
After completing basic training, Mr. Haywood entered the submarine service as a bowman serving in the Pacific Theater.
"I remember him talking about his first depth charge attack that made him so sick that he threw up in a bucket. And while he was doing that, he kept wondering, 'What am I doing here?'" Mrs. Dorsey said.
Mr. Haywood's wartime career aboard submarines seemed to be attended by a lot of luck, family members said.
"He was supposed to go out on a patrol and didn't, and the sub never came back. Another time, he swapped places because a friend knew some other crewman on the boat, and it, too, never came back," his son said.
Mr. Haywood was aboard the USS Dace in September 1944 when the submarine left Brisbane, Australia, for its fifth patrol. On Oct. 14, the submarine attacked a Japanese convoy, sinking two vessels and heavily damaging a third.
The Dace, joined by the submarine Darter, attacked an enemy task force steaming for what became the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
The Darter sank the flagship cruiser Atago, and the Dace, resisting a heavy depth charge attack, sank the heavy cruiser Maya.
"Dad said they put four torpedoes into the Maya and either they hit the boilers or the magazine, because she was gone in four minutes," the son said. "They were credited with sinking one of the largest cruisers in the Pacific Theater."
When the Darter went aground in the Palawan Passage, and with enemy ships searching for the two submarines, the Dace stood by until it was able to remove the ill-fated submarine's crew, and then sank the vessel.
Mr. Haywood was an active member of the U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II and had been president of the organization's Delmarva chapter.
He began his firefighting career in 1950, when he was assigned to Truck One on Gay Street. In 1962, he was promoted to lieutenant, and by the end of the decade had been appointed a captain.
"He was appointed battalion chief in the 1970s and was named deputy chief No. 1 and was in charge of the area east of Charles Street," his son said.
During his 42-year career, Mr. Haywood fought many large fires. One of the worst, family members said, was the 1955 Tru-Fit Clothing Co. fire, which killed six firefighters when the rear roof and walls of the East Baltimore Street store collapsed.
"He was a wonderful old smoke eater, and he'd tell you that. He was very well-liked and respected," city Fire Department Division Chief Donald W. Heinbuch said yesterday. "He was very old school, and when on the fire ground, was very deliberate."
His son, who worked for his father at the beginning of his career at Truck 11, described him as a "firefighter's chief who was always fair even though he appeared to be gruff at times."
Mr. Haywood retired in 1992.
Unlike many firefighters, Mr. Haywood did not have a second job, preferring to be home with his children and attending their athletic and other school events.
He enjoyed doing home repairs and for years liked building miniature houses for his annual Christmas garden.
His wife of 55 years, the former Virginia Royston, died in 2000.
Services will be held at 9 a.m. today at Ruck Towson Funeral Home, 1050 York Road.
Also surviving are another daughter, Ginnie H. Sheckells of Baltimore; seven grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
fred.rasmussen@baltsun.com