Vero - Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

Marc Mitscher

2025-09-25T18:30:27Z

2603:8000:D400:C2:6161:388A:DDF:90AF: /* Awards and decorations */

{{Short description|United States Navy admiral (1887–1947)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Marc Andrew Mitscher
| birth_date = January 26, 1887
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1947|2|3|1887|1|26}}
| birth_place = [[Hillsboro, Wisconsin]] U.S
| death_place = [[Norfolk, Virginia]] U.S
| placeofburial = [[Arlington National Cemetery]]
| placeofburial_label = Place of burial
| image = Marc Mitscher.jpg
| caption = Marc A. Mitscher, then a [[Vice admiral (United States)|vice admiral]] ({{circa|1944–45}})
| nickname = "Pete"
| serviceyears = 1910–1947
| rank = [[File:US-O10 insignia.svg|35px]] [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]]
| servicenumber = 7591
| allegiance = {{flag|United States|1912}}
| branch = {{flag|United States Navy}}
| commands = {{USS|Wright|AV-1|6}} {{USS|Hornet|CV-8|6}} Commander Air, Solomon Islands [[Fast Carrier Task Force]] [[United States Second Fleet|Eighth Fleet]] [[U.S. Atlantic Fleet|Atlantic Fleet]]
| unit =
| battles = {{Tree list}}
* [[World War I]]
* [[World War II]]
** [[Doolittle Raid]]
** [[Battle of Midway]]
** [[Solomon Islands campaign]]
** [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]]
** [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]]
** [[Battle of Iwo Jima]]
** [[Battle of Okinawa]]
{{Tree list/end}}
| awards = {{plainlist|
* [[File:Navy Cross ribbon.svg|35 px]] [[Navy Cross]] (3)
* [[File:Navy Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|35 px]] [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]] (3)
* [[File:Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|35 px]] [[Legion of Merit]]
}}
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}
'''Marc Andrew''' "'''Pete'''" '''Mitscher''' (January 26, 1887 – February 3, 1947) was a pioneer in naval aviation who became an [[Admiral (United States)|admiral]] in the [[United States Navy]], and served as commander of the [[Fast Carrier Task Force]] in the Pacific during [[World War II]].

==Early life and career==
Mitscher was born in [[Hillsboro, Wisconsin]], on January 26, 1887, the son of [[Oscar A. Mitscher|Oscar]] and Myrta (Shear) Mitscher.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hillsborowi.com/images/mitscher%20marker.jpg |title=Archived copy |website=www.hillsborowi.com |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917084025/http://www.hillsborowi.com/images/mitscher%20marker.jpg |archive-date=17 September 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Mitscher's grandfather, Andreas Mitscher (1821–1905), was a German immigrant from [[Traben-Trarbach]].{{citation needed|date=May 2013}} His other grandfather, [[Thomas J. Shear]], was a member of the [[Wisconsin State Assembly]].{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} During the western land boom of 1889, when Marc was two years old, his family resettled in [[Oklahoma City]], [[Oklahoma]], where his father, a federal [[Indian agent]], later became that [[List of mayors of Oklahoma City|city's second mayor]].<ref>{{cite news |work=[[Tulsa World]] |last=Curtis |first=Gene |date=July 5, 2007 |url=https://tulsaworld.com/archive/only-in-oklahoma-admiral-led-awe-inspiring-wwii-task-force/article_7b1fecfd-2bfa-5029-b386-349a5cc747d7.html |title=Only in Oklahoma: Admiral led awe-inspiring WWII task force |access-date=September 3, 2024 }}</ref> His uncle, [[Byron D. Shear]], would also become mayor.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

Mitscher attended elementary and secondary schools in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/mitscher.htm |title=Biographies in Naval History: Admiral Marc Andrew Mitscher, USNR |publisher=Naval History & Heritage Command |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916175734/http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/mitscher.htm |archive-date=2012-09-16 }}</ref> He received an appointment to the [[United States Naval Academy]] at [[Annapolis, Maryland]], in 1904 through [[Bird Segle McGuire]], then [[U.S. Representative]] from Oklahoma.<ref name=OHS>{{cite web |url=http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/M/MI050.html |title=Mitscher, Marc Andrew (1887–1947) |publisher=Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture, Oklahoma Historical Society |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103200209/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/M/MI050.html |archive-date=2012-11-03 }}</ref>

An indifferent student with a lackluster sense of military deportment, Mitscher's career at the naval academy did not portend the accomplishments he would achieve later in life. Nicknamed after Annapolis's first [[midshipman]] from Oklahoma, Peter Cassius Marcellus Cade, who had "bilged-out" in 1903, [[Upperclassman|upperclassmen]] compelled young Mitscher to recite the entire name as a hazing. Soon he was referred to as "Oklahoma Pete", with the nickname shortened to just "Pete" by the winter of his youngster (sophomore) year.<ref>Taylor p. 21</ref>

Having amassed 159 demerits and showing poorly in his class work, Mitscher was saddled with a forced resignation at the end of his [[sophomore]] year. At the insistence of his father, Mitscher re-applied and was granted reappointment, though he had to re-enter the academy as a first year [[Plebs#United States military academies|plebe]].<ref name=OHS/>

This time the stoic Mitscher worked straight through, and on June 3, 1910, he graduated 113th out of a class of 131.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/luckybag1910unse |title=Lucky Bag |date=1910 |publisher=First Class, United States Naval Academy |others=Nimitz Library U. S. Naval Academy}}</ref> Following graduation he served two years at sea aboard {{USS|Colorado|ACR-7|6}}, and was commissioned [[United States Navy officer rank insignia|ensign]] on March 7, 1912. In August 1913, he served aboard {{USS|California|ACR-6|6}} on the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]]. During that time Mexico was experiencing a political disturbance, and ''California'' was sent to protect U.S. interests and citizens. He married Frances Smalley on January 16, 1913. <ref>{{cite book| url=https://www.usni.org/press/oral-histories/navy-wives#:~:text=Frances%20Smalley%20Mitscher%20(1890%E2%80%931982,Mitscher%20on%2016%20January%201913 |title=Navy Wives|date=May 17, 2018 }}</ref>

=== Naval aviation ===
[[File:Lt. j.g. Marc Andrew Mitscher in a Curtiss A-type seaplane at NAS Pensacola, Florida (USA), circa in 1916 (80-G-433310).jpg|thumb|250px|Naval aviator Marc A. Mitscher, circa 1916. Mitscher was among the first [[Naval aviation|naval aviator]]s.<ref name="Taylor p. 48">Taylor p. 48</ref>]]
Mitscher took an early interest in aviation, requesting a transfer to aeronautics while aboard ''Colorado'' in his last year as a midshipman, but his request was not granted. After graduating he continued to make requests for transfer to aviation while serving on the [[destroyer]]s {{USS|Whipple|DD-15|6}} and {{USS|Stewart|DD-13|6}}. Mitscher was in charge of the engine room on USS ''Stewart'' when orders to transfer to the [[Naval Air Station Pensacola|Naval Aeronautic Station]] in [[Pensacola]], [[Florida]], came in.<ref>Taylor pp. 33–34</ref>

Mitscher was assigned to the [[armored cruiser]] {{USS|North Carolina|ACR-12|6}}, which was being used to experiment as a launching platform for [[fixed-wing aircraft|aircraft]]. The ship had been fitted with a [[Aircraft catapult|catapult]] over her [[Poop deck|fantail]]. Mitscher trained as a pilot, earning his wings and the designation [[Naval aviation|Naval Aviator]]. Mitscher was one of the first naval aviators, receiving No. 33 on June 2, 1916. Almost a year later, on April 6, 1917, he reported to the renamed armored cruiser {{USS|West Virginia|ACR-5|6}} for duty in connection with aircraft catapult experiments.<ref name="Taylor p. 48"/> During [[World War I]], the Navy established [[Naval Air Station]] Montauk in August, 1917, commanded by LT Marc Mitscher. Reconnaissance [[dirigibles]], an airplane, troops and [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] personnel were stationed at Montauk L.I. New York.

At this early date the Navy was interested in using aircraft for scouting purposes and as spotters for direction of their gunnery. [[Lieutenant]] Mitscher was placed in command of [[Dinner Key, Miami, Florida|NAS Dinner Key]] in [[Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida|Coconut Grove, Florida]].<ref name="Taylor p. 48"/> Dinner Key was the second largest naval air facility in the U.S. and was used to train [[seaplane]] pilots for the [[Naval Reserve Flying Corps]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Darden |first=Colgate W. Jr. |year=1984 |title=Naval Aviation in World War I |journal=Proceedings |volume=110 |issue=11 |pages=163–166 |publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]] }}</ref> On July 18, 1918, he was promoted to [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|lieutenant commander]]. In February 1919, he transferred from NAS Dinner Key to the Aviation Section in the Office of the [[Chief of Naval Operations]], before reporting to Seaplane Division 1.

==Interwar assignments (1919–1939)==
=== Transatlantic crossing ===
[[File:Crew of the NC-1.jpg|thumb|Crew of the N.C-1 from left to right: Lieutenant-Commander [[Patrick N. L. Bellinger|P. N. L. Bellinger]], commander; Lieut.-Commander M. A. Mitscher, pilot; Lieut. J. T. Barin, pilot; Lieut (j.g.) Harry Sodenwater, radio operator; Chief Machinist's Mate, C. I. Kessler, engineer; Machinist Rasmus Christensen, reserve pilot engineer]]
On May 10, 1919, Mitscher was among a group of naval aviators attempting the first [[Transatlantic flight|transatlantic]] crossing by air. Among the men involved were fellow future admirals [[John Henry Towers|Jack Towers]], [[Albert Cushing Read|Albert C. Read]] and [[Patrick N. L. Bellinger]]. Mitscher piloted NC-1, one of three [[Curtiss NC]] [[flying boat]]s that attempted the flight, under the command of Bellinger. Taking off from [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]], he nearly reached the [[Azores]] before heavy fog caused loss of the horizon, making flying in the early aircraft extremely dangerous. What appeared to be fairly calm seas at altitude turned out to be a heavy chop, and a control cable snapped while setting the aircraft down. Mitscher and his five crewmen were left to sit atop the upper wing of their "Nancy" while they waited to be rescued. Of the three aircraft making the attempt, only [[Curtiss NC-4|NC-4]] under command of Read successfully completed the crossing. For his part in the effort Mitscher received the [[Navy Cross]], the citation reading:
<blockquote>
''"For distinguished service in the line of his profession as a member of the crew of the Seaplane NC-1, which made a long overseas flight from New Foundland to the vicinity of the Azores, in May 1919".''<ref>''The Navy Book of Distinguished Service: An Official Compendium of the Names and Citations of the Men of the United States Navy, Marine Corps, Army and Foreign Governments Who Were Decorated by the Navy Department for Extraordinary Gallantry and Conspicuous Service Above and Beyond the Call of Duty in the World War'' (editor: Harry R. Stringer, p 107, Fassett Publishing Company: Washington DC, 1921).</ref>
</blockquote>

Mitscher was also made an officer of the [[Order of the Tower and Sword]] by the Portuguese government on June 3, 1919.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ordens.presidencia.pt/?idc=154&list=1|title=Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas|trans-title=Portuguese Honorary Orders|website=Presidency of the Portuguese Republic|language=pt|access-date=2018-04-26}}</ref>

On October 14, 1919, Mitscher reported for duty aboard {{USS|Aroostook|CM-3|2}}, a [[minelayer]] refitted as an "aircraft tender" that had been used as a support ship for the "Nancys' " transatlantic flight. He served under Captain [[Henry C. Mustin (1874–1923)|Henry C. Mustin]], another pioneering naval aviator. ''Aroostook'' was assigned temporary duties as [[flagship]] for the Air Detachment, Pacific Fleet. Mitscher was promoted to commander on July 1, 1921. In May 1922, he was detached from Air Squadrons, Pacific Fleet ([[San Diego]], California) to command [[Naval Support Facility Anacostia|Naval Air Station Anacostia]], D.C.<ref>''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'', volume IA, pp. 400–402, Aroostook. Also, ''The Washington Post'', Sunday edition, May 7, 1922, p. 6, column 3. Also, ''Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, January 1, 1922'', Washington Government Printing Office, 1922, p 36, no. in grade 458.</ref>

=== Service debates in Washington===
After six months in command at Anacostia he was assigned to a newly formed department, the Navy Bureau of Aeronautics. Here as a young aviator he assisted Rear Admiral [[William A. Moffett|William Moffett]] in defending the Navy's interest in air assets. General [[Billy Mitchell]] was advancing the idea that the nation was best defended by an independent service which would control all military aircraft. Though Mitscher was not a vocal member of the Navy's representatives, his knowledge of aircraft capabilities and limitations was instrumental in the Navy being able to answer Mitchell's challenge and retain their own airgroups. The debate culminated in the hearings before the Morrow Board, convened to study the best means of applying aviation to national defense.<ref>Taylor p. 78</ref> Mitscher testified before the board on October 6, 1925. General Mitchell sought public support for his position by taking his case directly to the people through the national press. For this action Mitchell was summoned for a court-martial. One of the witnesses called by the prosecution was Mitscher. In the end the Navy was left with its own air resources, and was allowed to continue to develop its own independent aviation branch.<ref>Taylor p. 79</ref>

=== Development of the carrier air arm ===
Over the next two decades Mitscher worked to develop naval aviation, taking assignments serving on the [[aircraft carrier]]s {{USS|Langley|CV-1|2}} and {{USS|Saratoga|CV-3|2}}, the [[seaplane tender]] {{USS|Wright|AV-1|2}}, and taking command of Patrol Wing 1, in addition to a number of assignments ashore. ''Langley'' was the navy's first aircraft carrier. A converted [[collier (ship)|collier]], she could only make {{convert|14|kn|km/h|lk=in}}, thus limiting her ability to generate wind over her [[flight deck]] and lift under the wings of her aircraft for launching and recovery. Aboard ''Langley'' Mitscher and other naval aviation pioneers developed many of the methods by which aircraft would be handled aboard U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. Many of these techniques continue to be used in the current-day U.S. Navy.

During this period Mitscher was assigned command of the air group for the newly commissioned aircraft carrier ''Saratoga''. Mitscher was the first person to land an airplane onto the flight deck of ''Saratoga'' as he brought his air group aboard.<ref>Taylor p. 82</ref> The vessel conducted mock attacks against the [[Panama Canal]] and [[Pearl Harbor]] in a series of [[Fleet Problem]] exercises. The key lesson learned by the naval aviation officers during these exercises was the importance to locate and destroy the other side's flight decks as early as possible, while still preserving your own. In 1938, Mitscher was promoted to [[Captain (United States O-6)|captain]].<ref name=OHS/>

==World War II==
[[File:Marc A. Mitscher and James Doolittle.jpg|thumb|right|Lt. Colonel [[Jimmy Doolittle|James Doolittle]] and Captain Marc Mitscher on board USS ''Hornet''.{{#tag:ref|Mitscher is wearing an Army Air Force flight jacket. The photo was touched up to obscure the view of the jacket insignia of the air crews.|group=N}}]]
Between June 1939 and July 1941, Mitscher served as assistant chief of the [[Bureau of Aeronautics]].{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

===Carrier commander===
Mitscher's next assignment was as captain of the {{sclass|Yorktown|aircraft carrier|1}} {{USS|Hornet|CV-8|6}}, being fitted out at [[Newport News Shipbuilding]] in [[Newport News, Virginia]].<ref>Taylor p. 102</ref> Upon her commissioning in October 1941, he assumed command, taking ''Hornet'' to the [[Naval Station Norfolk]] for her training out period. She was there in [[Virginia]] when the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor]]. Newest of the Navy's fleet carriers, Mitscher worked hard to get ship and crew ready for combat. Following her [[Shakedown cruise|shake-down cruise]] in the Caribbean, Mitscher was consulted on the possibility of launching long-range [[bomber]]s off the deck of a carrier.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} In April 1942, after affirming it could be done, the sixteen [[North American B-25 Mitchell|B-25]] bombers of the [[Doolittle Raid]] were loaded on deck aboard ''Hornet'' for a transpacific voyage while ''Hornet''{{'}}s own flight group was stored below deck in her hangar. ''Hornet'' rendezvoused with {{USS|Enterprise|CV-6|2}} and [[Task Force 16]] in the mid-Pacific just north of [[Hawaii]]. Under the command of Admiral [[William F. Halsey|Halsey]], the task force proceeded in radio silence to a launch point {{convert|650|mi|km}} from Japan. ''Enterprise'' provided the air cover for both aircraft carriers while ''Hornet''{{'}}s flight deck was taken up ferrying the B-25s. ''Hornet'', then, was the real life "Shangri-la" that President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Roosevelt]] referred to as the source of the B-25s in his announcement of the bombing attack on [[Tokyo]].{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

===Battle of Midway===
[[File:F4Fs VF-8 launch USS Hornet 2 1942.jpg|thumb|right|F4F Wildcats of VF-8 prepare to launch off USS ''Hornet''.]]
During the [[Battle of Midway]], 4–7 June 1942, ''Hornet'' and ''Enterprise'' carried the air groups that made up the strike force of Task Force 16, while {{USS|Yorktown|CV-5|2}} carried the aircraft of [[Task Force 17]]. Mitscher had command of the newest carrier in the battle and had the least experienced air group. As the battle unfolded, the Japanese carrier force was sighted early on June 4 at 234 degrees and about {{convert|140|mi|km}} from Task Force 16, sailing on a northwest heading. In plotting their attack there was strong disagreement among the air group commanders aboard ''Hornet'' as to the best intercept course. Lieutenant Commander Stanhope C. Ring, in overall command of ''Hornet''{{'}}s air groups, chose a course of 263 degrees, nearly true west, as the most likely solution to bring them to the Japanese carrier group.<ref>Parshall and Tulley p. 174</ref> He had not anticipated the Japanese turning east into the wind while they recovered their aircraft. Lieutenant Commander [[John C. Waldron]], in command of the [[torpedo bomber]]s of [[VT-8|Torpedo Eight]], strongly disagreed with Ring's flight plan. An aggressive aviator, he assured Mitscher he would get his group into combat and deliver their ordnance, no matter the cost.<ref>Taylor p. 131</ref>

Thirty minutes after the ''Hornet'' airgroups set out, Waldron broke away from the higher flying [[Fighter aircraft|fighters]] and [[dive bomber]]s, coming to a course of 240 degrees. This proved to be an excellent heading, as his Torpedo Eight squadron flew directly to the enemy carrier group's location "as though on a plumb line".<ref>Gay p. 113</ref> They did so with no supporting fighters. On their way Torpedo Eight was picked up by ''Enterprise''{{'}}s [[VF-6]] fighter squadron flying several thousand feet above them. This group had launched last off ''Enterprise'' and had not been able to catch up with or locate the ''Enterprise'' dive bombers, but when Waldron dropped his group down to the deck to prepare for their attack the ''Enterprise'' fighters lost sight of them, leaving Torpedo Eight on their
own. <ref>Parshall and Tulley p. 207</ref>

[[File:Torpedo Eight in flight 1942.jpg|thumb|right|The fifteen Devastators of VT-8 form up as they leave ''Hornet''.]]
The first of the carrier squadrons to locate the Japanese carriers, Waldron bore down upon the enemy. He brought his group in low, slowing for their torpedo drops. With no fighter escort and no other attackers on hand to split the defenders, his group was devastated by defending Japanese [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero|Zeros]] flying combat air patrol (CAP). All fifteen [[Douglas TBD Devastator|TBD Devastator]]s of VT-8 were shot down. Though not known at the time, the efforts of Torpedo Eight failed to deliver a hit on the Japanese carriers. Of the Torpedo Eight aircrews, only Ensign [[George H. Gay, Jr.]] survived. About twenty minutes later ''Enterprise''{{'}}s Torpedo Six made their own attack, and was met with a similar hot reception. Again, no torpedo hits were made, but five of the aircraft managed to survive the engagement. Though failing to inflict any damage, the torpedo attacks did pull the Japanese CAP down and northeast of the carrier force, leaving the approach from other angles unhindered. Additionally, the attacks occupied the Japanese carriers with defending themselves, crucially delaying their ability to arm, spot and launch their own aerial strikes.

[[Douglas SBD Dauntless|SBD]] dive bombers from ''Enterprise'' arriving from the south flew over the Japanese carrier force to reach their tipping points almost unopposed. They delivered a devastating blow to {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Kaga||2}} and managed to put a bomb into {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Akagi||2}} as well, while SBDs coming from the east from ''Yorktown'' dove down upon {{ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Sōryū||2}} and shattered her flight deck. All three ships were set ablaze, knocked out of the battle to sink later that day. While these attacks were in progress, Ring continued his search on a course of 260 degrees, flying to the north of the battle. Unable to find the enemy and running low on fuel, ''Hornet''{{'}}s strike groups eventually turned back, either toward ''Hornet'' or to [[Midway Island]] itself. All ten fighters in the formation ran out of fuel and had to ditch at sea. Several of her SBDs heading to Midway also ran out of fuel and had to ditch on their approach to the Midway base. Other SBDs attempting to return to ''Hornet'' were unable to locate her, and disappeared into the vast Pacific. All these aircraft were lost, though a number of the pilots were later rescued. Of ''Hornet''{{'}}s air groups, only Torpedo Eight ended up reaching the enemy that morning. ''Hornet''{{'}}s air groups suffered a 50 percent loss rate without achieving any combat results.<ref>Parshall and Tulley p. 274</ref>

The battle was a great victory and Mitscher congratulated his crew for their efforts, but ''Hornet''{{'}}s performance had not lived up to his expectations and he felt he had failed to deliver the results he should have.<ref>Taylor p. 138</ref> In addition, he felt great regret for the loss of John Waldron and Torpedo Eight.<ref>Taylor p. 136</ref> For the next three years he would try to secure the award of the [[Medal of Honor]] to the entire unit, but without success. The pilots of Torpedo Eight were eventually awarded the [[Navy Cross]].<ref>Taylor p. 137</ref>

Mitscher's decisions in the battle have come under scrutiny largely due to the questionable actions of his subordinates and discrepancies in his After Action report. According to author Robert J. Mrazek, Mitscher backed up Ring's decision to take the heading of 263 degrees, as well as the decision to keep the fighters at high altitude, too high to effectively cover the torpedo bombers. Mrazek states that Waldron vehemently protested both decisions in front of Ring and Mitscher, but was overruled by the latter.<ref>Mrazek, ''A Dawn Like Thunder: The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight'', (2009)</ref> At the time, American intelligence reports indicated that the Japanese might be operating their carriers in two groups, and the search plane contact report stated that only two carriers had been found.<ref>Parshall and Tully, ''Shattered Sword''</ref> Mitscher and Ring had agreed on the westerly heading in order to search behind the enemy task force for a possible trailing group.<ref>Mrazek</ref> A further controversy exists in that the only official report from ''Hornet'' states that the strike took a course heading of 239 degrees and missed the Japanese task force because it had turned north.<ref>{{cite web |last=Symonds |first=Craig L. |title=Mitschner and the Mystery of Midway |date=May 2012 |publisher=U.S. Naval Institute |url=http://www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/2012-05/mitscher-and-mystery-midway |access-date=February 9, 2017}}</ref> This statement does not agree with some testimonies of Air Group Eight pilots and other evidence, most noticeably that none of the downed VF 10 pilots who were later rescued were found along the 238 course heading. Finally, the fact that no After Action reports were filed other than the one signed by Mitscher containing the 239 course heading is unusual. Mrazek believes that the lack of reports indicates a cover-up, possibly in an effort to protect Mitscher's reputation.<ref>Mrazek, Symmonds</ref>

===Commander Air Solomon Islands===
Prior to the Midway operation Mitscher had been promoted to rear admiral in preparation for his next assignment, the command of Patrol Wing 2. Though Mitscher preferred to be at sea, he held this command until December when he was sent to the South Pacific as Commander Fleet Air, [[Nouméa]]. Four months later in April 1943, Halsey moved Mitscher up to [[Guadalcanal]], assigning him to the thick of the fight as Commander Air, [[Solomon Islands]] (COMAIRSOLS). Here Mitscher directed an assortment of [[US Army|Army]], Navy, [[United States Marine Corps|Marine]] and New Zealand aircraft in the air war over Guadalcanal and up the Solomon chain. Said Halsey: "I knew we'd probably catch hell from the Japs in the air. That's why I sent Pete Mitscher up there. Pete was a fighting fool and I knew it."<ref>Taylor p. 145</ref> Short on aircraft, fuel and ammunition, the atmosphere on Guadalcanal was one of dogged defense. Mitscher brought a fresh outlook, and instilled an offensive mindset to his assorted air commands.<ref>Taylor p. xxiv</ref> Mitscher later said this assignment managing the constant air combat over Guadalcanal was his toughest duty of the war.<ref>Taylor p. 332</ref>

===Battles for the Central Pacific===
[[File:Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher aboard USS Lexington (CV-16), in June 1944 (80-G-236831).jpg|thumb|right|Vice Admiral Mitscher aboard his flagship, {{USS|Lexington|CV-16|2}}, in 1944.]]
Returning to the Central Pacific as commander, [[Carrier Division 3]], Mitscher was given primary responsibility for the development and operations of a newly formed [[Fast Carrier Task Force]], at that time operating as Task Force 58 as part of Admiral [[Raymond Spruance]]'s [[United States Fifth Fleet|Fifth Fleet]]. To that point in the conflict carriers had been able to bring enough airpower to bear to inflict significant damage on opposing naval forces, but they always acted as a raiding group against land bases. They would approach their objective, inflict damage, and then escape into the vast reaches of the Pacific. Even the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, devastating though it was, was a carrier raid. Naval airpower was not thought to have the capacity to challenge land-based airpower over any length of time. Mitscher was about to change that, leading U.S. naval airpower into a new realm of operations.

[[File:Admiral Mitscher speaking with David McCampbell.jpg|thumb|right|Mitscher speaks with Air Group Commander [[David McCampbell]], the task force's leading pilot.]]
[[File:Fighter plane contrails in the sky.jpg|thumb|right|Contrails streak the sky during the defense of Task Force 58 in the Battle of the Philippine Sea.]]
The fleet had recently completed operations in the Gilbert Islands, taking [[Battle of Tarawa|Tarawa]] in a bloody and costly invasion in the process. This mission was done for the purpose of obtaining a land base for aircraft to support naval operations against the next objective, the [[Marshall Islands]]. The idea that land-based air support was necessary to successfully conduct an amphibious operation was traditional doctrine. The Marshalls would be the first key step in the Navy's march across the Pacific to reach Japan. Mitscher's objective was to weaken Japanese air defenses in the Marshalls and limit their capability of flying in reinforcements, in preparation for a U.S. invasion of the Marshalls, code named [[Operation Flintlock (World War II)|Operation Flintlock]]. Intelligence estimates of the Japanese defenders of the Marshall Islands believed they had approximately 150 aircraft at their disposal. Two days before the intended landings Mitscher's task groups approached to within {{convert|150|mi|km}} of the Marshalls and launched their air strikes, fighters first to soften up the defenders, followed by bombers to destroy ground emplacements, buildings, supplies, and the defenders' airfields. It was thought it would take two days to attain air superiority. Though the Japanese battled briskly, they lost control of the skies over the Marshall Islands by noon of the first day. What came next was an aerial bombardment of the Japanese defenses, followed by a [[Naval gunfire support|naval bombardment]] from the big guns of Spruance's surface force. The two days of destruction saved a great many lives of the Marines that were landed. The Japanese were estimated to have lost 155 aircraft. Mitscher's task force lost 57 aircraft, from which 31 pilots and 32 crewmen were lost. But the manner in which the fast carrier task force was employed established a pattern for future Pacific operations. In his summary report for the month of January, Admiral Nimitz commented it was "typical of what may be expected in the future."<ref>Taylor p. 179</ref>

Next, Mitscher led Task Force 58 in a raid against [[Chuuk Lagoon#World War II|Truk]], Satawan and Ponape (February 17–18).<ref>Willmott p. 176</ref> This was a big step up. The idea of purposely sailing into the range of a major Japanese naval and air base brought great unease to Mitscher's airmen. Said one: "They announced our destination over the loudspeaker once we were underway. It was Truk. I nearly jumped overboard."<ref>Taylor p. 183</ref> But Mitscher felt confident they could succeed. As tactical commander of the striking force, he developed techniques that would help give his airmen the edge of surprise. In [[Operation Hailstone]], Mitscher's forces approached Truk from behind a weather front to launch a daybreak raid that caught many of the defenders off guard. The airmen brought devastation to the heavily defended base, destroying 72 aircraft on the ground and another 56 in the air, while a great number of auxiliary vessels and three warships were sunk in the lagoon. Chuckling over the pre-raid fears, Mitscher commented, "All I knew about Truk was what I'd read in the ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]''."<ref>Taylor p. 184</ref>

Through the spring of 1944 Task Force 58 conducted a series of raids on Japanese air bases across the Western Pacific, first in the [[Mariana Islands|Mariana]] and [[Palau|Palau Islands]],<ref>Potter pp. 122–127</ref> followed by a raid against Japanese bases in the [[Jayapura|Hollandia]] area.<ref>Potter pp. 129–132</ref> These attacks demonstrated that the air power of Task Force 58 was great enough to overwhelm the air defenses of not just a single island air base, or several bases on an island, but the air bases of several island groups at one time.<ref>Willmott p. 182</ref> The long-held naval rule that fleet operations could not be conducted in the face of land-based air power was brushed aside.

In the ensuing year Mitscher's aviators devastated Japanese carrier forces in the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]]—also known as the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot"—during June 1944. Memorably, when a very long-range U.S. Navy follow-up strike had to return to their carriers in darkness, Mitscher ordered all the carriers' flight deck landing lights turned on, risking submarine attack to give his aviators the best chance of being recovered.

On 26 August 1944, when Admiral William Halsey relieved Admiral Raymond Spruance as the fleet commander, the ships of the Fifth Fleet became the Third Fleet, and the subordinate Fast Carrier Task Force 58 became Task Force 38. The redesignated task force remained commanded by Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher. One of the most unfortunate events of the Pacific war occurred on the morning of 21 September 1944, when spotter planes from one of TF 38's carriers came across the MATA-27 convoy and a full scale attack soon was launched. All eleven ships were sunk, including the ''Toyofuku Maru'', which received direct hits from two aerial torpedoes and three bombs, sinking within five minutes; unfortunately, the ''Toyofuku Maru'' was carrying Dutch and British prisoners of war below decks, of which 1,047 drowned. This was learned only after the war's end.

===Facing the kamikaze threat===
[[File:Admiral Mitscher and Arliegh Burke.jpg|thumb|left|Admiral Mitscher and chief of staff [[Arleigh Burke]] transfer to ''Enterprise'' after ''Bunker Hill'' was hit twice by kamikazes]]
During 1944 and 1945, Vice Admiral Mitscher's fast carriers, whether designated Task Force 38 or Task Force 58, spearheaded the thrust against the heart of the [[Empire of Japan]], covering successively the [[Battle of Peleliu|invasion of the Palaus]], the [[Philippines campaign (1944–45)|liberation of the Philippines]], and the conquests of [[Battle of Iwo Jima|Iwo Jima]] and [[Battle of Okinawa|Okinawa]]. On 26 January 1945, the Third Fleet again became the Fifth Fleet. During the Okinawa operation there was a weather-caused delay in the Army preparing serviceable air bases. To provide essential air support to the intense ground operations, Mitscher was obliged to keep then-Task Force 58 sailing in a box on station some {{convert|60|mi|km}} east of Okinawa, often in stormy weather and heavy seas, for the next two months. During this time they were subject to air attack around the clock, and the psychological pressures of warding off these attacks were enormous. Rarely did a night go by that all the ships' crews were not called to general quarters, and the days were worse. Mitscher won his second [[Navy Cross]]<ref name=NavyNC>{{cite web |url=https://valor.defense.gov/Portals/24/Navy%20-%20Navy%20Cross%20List%20-%202021%2002%2002.pdf?ver=d2g_29o48C-uP_kGnci3kg%3d%3d |title=(U.S. Navy) Navy Cross Recipients, World War II, 1941-1945 |date=2021-02-02 |publisher=[[U.S. Department of Defense]] |access-date=2022-07-03}}</ref> for the critical success of TF 38 over the period of October 22–30, 1944, both away from and also in direct support of the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/19592 |website=valor.militarytimes.com |publisher=[[Sightline Media Group]] |editor-first=Doug |editor-last=Sterner |title=Marc Andrew Mitscher {{!}} Navy Cross {{!}} Fast Carrier Task Force 38 {{!}} Serial 070 |date=1945-06-07 |access-date=2022-07-03 |quote=...as Commander, Task Force THIRTY-EIGHT (TF-38), Western Task Forces (THIRD Fleet), during the period 22 October 1944 to 30 October 1944...}}</ref> He won his third Navy Cross<ref name=NavyNC/> for the critical success of TF 58 over the period of January 27 – May 27, 1945, both away from and also in direct support of the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/19592 |website=valor.militarytimes.com |publisher=[[Sightline Media Group]] |editor-first=Doug |editor-last=Sterner |title=Marc Andrew Mitscher {{!}} Navy Cross {{!}} Fast Carrier Task Force 58 {{!}} Serial 00153 |date=1945-06-07 |access-date=2022-07-03 |quote=...as Commander, Fast Carrier Task Force FIFTY-EIGHT. From 27 January 1945 to 27 May 1945...}}</ref>

On 11 May 1945, Mitscher and his chief of staff Commodore [[Arleigh Burke]] were yards away from getting killed or wounded by ''kamikazes'' on his flagship {{USS|Bunker Hill|CV-17|2}}, which killed three of Mitscher's staff officers and eleven of his enlisted staff members and also destroyed his flag cabin along with all of his uniforms, personal papers, and possessions. <ref>{{cite DANFS |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/about-us/leadership/director/directors-corner/h-grams/h-gram-048/h-048-1.html |title=H-048-1: Kamikaze Attacks on U.S. Flagships off Okinawa |access-date=30 August 2023}}</ref> Mitscher was forced to shift his command to ''Enterprise''. ''Enterprise'' at that time was functioning as a "night carrier," launching and recovering her aircraft in the dark to protect the fleet against land-based Japanese bomber and torpedo aircraft slipping in to attack the fleet in the relative safety of night. When ''Enterprise'' too was struck by a kamikaze attack, Mitscher had to transfer once more, this time to {{USS|Randolph|CV-15|6}}, the carrier that earlier had been damaged by a long-range kamikaze attack at [[Ulithi]]. Throughout this period Mitscher repeatedly led the fast carriers northward to attack air bases on the [[Japanese Archipelago|Japanese home islands]]. On 27 May 1945, Halsey for the last time relieved Spruance as fleet commander; the next day Vice Admiral John S. McCain relieved Vice Admiral Mitscher as Commander, Task Force 38. Commenting on Admiral Mitscher upon his return from the Okinawa campaign, Admiral Nimitz said, "He is the most experienced and most able officer in the handling of fast carrier task forces who has yet been developed. It is doubtful if any officer has made more important contributions than he toward extinction of the enemy fleet."<ref>Taylor p. 304</ref> Exhausted and ill after a heart attack, Mitscher went to Washington, D.C., to serve as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air.

==Post-war==
[[File:Photograph of President Truman shaking hands with Admiral Marc Mitscher, commander of the 8th Fleet and wartime... - NARA - 199402.tif|thumb|right|President Truman congratulates Mitscher during a ceremony in which eight U.S. carriers were awarded Presidential Unit Citations, July 16, 1946.]]
[[File:80-G-702511 (25999431760).jpg|thumb|[[Fleet admiral (United States)|Fleet Admiral]] [[Chester W. Nimitz]], Fleet Admiral [[William D. Leahy]], President [[Harry S. Truman]], and [[Vice admiral (United States)|Vice Admiral]] Marc A. Mitscher on the bridge of the [[USS Franklin D. Roosevelt|USS ''Franklin D. Roosevelt'' (CV-42)]] during maneuvers off the Virginia Capes, 24 April 1946.]]
At the conclusion of World War II, and in the face of markedly reduced U.S. military spending, a political battle ensued in America over the need for, and the nature of, a post-war military, with advocates from the [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Forces]] insisting that with the [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|development of the atomic bomb]] the nation could be defended by the devastating power that [[strategic bomber]]s could deliver, thereby doing away with the need for Army or Navy forces. In their view, air assets in the Navy should be brought under the control of the soon-to-be-formed [[United States Air Force|Air Force]]. In the face of such proposals Mitscher remained a staunch advocate for naval aviation, and went so far as to release the following statement to the press:

<blockquote>Japan is beaten, and carrier supremacy defeated her. Carrier supremacy destroyed her army and navy air forces. Carrier supremacy destroyed her fleet. Carrier supremacy gave us bases adjacent to her home islands, and carrier supremacy finally left her exposed to the most devastating sky attack – the atomic fission bomb – that man has suffered.</blockquote>

<blockquote>When I say carrier supremacy defeated Japan, I do not mean air power in itself won the Battle of the Pacific. We exercised our carrier supremacy as part of a balanced, integrated air-surface-ground team, in which all hands may be proud of the roles assigned them and the way in which their duties were discharged. This could not have been done by a separate air force, exclusively based ashore, or by one not under Navy control.<ref>Potter p. 266</ref></blockquote>

By July 1946, when he was serving as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air), Mitscher received, among other awards, two Gold Stars signifying his second and third [[Navy Cross]] and the [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal|Distinguished Service Medal]] with two Gold Stars.

He served briefly as commander [[United States Second Fleet|8th Fleet]] and on 26 September 1946 became Commander-in-Chief, [[United States Atlantic Fleet|U.S. Atlantic Fleet]], with the rank of [[Admiral (United States)|admiral]].

While in that assignment, Mitscher died on 3 February 1947 at the age of 60 of a [[coronary thrombosis]] at [[Norfolk, Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/admiral-marc-a-mitscher-2360510 |title=World War II: Admiral Marc A. Mitscher |first=Kennedy |last=Hickman |date=14 May 2018 |access-date=13 January 2019 |work=[[ThoughtCo.]]}}</ref> He was buried in [[Arlington National Cemetery]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/mamitsch.htm |title=Marc Andrew Mitscher |date=8 July 2022 |publisher=Arlington National Cemetery}}</ref>

== Mitscher's style as military commander ==
Though reserved and quiet, Mitscher possessed a natural authority.<ref>Taylor p. 74</ref> He could check{{huh|date=June 2024}} a man with a single question. He was intolerant of incompetence and would relieve officers who were not making the grade, but was lenient with what he would consider honest mistakes. Harsh discipline, he believed, ruined more men than it made. He was not forgetful of the abuse he took at the Naval Academy. He believed pilots could not be successfully handled with rigid discipline, as what made for a good pilot was an independence that inflexible discipline destroyed. At the same time he was insistent on rigid "air discipline" and he would break a man who violated it.<ref>Taylor p. 242</ref>

===Naval aviation tactics===
Before most other officers in the high command of the U.S. Navy, Mitscher had a grasp of the potential sudden, destructive power that air groups represented. The change in the operation of carriers from single or paired carriers with support vessels to task groups of three or four carriers was a Mitscher concept, which he implemented for the purpose of concentrating the fighter aircraft available for a better air defense of the carriers.

Offensively, Mitscher trained his air groups to engage in air attacks which delivered a maximum destructive force upon the enemy with the least amount of loss to his aviators. He sought well coordinated attacks. In a typical Mitscher-style air attack, fighter aircraft would come at the targets first, strafing the enemy ships to suppress their defensive anti-aircraft fire. In plain terms he intended his fighter pilots to wound or kill the target ship's anti-aircraft gun crews. Following the fighter runs, the ordnance-carrying aircraft would execute bombing and torpedo runs, preferably simultaneously to overburden the ship's defenses and negate evasive maneuvers. The attack would be completed in a few minutes. Once the attack was delivered the air groups would leave, as suddenly as they had arrived.<ref>Taylor p. 243</ref>

=== Leadership ===
Mitscher's command style was one of few words. His small frame belied the authority he carried. A raised eyebrow was all he needed to indicate he was not pleased with the effort of one of his officers. He was not patient with incompetent personnel, yet he was forgiving of what he considered "honest" mistakes, and would allow airmen a second chance when other officers would have washed them out. He placed tremendous value on his pilots and had great respect for the risks they were willing to accept in attacking the enemy. His practice was for the flight leaders of the air groups of the carrier he was commanding from to come up to the flag bridge and report following the completion of their missions. He valued greatly the information he received from the men who had been in the air on the scene. He was devoted to these men, and made a great effort to recover as many downed aircrew as possible. One place this was demonstrated was at the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]], where he ordered the fleet flight decks illuminated so pilots returning in the dark and very low on fuel (many aircraft had to ditch into the sea) would have a better chance of finding the carriers, despite the risk from enemy submarines. He hated to lose a man, either adrift at sea, or worse, captured by the Japanese. Having spent time adrift on a downed aircraft himself, he was always deeply distressed that the numbers of rescued airmen were not higher.<ref>Potter p. 133</ref>

=== Personality ===
[[File:Mitscher and Burke.jpg|thumb|right|Mitscher and Arleigh Burke confer aboard USS ''Randolph'' during the Okinawa campaign.]]
Mitscher was a quiet man. He rarely spoke, never engaged in small talk and would never discuss mission details at the mess table. On the rare occasions when he would enter into conversation it would be about fishing, the love of which he picked up in his middle years.<ref>Potter p. 180</ref> Mitscher relaxed by reading cheap murder mysteries{{huh|date=June 2024}}, and when at sea he would always have one with him.<ref>Potter p. 138</ref> Though he appeared distant and severe, Mitscher possessed a dry sense of humor and held a deep affection for his men. Once when a destroyer came alongside to refuel from their carrier, Mitscher took the opportunity to gently rib his chief of staff, Captain [[Arleigh Burke]]. Burke had come to Mitscher from destroyers, and preferred a fighting command over his new role as chief of staff. To the Marine sentry standing nearby, Mitscher ordered "Secure Captain Burke, till that destroyer casts off."<ref>Potter p. 128</ref>

=== Relations toward superior officers ===
Mitscher had tactical control of Task Force 58/38 and directed its subordinate task groups. Strategic control was held by Spruance or Halsey. While Spruance granted his subordinates great authority, Halsey exercised much tighter control, such that commander, Third Fleet, was for all practical purposes commander, Task Force 38 as well; this was clearly and repeatedly seen in the battle of Leyte Gulf. But however much he may have disagreed with an order, once a decision was made by either of his superiors, Mitscher would implement the decision without complaint. This was most prominently exemplified in the last two major naval battles of the war: the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]] and the [[Battle of Leyte Gulf]]. In each case Mitscher recommended a course of action which differed sharply from the one subsequently ordered by his fleet commander. In each case, once the order was given, Mitscher set about executing the order without further debate or protest.

Nevertheless, late in the war, Mitscher did preempt [[United States Fifth Fleet|U.S. Fifth Fleet]] commander Admiral Raymond Spruance in stopping a [[Operation Ten-Go|Japanese naval sortie]], centered on the super-battleship {{ship|Japanese battleship|Yamato||2}}, from reaching [[Battle of Okinawa|Okinawa]]. Upon receiving contact reports from submarines {{USS|Threadfin||2}} and {{USS|Hackleback||2}} early on 7 April 1945, Spruance ordered Task Force 54, which consisted of older [[Standard-type battleship]]s under the command of Rear Admiral [[Morton Deyo]] (and which were then engaged in shore bombardment of Okinawa), to prepare to intercept and destroy the Japanese sortie. Deyo began to plan how to execute his orders. Mitscher, however, preempted using the American battleship force by launching on his own initiative a massive air strike from his three carrier task groups then in range of the Japanese surface formation—without informing Spruance until after the launches were completed.<ref>''Triumph in the Pacific'' by E.B. Potter, also ''[[History of United States Naval Operations in World War II]]'' by [[Samuel Eliot Morison]].</ref> As a senior naval aviation officer, "Mitscher had spent a career fighting the battleship admirals who had steered the navy's thinking for most of [that] century. One of those was his immediate superior, Raymond Spruance. Mitscher [may have] felt a stirring of battleship versus aircraft carrier rivalry. Though the carriers had mostly fought the great battles of the Pacific, whether air power alone could prevail over a surface force had not been proven beyond all doubt. Here was an opportunity to end the debate forever."<ref name="historynet.com">{{cite web | url=http://www.historynet.com/killing-the-yamato.htm | title=Killing the Yamato | first=Robert | last=Gandt | date=August 4, 2011 | work=HistoryNet.com | access-date=August 22, 2018}}</ref> After being informed of Mitscher's launches, Spruance agreed that the air strikes could go ahead as planned. As a contingency should the air strikes not be successful, Spruance planned to assemble a force of six new fast battleships ({{USS|South Dakota|BB-57|2}}, {{USS|Massachusetts|BB-59|2}}, {{USS|Indiana|BB-58|2}}, {{USS|New Jersey|BB-62|2}}, {{USS|Wisconsin|BB-64|2}}, and {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|2}}), together with seven cruisers (including the newly-arrived large cruisers {{USS|Alaska|CB-1|2}} and {{USS|Guam|CB-2|2}}), escorted by 21 destroyers, and to prepare for a surface engagement with ''Yamato.'' Mitscher's air strikes sank ''Yamato'', light cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Yahagi|1942|2}}, and four destroyers (the other four fled back to Japanese ports), at the cost of ten aircraft and twelve aircrew lost.<ref>[http://navweaps.com/index_oob/OOB_WWII_Pacific/OOB_WWII_Final_Sortie.htm Order of Battle - Final Sortie of the Imperial Japanese Navy - 7 April 1945]</ref><ref>Authors Garzke and Dulin speculate that the likely outcome of a battle between the older (and slower) American force under Deyo and the ''Yamato'' would have been a victory for the Allies, but at a serious cost due to the large margin of superiority ''Yamato'' held over the older American battleships in firepower (460 mm vs. 356 mm), armor, and speed ({{convert|27|knots}} vs. {{convert|21|knots}}. A hypothetical battle between Spruance's new battleships and the Japanese super-battleship would have been a very different story.(Garzke and Dulin (1985)), p. 60.</ref>

==Legacy==
Two ships of the Navy have been named USS ''Mitscher'' in his honor: the post-World War II frigate, {{USS|Mitscher|DL-2}}, later re-designated as the guided-missile destroyer (DDG-35), and the currently serving {{sclass|Arleigh Burke|destroyer|0}} guided-missile destroyer, {{USS|Mitscher|DDG-57}}.

The airfield and a street at [[Marine Corps Air Station Miramar]] (formerly Naval Air Station Miramar) were also named in his honor (Mitscher Field and Mitscher Way).

Mitscher Hall at the United States Naval Academy houses chaplain offices, meeting rooms, and an auditorium.<ref>
{{cite web | last =Rodenburg | first =J. D. | title =Mitscher Hall | publisher =Wikimapia | year =2007 | url =http://wikimapia.org/2927002/Mitscher-Hall | access-date = 18 May 2012}}</ref>

In 1989, Mitscher was inducted into the [[International Air & Space Hall of Fame]] at the [[San Diego Air & Space Museum]].<ref>Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. ''These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame''. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. {{ISBN|978-1-57864-397-4}}.</ref>

The words of Admiral [[Arleigh Burke]], his wartime chief of staff, provide the greatest tribute and recognition of his leadership:
: "He spoke in a low voice and used few words. Yet, so great was his concern for his people—for their training and welfare in peacetime and their rescue in combat—that he was able to obtain their final ounce of effort and loyalty, without which he could not have become the preeminent carrier force commander in the world. A bulldog of a fighter, a strategist blessed with an uncanny ability to foresee his enemy's next move, and a lifelong searcher after truth and trout streams, he was above all else—perhaps above all other—a Naval Aviator."

The character Pete Richards, played by [[Walter Brennan]], in the 1949 film ''[[Task Force (film)|Task Force]]'' is loosely based on Mitscher.

==Awards and decorations==
Ribbon bar of Admiral Mitscher:

{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|colspan="4"|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Naval Aviator Badge.jpg|width=256|alt=}}
|-
|colspan="6"|{{Ribbon devices|number=2|type=award-star|ribbon=Navy Cross ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=2|type=award-star|ribbon=Navy Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|other_device=v|type=award-star|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|ribbon=United States Navy Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Mexican Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=World War I Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=ADSM A.png|width=106|alt=}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=8|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|ribbon=Phliber rib.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Order of the Bath (ribbon).svg|width=106|alt=}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=PRT Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword - Commander BAR.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
!Badge
|colspan="14"|[[Naval Aviator Badge]]
|-
!1st Row
|colspan="12"|[[Navy Cross]] with two gold stars
|-
!2nd Row
|colspan="4"|[[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]] with two gold stars
|colspan="4"|[[Legion of Merit]] with [["V" Device]]
|colspan="4"|[[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]] with two stars
|-
!3rd Row
|colspan="4"|[[Mexican Campaign Medal]]
|colspan="4"|[[World War I Victory Medal (United States)|World War I Victory Medal]] with "Escort" Clasp
|colspan="4"|[[American Defense Service Medal]] with "A" device
|-
!4th Row
|colspan="4"|[[American Campaign Medal]]
|colspan="4"|[[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with one silver and three bronze service stars
|colspan="4"|[[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]]
|-
!5th Row
|colspan="4"|[[Philippine Liberation Medal]] with two stars
|colspan="4"|[[Order of the Bath|Companion of the Order of the Bath]] (United Kingdom)
|colspan="4"|Commander of the [[Order of the Tower and Sword]] (Portugal)
|-
|}

==See also==
*[[List of military figures by nickname]]

== References ==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=N}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{Cite book|last=Gay|first=George|year=1979|title=Sole Survivor|publisher=Midway Publishers|location=Naples, Florida|isbn=0-938300-08-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Hornfischer|first=James D.|author-link=James D. Hornfischer |title=The Fleet at Flood Tide: The U.S. at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-1945|year=2016|publisher=Random House Publishing Group}}
* {{Cite book | last=Parshall | first=Jonathan | author2=Tully, Anthony | year=2005 | title=Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway | publisher=Potomac Books | location=Dulles, Virginia | isbn=1-57488-923-0 | url=https://archive.org/details/shatteredswordun0000pars }}
* {{Cite book|author=Potter, E. B.|author-link=E. B. Potter|year=2005|title=Admiral Arleigh Burke|publisher=U.S. Naval Institute Press| isbn=978-1-59114-692-6}}
*[[Theodore Taylor (author)|Taylor, Theodore]]. ''The Magnificent Mitscher''. New York: Norton, 1954; reprinted Annapolis, Md.: [[Naval Institute Press]], 1991. {{ISBN|1-55750-800-3}}.
* Willmott, H.P. (1984) "June, 1944" Blandford Press {{ISBN|0-7137-1446-8}}
{{DANFS}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20151231163901/http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/biographies-list/bios-m/mitscher-marc-a.html Admiral Marc Mitscher, U.S. Navy Biography]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitscher, Marc}}
[[Category:1887 births]]
[[Category:1947 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Hillsboro, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:People from Oklahoma City]]
[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Aviators from Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Wisconsin]]
[[Category:United States Naval Aviators]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Tower and Sword]]
[[Category:United States Navy admirals]]
[[Category:United States Navy World War II admirals]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Deaths from coronary thrombosis]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War I]]

Joseph Taussig

2025-09-25T18:22:29Z

2603:8000:D400:C2:6161:388A:DDF:90AF: /* Decorations and awards */

{{Short description|United States Navy admiral (1877–1947)}}
{{about||his son, the United States Navy officer|Joseph K. Taussig Jr.}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Joseph Knefler Taussig
| image =Joseph Taussig.jpg
| caption = Vice Admiral Joseph K. Taussig
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1877|8|30}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1947|10|29|1877|8|30}}
| placeofburial_label = Place of burial
| placeofburial = [[Arlington National Cemetery]]<ref>{{cite web | url = https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/Cgd0YXVzc2lnEgZqb3NlcGg-/ | accessdate = March 31, 2023 | website = ANC Explorer | title = Burial detail: Taussig, Joseph K }}</ref>
| birth_place = [[Dresden]], Germany
| death_place = [[Bethesda, Maryland]], U.S.
| placeofburial_coordinates = 
| nickname =
|allegiance= [[United States of America]]
|branch={{Naval|United States|navy-1864}}
| serviceyears = 1895–1941, 1943–1947
| rank = [[File:US-O9 insignia.svg|30px]] [[Vice admiral (United States)|Vice admiral]]
| unit =
| commands = {{USS|Ammen|DD-35|2}} {{USS|Wadsworth|DD-60|2}} Division 6, Destroyer Force Division 8, Destroyer Force {{USS|Little|DD-79|2}} Division of Enlisted Personnel, Bureau of Navigation [[SS Great Northern (1914)|''Columbia'']] {{USS|Cleveland|C-19|2}} {{USS|Trenton|CL-11|2}} {{USS|Maryland|BB-46|2}} Battleship Division 3, Battle Force Cruisers, Scouting Force [[Norfolk Navy Yard]] [[Fifth Naval District]]
| battles = [[Spanish–American War]] [[Philippine–American War]] [[China Relief Expedition]] [[Cuban Pacification]] [[World War I]] [[United States occupation of Nicaragua|Second Nicaraguan Campaign]] [[World War II]]
| awards = [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal|Distinguished Service Medal]] ([[World War I]] service) [[Legion of Merit]] [[Lifesaving Medal|Silver Life Saving Medal]] [[Purple Heart Medal]] [[Order of Saint Michael and Saint George]] U.K. [[Order of the Merit of Chile]]
| relations = [[Rear Admiral]] [[Edward D. Taussig]] (father) [[Joseph K. Taussig Jr.]] (son)
| laterwork =
}}
'''Joseph Knefler Taussig''' (30 August 1877 – 29 October 1947) was a [[Vice admiral (United States)|vice admiral]] in the [[United States Navy]]. He served in the [[Spanish–American War]], [[Philippine–American War]], [[China Relief Expedition]], [[Cuban Pacification]], [[World War I]], [[United States occupation of Nicaragua|Second Nicaraguan Campaign]], and [[World War II]].

==Biography==
The son of German-Jewish parents [[Rear Admiral]] [[Edward D. Taussig]] and his wife Ellen Kneffler, the daughter of [[Frederick Knefler]], Joseph Taussig was Jewish<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lu0TAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Joseph+Taussig%22+%22jewish%22+-%22jewish+hospital%22 |title=Comment on Current Events ... |year=1942 |access-date=2020-01-20}}</ref> and was born in [[Dresden]], [[Germany]], where his father, a [[lieutenant (navy)]] was on special service at the [[European Station]] (February 1877 – January 1880).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.navyhistory.org/2013/03/book-review-three-splendid-little-wars-diary-joseph-taussig-1898-1901/ |title=Book Review – Three Splendid Little Wars: The Diary of Joseph K. Taussig 1898–1901 | Naval Historical Foundation |publisher=Navyhistory.org |access-date=2020-01-20}}</ref> One of five sons, he entered the [[United States Naval Academy]] (USNA) in 1895. His older brother, Paul Taussig, had been enrolled at the USNA but died the previous July of a sudden onset of acute [[appendicitis]]. Joseph Taussig, like his late brother, excelled in athletics at USNA. A football star, he was [[quarterback]] for the 1899 Navy team. He also excelled at [[track and field]] events and was president of the USNA Athletic Association. He was the second of a four-generational family of United States Naval Academy graduates that served from 1863 to 1970 starting with his father, Rear Admiral [[Edward D. Taussig]] (1847–1921), continuing with his son [[Captain (naval)|Captain]] [[Joseph K. Taussig Jr.]] (1920–1999), and ending with his grandson, Captain Joseph K. Taussig III USMC (1945–). One of his daughters married George Philip for whom the [[USS George Philip]] was named.

==Spanish–American War==
When the [[Spanish–American War]] began in April, 1898, Taussig was in his final year as a [[cadet]] (as [[midshipmen]] at USNA were known from the latter part of the 19th century until 1902). He was assigned to the [[flagship]] of [[Admiral]] [[William T. Sampson]], the cruiser {{USS|New York|ACR-2|2}}, and was on board during the bombardment of [[Battle of the Aguadores|Aguadores]] and [[Santiago de Cuba|Santiago]] and the pivotal naval [[Battle of Santiago de Cuba]] on July 3, 1898, where the Spanish fleet was wiped out and Admiral [[Pascual Cervera y Topete|Pascual Cervera]] taken prisoner.

Taussig was a prolific and talented journalist and writer during his entire 46-year naval career. In later years, his direct and honest candor earned him the professional disfavor of [[Assistant Secretary of the Navy]] (and later [[President of the United States]]) [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and [[Secretary of the Navy]] [[Josephus Daniels]]. In the daily 125 page journal (with an additional 35 pages of imprints) that Taussig maintained of his experiences and observations during the Spanish–American War, he wrote about the troops embarkation from [[Tampa, Florida]], the Army landing at [[Daiquirí]] and [[Siboney, Cuba|Siboney]], the condition of the Cuban and Spanish armies, the [[Battle of Santiago de Cuba]], a visit to [[Morro Castle (Havana)|Morro Castle]] in [[Havana Harbor]] and the fleet's triumphal and feted return to [[New York Navy Yard]] after the end of hostilities in August 1898. Taussig's journal includes his pencil sketches of troops, ships, locations, maps, and prints of naval personnel involved in the war. He also wrote numerous letters to his father and brother Charles Taussig, who became a well-known attorney in New York City. Returning to complete his studies at the USNA, Taussig graduated in the class of 1899.

==Philippine–American War==
Following graduation, he was assigned to the [[protected cruiser]] {{USS|Newark|C-1|2}} which departed [[New York Naval Yard]] in March 1899 bound for the [[Philippines]]. The ship made ports of call in the Caribbean, Caracas (Venezuela), Montevideo (Uruguay) and ports in Chile and Peru before heading up the California coast to [[Mare Island Navy Yard]] near San Francisco for outfitting and repairs prior to deployment with the [[Asiatic Squadron]]. Departing from the West Coast, {{USS|Newark|C-1|2}} made stops in Hawaii and Guam in transit to the Western Pacific and arrived in Cavite in November 1899. For the next five months, {{USS|Newark|C-1|2}} was station ship at Vigan on the island of Luzon. During that time, Taussig was part of a [[landing party]] that embarked at Pamplona to rescue American citizens being held hostage by Insurrectos opposed to U.S. control of the Philippines. However, once there, the [[landing party]] was ordered to return to the ship. In December, {{USS|Newark|C-1|2}} moved to [[Aparri]] where it accepted the surrender of the Insurrectos in the provinces of [[Isabela (province)|Isabela]], [[Cagayan]] and [[Bataan]].

==China Relief Expedition (Boxer Rebellion)==
In April 1900, {{USS|Newark|C-1|2}} was ordered to sail to Japan and then to [[Taku, China]] as part of the multinational [[China Relief Expedition]] being mobilized to rescue the foreign legations in Peking that were then besieged by the [[Fists of Righteous Harmony|Boxers]], a movement that opposed the growing influence of European business interests and Christian missionaries in China. The joint naval force was under the command of [[Vice Admiral]] [[Edward Hobart Seymour]], Royal Navy with Captain [[Bowman H. McCalla]], USN of the {{USS|Newark|C-1|2}}, second in command. As a naval cadet member of the multinational landing force that came to be known as the [[Seymour Expedition|Seymour Relief Expedition]] Taussig served alongside and began a long and fraternal professional association with Royal Navy officers Captain [[John Jellicoe]] and [[Lieutenant (navy)|Lieutenant]] [[David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty|David Beatty]] who later advanced to [[First Sea Lord]]s of the Royal Navy.

On June 7, 1900, the 2,100 strong Seymour Relief Expedition set out from [[Battle of Tientsin|Tientsin]] by train with the destination Peking and the objective the release of the besieged foreign legations. However, progress was repeatedly halted due to stretches of track that had been torn up by the [[Fists of Righteous Harmony|Boxers]] and intermittent attacks. The imperial forces of the [[Dowager Empress]] were allied with the Boxers and joined in the attacks. Just seven days into its rescue mission, the expedition was forced to retreat to Tientsin due to the rail-bed both north and south of Yang Tsun being destroyed by the Boxers, cutting off the force's supply replenishment. During the retreat, Taussig was seriously wounded in the leg during a Boxer attack. He recovered in Japan and was advanced four numbers in grade because of his injury. Forty-three years later he was awarded the [[Purple Heart]] for his combat wounds.

As he had done during the Spanish–American War, Taussig maintained a daily journal of the time he was in the Philippines and subsequently China while attached to {{USS|Newark|C-1|2}} as a naval cadet. These include detailed descriptions of his shipmates and officers including Captain [[Bowman H. McCalla]] of the {{USS|Newark|C-1|2}}, Vice Admiral Seymour, the progress and setback of the Seymour Expedition, the political dynamics, social customs and recreation in China, and drawings of engineering details of {{USS|Newark|C-1|2}} and urban scenes in Vigan and Pamplona. Of tactical significance, the journal includes a list of the ports of call for {{USS|Newark|C-1|2}} and an intelligence report on the fortifications of Sydney, Australia and the government of [[New South Wales]]. Taussig submitted his journal to Captain [[John Fremont]] of the {{USS|Culgoa|AF-3|2}} who attested to it and pronounced it an excellent piece of work. The 120 page journal that Taussig wrote during his time attached to {{USS|Newark|C-1|2}} was the basis for his April 1927 article on the Seymour Relief Expedition, one of forty-four articles that he eventually authored for the [[U.S. Naval Institute]] magazine ''[[Proceedings (magazine)|Proceedings]]''.

==Cuban pacification and inter-war years==
Following recuperation from his leg wound, Taussig was assigned to the {{USS|Nashville|PG-7|2}} in the Philippines and then to the {{USS|Culgoa|AF-3|2}}, a supply ship carrying food stores for the Army from Australia to the Philippines. Following that, he was assigned to {{USS|Yorktown|PG-1|2}} commanded by his father, [[Commander]] [[Edward D. Taussig]] USN. While serving on {{USS|Yorktown|PG-1|2}} at Yokohama Harbor, Taussig rescued a shipmate who had gone to the rescue of another drowning man. Both men were saved and for his heroism, Taussig was awarded the [[Lifesaving Medal|Silver Life Saving Medal]] by the [[U.S. Treasury Department]] in 1902. Of the numerous personal decorations and [[service medals]] he was awarded, it was the medal that Taussig prized most throughout his life.

After two years as a naval cadet, and having participated in three separate conflicts initiated by native interests opposing foreign intervention by the age of twenty-three, Taussig was commissioned [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]] on 28 January 1901 to begin a series of promotions and distinctions that would underscore his service to the navy. Returning to the United States from the [[Asiatic Squadron]] in 1902, he was assigned to {{USS|Texas|1892|2}} and next served as [[navigator]] on {{USS|Topeka|PG-35|2}}. In 1905 he was on {{USS|Amphitrite|BM-2|2}}, the station ship at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The following year he was [[navigator]] and [[executive officer]] on {{USS|Celtic|AF-2|2}}. In 1907, Taussig joined the officer staff of {{USS|Kansas|BB-21|2}}, one of the ships of the [[Great White Fleet]] that circumnavigated the globe in 1907 as a demonstration of U.S. Naval seapower and global presence. After the fleet rounded Cape Horn and steamed up the western coasts of South and North America, he detached from {{USS|Kansas|BB-21|2}} at [[Mare Island Navy Yard]] and was assigned to the staff of his father, Edward D. Taussig, by then a rear admiral and commandant of the [[Norfolk Navy Yard]]. In 1910 he was appointed [[flag secretary]] and aide to Rear Admiral [[Charles Vreeland]], commander of the 2nd and 4th Divisions of the [[United States Fleet Forces Command|Atlantic Fleet]].

Promoted to [[lieutenant commander]], in 1911 he took command of the destroyer {{USS|Ammen|DD-35|2}}, followed by an assignment to the [[Bureau of Navigation (United States Navy)|Bureau of Navigation]] in Washington, D.C., until 1915. This duty gave Taussig the background experience which resulted in his exposing personnel shortcomings in the navy following [[World War I]]. In 1915, he first locked horns with then [[Assistant Navy Secretary]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and [[Navy Secretary]] [[Josephus Daniels]] when he and several other navy officers, notably Admiral [[William Sims]], were critical of a program that provided for the use of paroled criminals to fill the depleted ranks of enlisted personnel. In 1915, Taussig returned to sea in command of the newly commissioned destroyer {{USS|Wadsworth|DD-60|2}} and [[Division 6, Destroyer Force]], [[United States Fleet Forces Command|Atlantic Fleet]]. The following year, Taussig received promotion to the rank of [[Commander (United States)|commander]].

==World War I==
[[File:Officers of USS Wadsworth (DD-60) IWM Q18172.jpg|thumb|Taussig (second from right) with officers of the ''Wadsworth'' during World War I]]
In July 1916, after serving in [[battleship]]s, [[cruiser]]s, [[destroyer]]s, and on staffs afloat, Taussig was assigned command of Division 8, Destroyer Force (DesDiv 8), [[United States Fleet Forces Command|Atlantic Fleet]]. The US entered [[World War I]] in April 1917. At that time, Britain was suffering from unchecked [[U-boat]] attacks on merchant shipping in the North Atlantic, so in May 1917 President [[Woodrow Wilson]] ordered DesDiv 8 to [[Queenstown, Ireland]], to assist the British [[Royal Navy]] - the first group of American destroyers sent abroad during the war.

After a nine-day Atlantic crossing, most of the time in a severe southeast gale, DesDiv 8 reached Queenstown. [[Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland|The British commander at Queenstown]], Vice Admiral [[Lewis Bayly (Royal Navy officer)|Sir Lewis Bayly]], hosted a dinner in the Americans' honor on the night of their arrival. At the dinner, Bayly asked Commander Taussig "When will you be ready to go to sea?" Taussig replied in the now famous words: "We are ready now, sir; that is, as soon as we finish refueling."<ref>See Massey, ''Castles of Steel''.</ref>

For an attack on a German U-boat on 29 July 1917, he was awarded the [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal|Distinguished Service Medal]], at that time the Navy's second highest valor award. In December 1917, he returned to the US to take command of the newly commissioned destroyer {{USS|Little|DD-79|2}}. By May 1918, ''Little'' was in Europe, patrolling off the coast of [[France]]. The journal that Commander Taussig kept of his service in World War I was published in 1996 by the [[Naval War College]] Press under the title ''The Queenstown Patrol, 1917''. With the war winding down, he was detached to the [[Bureau of Navigation]] in August 1918.

==Conflict with Assistant Navy Secretary Franklin D. Roosevelt==
Promoted to [[Captain (naval)|captain]] in September 1918, he was assigned to head the Division of Enlisted Personnel of the [[Bureau of Navigation (United States Navy)|Bureau of Navigation]]. Aware of the inadequacies of manpower from his experience in the fleet during World War I, in 1920, he was embroiled in a publicized dispute with [[Assistant Secretary of the Navy]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and testified before the [[U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Navy Affairs]] regarding the personnel shortage in the navy, stating that navy department heads had failed "to take adequate steps to provide personnel necessary for the proper conduct of the navy during the war." For his outspoken views, Taussig earned the lifetime enmity of Roosevelt, who was in a political fight with the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] over his nomination as [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]], and wrote a sharp letter to the navy subcommittee denying Taussig's charges.

Taussig candidly maintained that, "the Navy was far from being ready for War... and the enlisted personnel was entirely inadequate for the proper manning of our already completed ships on a peace time basis, and was dangerously inadequate should we suddenly be thrown into war." Secretary [[Josephus Daniels]] was angered by Taussig's dissent and denied publication of Taussig's prize-winning essay on naval personnel in the [[Naval Institute]] press.

==Inter-war years==
[[File:Staff, Cruisers, Scouting Force, 1938.jpg|thumb|Taussig as commander of Cruisers, Scouting Force, on board {{USS|Chicago|CA-29|2}}, 1938 (seated, front row, center)]]

In 1919 he attended the senior course at the [[Naval War College]], graduating in 1920 and appointed to the staff of the president of the Naval War College. The following year he was a staff member in the Tactics Department. In 1921 he was assigned to command {{USS|Great Northern|AG-9|2}}, later renamed ''Columbia'', briefly flagship of the United States Atlantic Fleet. In 1922 his ship, {{USS|Cleveland|C-19|2}}, rendered assistance to the victims of an [[1922 Vallenar earthquake|earthquake and tsunami]] in Chile. For his actions, he was awarded the [[Order of the Merit of Chile]] for his efforts in the earthquake relief during 1922. In 1923, he was Assistant Chief of Staff, to Admiral [[Hilary P. Jones]], Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet for six months.

From July 1923 to June 1926, he was on the staff of the Naval War College where he was Chairman of the Strategy Department. In 1926, he was given command of the [[light cruiser]] {{USS|Trenton|CL-11|2}}. From 1927 to 1930, he returned to the Naval War College as Chief of Staff and on 16 May 1930, was given command of the battleship {{USS|Maryland|BB-46|2}}. He was promoted to rear admiral on 1 July 1931 and served as chief of staff to Admiral [[Richard H. Leigh]], Commander, Battle Fleet. In 1933 he was appointed Assistant [[Chief of Naval Operations]] in the Navy Department. However, with Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) having been inaugurated President of the United States in January of that year, according to Admiral [[Frederic S. Withington]], Taussig never had a chance of promotion beyond rear admiral because of his dispute with FDR in the 1920s. FDR was criticized by newspaper columnists [[Drew Pearson (journalist)|Drew Pearson]] and [[Robert S. Allen]] in 1936 when instead of appointing Taussig commander of the United States Fleet, he was assigned to command [[Battleship Division 3]], Battle Force, with his flag on the {{USS|Idaho|BB-42|2}}. In 1937, still with the rank of rear admiral, he was appointed commander of Cruisers, [[Scouting Force]], with his flag on the heavy cruiser {{USS|Chicago|CA-29|2}}. In May 1938, he was attached as commandant, Norfolk Navy Yard and [[Fifth Naval District]], a billet his father Edward D. Taussig had filled thirty years earlier.

==Another clash with FDR==
In May 1940, Taussig again locked horns with now-president Franklin D. Roosevelt, when Massachusetts Senator [[David I. Walsh]] invited Taussig to testify at Senate hearings on plans to expand the navy. Taussig advocated the building of {{sclass|Iowa|battleship|0}} and {{sclass|Montana|battleship}}s and offered testimony to the aggressive, imperialistic designs of the [[Empire of Japan]] that planned to annex China, the Philippines and the [[Dutch East Indies]]. He warned of the superiority of the Japanese Merchant fleet to that of the US, and the need to replenish U.S. bases in the Pacific Ocean and prepare for defense of the Philippines, stating, "I cannot see how we can escape being forced into war based on the present trends of events." He also claimed that the [[Tanaka Memorial]] was genuine. Taussig's testimony set off a controversy that lasted in the press for weeks and infuriated FDR who wanted Taussig relieved of his command of Norfolk Navy Yard and the [[Fifth Naval District]]. However, [[Chief of Naval Operations]] Admiral [[Harold R. Stark]] convinced Roosevelt to reconsider and Roosevelt took no action; however, Stark publicly stated that Taussig's views were contrary to the Navy Department's and on 23 April 1940, issued a reprimand that was placed in Taussig's file.

==World War II==
Rear Admiral Taussig was forced to retire in September 1941 due to his age, despite his petition to continue on active duty with the impending international crisis. He was promoted to vice admiral on 22 October 1941 due to his service in the [[Boxer Rebellion]]. He had testified to the Senate committee on naval affairs in April 1940 that war with Japan over the Philippines was inevitable without a change in policy. His testimony included accurate predictions on the coming war in the Pacific. According to a May 9, 1940 article by [[Drew Pearson (journalist)|Drew Pearson]], Taussig was forced into retirement due to his public prediction that war with Japan was inevitable. In a June 9, 1940 article authored by Drew Pearson and [[Robert S. Allen]], Taussig was referred to as "the star scholar and strategist of the navy."

On 8 December 1941, President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Roosevelt]] ordered the reprimand removed from Taussig's personnel file, after his son, Ensign [[Joseph K. Taussig Jr.]] was severely wounded and lost his leg, earning a [[Navy Cross]] while serving on the {{USS|Nevada|BB-36|2}} during the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].

Taussig's request to return to active duty was ultimately granted in 1943 and he served in the
office of the [[Secretary of the Navy]] on the Naval Clemency and Prison Inspection Board, the Naval Discipline Policy Review Board, and the Procurement and Retirement Board, until 1 June 1947, only a few months before his death.

Vice Admiral Taussig died on 29 October 1947 at [[Bethesda Naval Hospital]]. He was one of a very few individuals who served in the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II.

His survivors then included his wife of 38 years, [[Lulie Johnston Taussig]], of Washington, D.C. and Jamestown, RI; two daughters, Mrs. Emily Whitney Sherman, of Newport, RI and Mrs. Margaret Philip Helmer of Irvine, CA and his son Captain Joseph K. Taussig, Jr. of Annapolis, MD. His daughter Margaret had been married to Commander [[George Philip Jr.]] until his death in 1945.

==Decorations and awards==

{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Navy Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Silver Lifesaving Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Purple Heart ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Sampson Medal ribbon.JPG|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Spanish Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Philippine Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=China Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Army of Cuban Pacification service ribbon.png |width=106}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=World War I Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Nicaraguan Campaign ribbon 1933.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=UK Order St-Michael St-George ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|[[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]
|[[Legion of Merit]]
|[[Lifesaving Medal|Silver Life Saving Medal]]
|-
|[[Purple Heart Medal]]
|[[Sampson Medal]]
|[[Spanish Campaign Medal]]
|-
|[[Philippine Campaign Medal]]
|[[China Relief Expedition Medal]]
|[[Cuban Pacification Medal]]
|-
|[[World War I Victory Medal (United States)|World War I Victory Medal]] with "Destroyer" clasp
|[[Nicaraguan Campaign Medal|Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal]]
|[[American Defense Service Medal]]
|-
|[[American Campaign Medal]]
|[[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]]
|[[Order of Saint Michael and Saint George]] U.K.
|}

===Navy Distinguished Service Medal Citation===
[[File:NavyDSM.png|left|40px]]
<blockquote>The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Distinguished Service Medal to Captain Joseph Knefler Taussig, Sr., United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. WADSWORTH, engaged in the important, exacting, and hazardous duty of patrolling the waters infested with enemy submarines and mines, in escorting and protecting vitally important convoys of troops and supplies through these waters, and in offensive and defensive action, vigorously and unremittingly prosecuted against all forms of enemy naval activity; and especially for a successful attack upon an enemy submarine on 29 July 1917.<ref>{{cite web |title=Joseph Taussig - Recipient - |url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/16864 |website=valor.militarytimes.com |access-date=31 March 2023 |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>

==Namesake==
* The destroyer escort {{USS|Joseph K. Taussig|DE-1030|3}} was named in his honor, while the destroyer {{USS|Taussig|DD-746|3}} was named in honor of his father.
* Admiral Taussig Blvd. in [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], [[Virginia]], near [[Naval Station Norfolk]], is named in his honor.{{Citation needed|date=November 2016}}
* Taussig Street in [[Tierrasanta, San Diego|Tierrasanta]], [[California]] in Murphy Canyon Military Housing is named in his honor.

==Miscellaneous==
* His son was married to the daughter of [[Robert Carney]]. His granddaughter is married to radio talk show host and lawyer [[Hugh Hewitt]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hughhewitt.com/blog/g/9142ef1d-0d2b-4049-92a4-dc6304fb57ee|title=The McCain Service To America Tour|access-date=2011-05-23|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722232015/http://www.hughhewitt.com/blog/g/9142ef1d-0d2b-4049-92a4-dc6304fb57ee|archive-date=2011-07-22}}</ref>

==Published works==
* ''Our Navy, A Fighting Team'' (1943) Whittlesey House – co-authored by Harley F. Cope

==Publications==
* "Sees U.S. Involved in Far East War, Admiral Taussig Testifies that Japan Aims at Domination – Navy Disclaims His Views" New York Times April 23, 1940, page 1.
* ''Three Splendid Little Wars: The Diaries of Joseph Knefler Taussig, 1898–1901'' [edited by Evelyn M. Cherpak] (January 2009) Naval War College Press. {{ISBN|978-0-16-082792-1}}
* ''The Queenstown Patrol, 1917: The Diary of Commander Joseph Knefler Taussig, U.S. Navy'' (June 1996) Naval War College Press. {{ISBN|978-1-884733-07-9}}
* Vaughn, Stephen L. ''Encyclopedia of American Journalism''. CRC Press, 2008, p. 384 includes Drew Pearson's reporting on Taussig's "retirement".

==See also==
* [[List of Jews in sports#Football (American)|List of select Jewish football players]]

==References==
* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/j4/joseph_k_taussig.htm}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.jewsinsports.org/profile.asp?sport=football&ID=55 jewsinsports.org : Joseph K. Taussig, Navy quarterback]
* [http://homeport.usnaweb.org/taussigs.html The Taussigs : Four-generation USNA alumni] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812094134/http://homeport.usnaweb.org/taussigs.html |date=2010-08-12 }}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taussig, Joseph K.}}
[[Category:1877 births]]
[[Category:1947 deaths]]
[[Category:Jewish American military personnel]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of the Spanish–American War]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:United States Navy World War II admirals]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]]
[[Category:United States Navy admirals]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:American people of German-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Dresden]]

Joseph M. Reeves

2025-09-25T18:13:41Z

2603:8000:D400:C2:6161:388A:DDF:90AF: /* Awards and decorations */

{{short description|American four-star Admiral}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}{{Use American English|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox military person
| birth_name = Joseph Mason Reeves
| birth_date = {{birth date|1872|11|20|df=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1948|3|25|1872|11|20|df=y}}
| image = NH 47100 Admiral Joseph M. Reeves, USN.jpg
| caption = Reeves in 1934
| nickname = "Bull"
| birth_place = [[Tampico, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_place = [[Bethesda, Maryland]], U.S.
| placeofburial = [[United States Naval Academy Cemetery]], [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]], [[Maryland]]
| placeofburial_label = Place of burial
| allegiance = {{flagu|United States|1912}}
| branch = {{Naval|United States|navy-1864}}
| serviceyears = 1894–1936 1940–1947
| rank = [[File:US-O10 insignia.svg|40px]] [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]]
| unit =
| commands = [[United States Fleet]]
| battles = {{tree list}}
*[[Spanish–American War]]
**[[Battle of Santiago de Cuba]]
*[[World War I]]
*[[World War II]]
{{tree list/end}}
| awards = [[Navy Cross (United States)|Navy Cross]] [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal|Distinguished Service Medal]] [[Legion of Merit]]
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Joe Reeves
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| alma_mater =
| coach_years1 = 1907
| coach_team1 = [[Navy Midshipmen football|Navy]]
| overall_record = 9–2–1
| bowl_record =
| tournament_record =
| championships =
| awards =
| coaching_records =
}}

'''Joseph Mason''' "'''Bull'''" '''Reeves''' (20 November 1872 – 25 March 1948) was an [[admiral]] in the [[United States Navy]] and an early and important supporter of U.S. [[Naval aviation|Naval Aviation]]. Though a [[battleship]] [[Officer (armed forces)|officer]] during his early career, he became known as the "Father of Carrier Aviation" for his role in integrating [[aircraft carrier]]s into the fleet as a major part of the U.S. Navy's attack capabilities.

Reeves retired in the mid-1930s but was recalled to active duty during [[World War II]] to serve in high-level staff positions within the Office of the [[United States Secretary of the Navy]]. He retired again in December 1946 with the rank of full [[Admiral (United States)|admiral]].

==Biography==
===Early life===
Joseph Mason Reeves was born on 20 November 1872 in the village of [[Tampico, Illinois|Tampico]], [[Illinois]].<ref name=op29>{{cite web |author= |date=20 May 1952 |title=Admiral Joseph Mason Reeves, USN |url=https://usssanfrancisco.org/the-stories/admiral-joseph-mason-reeves-usn/ |website= usssanfrancisco.org|location= |publisher=[[United States Navy]], Naval Biography Division of Naval Records & History, Op-29 |access-date=1 May 2025}}</ref> He received an appointment in 1890 to attend the [[United States Naval Academy]] in [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]], [[Maryland]], where he became a [[American football|football]] hero. In addition to his on-field heroics, he is credited with the invention of the modern [[football helmet]], which he had a [[Shoemaking|shoemaker]] create for him after being told by a U.S. Navy doctor that another kick to his head could result in "instant insanity" or death.<ref>[http://www.pasttimesports.biz/history.html "History of the Football Helmet"] from [http://www.pasttimesports.biz/ ''Past Time Sports'']. Accessed Jan 1,2010</ref> Reeves graduated from the academy in June 1894.

===Naval career===
====1894–1902====
Upon graduation, Reeves was assigned to the [[protected cruiser]] {{USS|San Francisco|C-5|6}}. After the then-mandatory two years at sea prior to being commissioned as an [[Officer (armed forces)|officer]], he was commissioned with the rank of assistant engineer in 1896.<ref name=op29/> In 1896 he was reassigned to the [[battleship]] {{USS|Oregon|BB-3|6}} in the [[Pacific Squadron]].<ref name=op29/> When the [[Spanish–American War]] broke out in April 1898, ''Oregon'' was at [[San Francisco]], [[California]], and Reeves was aboard her for her famous 66-day voyage from San Francisco and around [[Cape Horn]] to the [[Caribbean]] to join the [[North Atlantic Squadron]] for operations against the [[Spanish Navy]].<ref name=op29/> After arriving off [[Cuba]], Reeves took part aboard ''Oregon'' in the [[blockade]] of Admiral [[Pascual Cervera y Topete]]'s [[Squadron (naval)|squadron]] at [[Santiago de Cuba]] in June and July 1898 and its culmination in the [[Battle of Santiago de Cuba]] on 3 July. For the latter action he was advanced four numbers in grade and commended "[f]or displaying ominous and conspicuous conduct in managing the machinery of the Vessel OREGON, July 3, 1898. [He] so developed the efficiency of the motive power as to cause the attainment of a speed unusual to the ship, thereby enabling her commanding officer to place her in the very conspicuous position that she occupied on that occasion, thus contributing in a very important degree to the success of the OREGON in the battle."<ref name=op29/> The war ended in August 1898.

Reeves's "assistant engineer" rank was changed to [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]] on 3 March 1899.<ref name=op29/> He was promoted to [[lieutenant (junior grade)]] on 1 July 1899 and to [[Lieutenant (navy)|lieutenant]] on 9 October 1901.<ref name=op29/> During these years he left ''Oregon'' and subsequently served consecutively aboard the [[presidential yacht]] {{USS|Sylph|PY-5|6}}, the [[gunboat]] and [[dispatch vessel]] {{USS|Dolphin|PG-24|6}}, and the battleship {{USS|Kearsarge|BB-5|6}} until ordered to the [[Naval Torpedo Station]] at [[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport]], [[Rhode Island]], for six weeks of instruction in [[torpedo]]es.<ref name=op29/> He then had duty at the [[Washington Navy Yard]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], until September 1902.<ref name=op29/>

====1902–1925====
After leaving the Washington Navy Yard in 1902, Reeves again served aboard ''San Francisco''.<ref name=op29/> In July 1904 he became aide on the staff of Commander-in-Chief, [[United States Asiatic Fleet]], first under [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]] [[Yates Stirling]] aboard his [[flagship]], the battleship {{USS|Wisconsin|BB-9|6}}, and then under Admiral [[Charles J. Train]] aboard his flagship, the battleship {{USS|Ohio|BB-12|6}}.<ref name=op29/> Train died on 4 August 1906,<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1982&dat=19060811&id=6wcyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SuMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3803,1740133 Anonymous, 'in Honor of Adm. Train," ''The Evening News'', San Jose, California, August 8, 1906, p. 8.]</ref> and Reeves was detached that month and returned to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he was an instructor in the Department of [[Chemistry]] and [[Physics]] from 1906 to 1908.<ref name=op29/> He served as the academy's head football coach in 1907, guiding [[1907 Navy Midshipmen football team|the team]] to a 9–2–1 record and a 6–0 victory over [[1907 Army Cadets football team|Army]].

In March 1908 Reeves became ordnance officer aboard the battleship {{USS|New Hampshire|BB-25|6}}.<ref name=op29/> In September 1909 he began an assignment as fleet ordnance officer on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, [[United States Atlantic Fleet]], Admiral [[Seaton Schroeder]], aboard Schroeder's flagship, the battleship {{USS|Connecticut|BB-18|6}}.<ref name=op29/> He moved on in September 1910, one source claiming he began a tour as [[commanding officer]] of the Naval [[Coal]] Depot aat [[Tiburon, California|Tiburon]], [[California]],<ref name=op29/> another that he first had an assignment to the [[Board of Inspection and Survey]] before assuming duty at Tiburon.

In April 1913, Reeves assumed command of the [[Collier (ship)|collier]] {{USS|Jupiter|AC-3|6}}, the U.S. Navy's first electrically propelled vessel. Detached from ''Jupiter'' in April 1914, Reeves took command of the protected cruiser {{USS|St. Louis|C-20|6}}. During the remainder of 1914 he was attached temporarily to the gunboat {{USS|Vicksburg|PG-11|6}}, the protected cruiser {{USS|Milwaukee|C-21|6}}, the armored cruiser {{USS|Colorado|ACR-7|6}}, the gunboat {{USS|Annapolis|PG-10|6}}, and the armored cruiser {{USS|South Dakota|ACR-9|6}}. In either December 1914<ref name=op29/> or June 1915 he took command of the battleship ''Oregon''. He left ''Oregon'' in either March<ref name=op29/> or June 1916 to become aide to the commandant of [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard|Mare Island Navy Yard]].<ref name=op29/>

The [[United States]] entered [[World War I]] in April 1917, and in December 1917 Reeves left Mare Island for war service in command of the battleship {{USS|Maine|BB-10|6}}.<ref name=op29/> Under his command, ''Maine'' took part in [[convoy]] escort operations in the [[Atlantic Ocean]].<ref name=op29/> He received the [[Navy Cross (United States)|Navy Cross]] for his tour in command of ''Maine'', the citation stating, "For exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility as commanding officer of the USS MAINE with the Atlantic Fleet."<ref name=op29/> In September 1918 he became the commanding officer of the battleship {{USS|Kansas|BB-21|6}}, and in October 1918 he began an assignment to the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] in the [[United States Department of the Navy]] in Washington, D.C..<ref name=op29/> The war ended on 11 November 1918.

On 15 April 1919, Reeves became the U.S. [[naval attaché]] at [[Rome]], [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]].<ref name=op29/> Upon completing this assignment, he assumed command of the armored cruiser [[USS Pennsylvania (ACR-4)|USS ''Pittsburgh'']] in Europe and steamed back to the [[United States]] aboard her.<ref name=op29/> On 6 October 1921 he reported to the [[receiving ship]] at San Francisco for duty on command, and he became Captain of the Mare Island Navy Yard in November 1921.<ref name=op29/> He afterwards commanded the battleship {{USS|North Dakota|BB-29}} in 1922–1923, then attended the [[United States Naval War College]] at Newport, Rhode Island. After completing his course work, he spent a year as a member of the college's staff.

====Entering naval aviation====
[[File:Reeves and Pratt.jpg|thumb|left|[[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]] [[William V. Pratt]] (left), [[Rear Admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] Joseph M. Reeves (center), and [[Captain (United States O-6)|Captain]] Frank R. McCrary (right), at [[Naval Air Station North Island]] in [[San Diego]], [[California]], on 27 December 1928.]]
Upon completing his tour at the Naval War College, Reeves decided to enter the new world of naval aviation. In order to hold a command post, however, he needed to receive aviation training. Like other older officers — notably, [[Rear Admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[William A. Moffett]], Chief of the Navy's new [[Bureau of Aeronautics]] — Reeves qualified as a "Naval Aviation Observer" rather than as a "Naval Aviator" (i.e., a pilot). He received his qualification in 1925 and assumed the post of Commander, Aircraft [[Squadron (aviation)|Squadron]], [[Battle Fleet]]. Though a [[Captain (United States O-6)|captain]] by rank, his position as squadron commander permitted him to fly a [[Broad pennant|commodore's pennant]]. His [[flagship]] was the experimental aircraft carrier {{USS|Langley|CV-1}} — his old ship ''Jupiter'', rebuilt for and [[Ship commissioning|recommissioned]] in 1922 as the U.S. Navy's first [[aircraft carrier]]. The wooden [[flight deck]] was installed over ''Langley's'' existing deck structures, giving the vessel the nickname "The Covered Wagon."

While in command of ''Langley'', Reeves worked hard to develop carrier aviation tactics, seeking to increase [[sortie]] rates and the use of [[dive bombing]]. He proved these concepts by the success of his pilots and aircrew during the U.S. Navy's annual fleet exercises (known as "[[Fleet Problem]]s").<ref name="Let Sailors Be Tactical Incubators">{{cite web | url = https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2020/june/let-sailors-be-tactical-incubators | access-date = 7 June 2020 | work = Proceedings of the U.S. Naval Institute | title = Let Sailors Be Tactical Incubators, Proceedings of the U.S. Naval Institute; June 2020| date = June 2020 | publisher = U.S. Naval Institute}}</ref>

Reeves served on the [[General Board of the United States Navy|Navy's General Board]] from June 1929 to June 1930. Fifteen months later he became Senior Member of the Board of Inspection and Survey, Pacific Coast Section. Another tour at Mare Island Navy Yard followed and in June 1933 he became Commander, Battleships, [[Battle Force]], with the temporary rank of [[Vice admiral (United States)|vice admiral]]. In July 1933 he was assigned as Commander, Battle Force, [[United States Fleet]], with the rank of [[Admiral (United States)|admiral]].

On 26 February 1934, Reeves was designated Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Fleet. He held this command until June 1936, when he was ordered to [[Washington, D.C.]], to serve on the General Board. He held the Board position until 23 November 1936, and retired on 30 November 1936.

====World War II====
[[File:Admiral Joseph M. Reeves.jpg|thumb|right|Admiral [[Arthur Japy Hepburn]], left, assuming command of [[United States Fleet]] from Admiral Joseph M. Reeves, 24 June 1936.]]
[[World War II]] broke out in [[Europe]] on 1 September 1939, and Reeves was recalled to active duty on 13 May 1940, advanced to vice admiral on the retired list, and attached to the Office of the [[United States Secretary of the Navy]]. Reeves served simultaneously as [[Lend-Lease]] Liaison Officer from March 1941 to December 1945, Senior Military Member of the Munitions Assignments Board and Chairman of the Munitions Assignment Committee (Navy) from 13 February 1942 to 8 November 1945, and Chairman of the Joint Munitions Allocation Committee from 11 January 1944 to 2 September 1945.<ref name="All Hands June 1947">{{cite web | url = https://media.defense.gov/2019/Apr/10/2002112341/-1/-1/1/AH194706.pdf | access-date = 11 February 2017 | work = navy.mil | title = All Hands - The Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin; June 1947 | publisher = United States Navy Websites}}</ref>

In diplomatic relations with the senior military representatives of the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] during World war II, Reeves displayed unusual qualities of leadership and rendered invaluable service in carrying out his duties. His skill and initiative in bringing about the harmonious distribution of finished materials to meet the demands of all United Nations Services, were essential to the integration of the Allied military organization, and his brilliant analyses of the overall situation were substantial factors in executing logistic plans in accordance with strategic requirements.<ref name="All Hands November 1946">{{cite web | url = https://media.defense.gov/2019/Apr/10/2002112334/-1/-1/1/AH194611.pdf | access-date = 11 February 2017 | work = navy.mil | title = All Hands - The Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin; November 1946 | publisher = United States Navy Websites}}</ref><ref name="All Hands June 1946">{{cite web | url = https://media.defense.gov/2019/Apr/10/2002112329/-1/-1/1/AH194606.pdf | access-date = 11 February 2017 | work = navy.mil | title = All Hands - The Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin; June 1946 | publisher = United States Navy Websites}}</ref>

Reeves retired from the Navy as an [[Admiral (United States)|admiral]] in June 1947 and received the [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal|Distinguished Service Medal]] and [[Legion of Merit]] for his service. He spent his last years living in [[Maryland]] and died at the [[National Naval Medical Center]] in [[Bethesda, Maryland|Bethesda]], Maryland, on 25 March 1948.<ref name="Valor awards for Joseph Mason Reeves">{{cite web | url = https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/9963#173625 | access-date = 17 June 2017 | work = valor.militarytimes.com | title = Valor awards for Joseph Mason Reeves | publisher = Militarytimes Websites}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Together with his wife Eleanor Watkins Reeves, Reeves had three children.

==In popular culture==

[[Jack Holt (actor)|Jack Holt]] portrayed Reeves in the 1949 film ''[[Task Force (film)|Task Force]]''.

==Legacy==
A [[warship]] and two airfields have been named in honor of Reeves:
* The [[guided-missile frigate]] {{USS|Reeves|DLG-24}} was commissioned on 15 May 1964 and received three [[battle star]]s for [[Vietnam War]] service. ''Reeves'' was reclassified on 30 June 1975 as a [[guided-missile cruiser]] (CG-24). She was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] and stricken from the Navy Register on 12 November 1993 at [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Hawaii]]. She was sunk as a target on 31 May 2001 off [[Queensland]], [[Australia]].
* Joseph Mason Reeves Field ("Reeves Field") at [[Naval Air Station Lemoore]], California, was dedicated on 20 November 1961.
* Naval Air Station [[Reeves Field San Pedro]] in California (later [[Naval Air Station Terminal Island]]), was dedicated during the 1930s. This airfield is no longer active.

==Awards and decorations==
Reeves earned the following awards and decorations:
{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="4"|[[File:Naval Aviation Observer Badge.png|256px]]
|-
|colspan="3"|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Navy Cross ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}} {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Navy Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Sampson Medal ribbon.JPG|width=106|alt=}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Spanish Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=World War I Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Commendatore OCI Kingdom BAR.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Commendatore SSML Regno BAR.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="15"|[[Observer Badge#United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard|Naval Aviation Observer Badge]]
|-
!1st Row
|colspan="5"|[[Navy Cross (United States)|Navy Cross]]
|colspan="7"|[[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]
|-
!2nd Row
|colspan="3"|[[Legion of Merit]]
|colspan="3"|[[Sampson Medal]]
|colspan="3"|[[Spanish Campaign Medal|Navy Spanish Campaign Medal]]
|-
!3rd Row
|colspan="3"|[[World War I Victory Medal (United States)|World War I Victory Medal]] with Atlantic Fleet [[medal bar|clasp]]
|colspan="3"|[[American Defense Service Medal]]
|colspan="3"|[[American Campaign Medal]]
|-
!4th Row
|colspan="3"|[[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]]
|colspan="3"|[[Order of the Crown of Italy|Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy]]
|colspan="3"|[[Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus|Commander of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]]
|}

==Head coaching record==
{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = [[Navy Midshipmen football|Navy Midshipmen]]
| conf = Independent
| startyear = 1907
| endyear = single
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = [[1907 college football season|1907]]
| name = [[1907 Navy Midshipmen football team|Navy]]
| overall = 9–2–1
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Navy
| overall = 9–2–1
| confrecord =
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record End
| overall = 9–2–1
| bowls = no
| poll = no
| polltype =
| legend = no
}}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
:{{DANFS}}
*Grossnick, Roy et al. ''United States Naval Aviation 1910–1995.'' Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, Dept. of the Navy, 1997.
** ''(Text available online from the [https://web.archive.org/web/20040820085506/http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/nhcorg4.htm Naval Aviation History Office/Branch] of the Naval Historical Center)''
*Wildenberg, Thomas. ''All the Factors of Victory: Admiral Joseph Mason Reeves and the Origins of Carrier Airpower.'' Washington, D.C.:

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091021110425/http://www.militarymuseum.org/Reeves.html Californians and the Military: Admiral Joseph Mason "Bull" Reeves, USN (1872–1948)] By WO1 Mark J. Denger and LTC Norman S. Marshall, California Center for Military History. From the website of the California Military Museum, operated by the California State Military Department.

{{S-start}}
{{S-mil}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[David F. Sellers]]|
title=Commander in Chief, [[United States Fleet]]|
after=[[Arthur J. Hepburn]]|
years=26 February 1934 – June 1936}}
{{S-end}}
{{Navy Midshipmen football coach navbox}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeves, Joseph M.}}
[[Category:1872 births]]
[[Category:1948 deaths]]
[[Category:American military personnel of the Spanish–American War]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:United States Navy World War II admirals]]
[[Category:United States Navy admirals]]
[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Naval War College alumni]]
[[Category:Navy Midshipmen football players]]
[[Category:United States naval aviation]]
[[Category:Burials at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]]
[[Category:United States naval attachés]]
[[Category:People from Tampico, Illinois]]

Henry Kent Hewitt

2025-09-25T02:56:09Z

2603:8000:D400:C2:6161:388A:DDF:90AF:

{{Short description|United States Navy officer (1887–1972)}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Henry Kent Hewitt
|image= H. Kent Hewitt Adm USN.svg
|image_size=
|alt=
|caption= Admiral H. Kent Hewitt {{circa}} 1945
|nickname=
|birth_date= {{birth date|1887|02|11}}
|birth_place= [[Hackensack, New Jersey]], U.S.
|death_date= {{death date and age|1972|9|15|1887|2|11}}
|death_place= [[Middlebury, Vermont]], U.S.
|placeofburial= [[United States Naval Academy Cemetery]] (Section 2 Lot 209)
|allegiance= [[United States of America]]
|branch= {{flag|United States Navy}}
|serviceyears= 1906–1949
|rank= [[File:US-O10 insignia.svg|30px]] [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]]
|servicenumber=
|unit=
|commands= United States Naval Forces Europe [[United States Eighth Fleet]] Amphibious Force, [[United States Atlantic Fleet|Atlantic Fleet]] [[Special Service Squadron]] {{USS|Indianapolis|CA-35|6}} {{USS|Cummings|DD-44|6}} {{USS|Eagle|1898|6}}
|battles=
{{tree list}}
* [[World War I]]
** [[Atlantic U-boat Campaign (World War I)|Battle of the Atlantic]]
* [[World War II]]
** [[Battle of the Atlantic]]
** [[Naval Battle of Casablanca|Battle of Casablanca]]
** [[Battle of Gela (1943)|Battle of Gela]]
** [[Battle of Salerno]]
** [[Operation Dragoon]]
{{tree list/end}}
|awards={{plainlist|
* [[File:Navy Cross ribbon.svg|35 px]] [[Navy Cross]] (2)
* [[File:Navy Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|35 px]] [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]] (2)
* [[File:U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|35 px]] [[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Army Distinguished Service Medal]] (2)
}}
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}
'''Henry Kent Hewitt''' (February 11, 1887 – September 15, 1972)<ref name="vahkh" /> was the [[United States Navy]] commander of amphibious operations in North Africa and southern Europe through World War II. He was born in [[Hackensack, New Jersey|Hackensack]], [[New Jersey]] and graduated from the [[United States Naval Academy]] in 1907. His classmates included [[Patrick N. L. Bellinger]], [[Willis W. Bradley]], [[Robert C. Giffen]], [[Jonas H. Ingram]], [[George McCall Courts|George M. Courts]], [[Claud Ashton Jones|Claud A. Jones]], and [[Raymond A. Spruance]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/luckybag1907unse |title=Lucky Bag |date=1907 |publisher=First Class, United States Naval Academy |others=Nimitz Library U. S. Naval Academy}}</ref>

==Early career==
Hewitt served aboard {{USS|Missouri|BB-11|6}} in the [[Great White Fleet]]'s circumnavigation of the globe from 1907–1909. His sea duty continued as a division officer aboard {{USS|Connecticut|BB-18|6}} and executive officer of the destroyer {{USS|Flusser|DD-20|6}}. In 1913 he was promoted to lieutenant, married Floride Louise Hunt (1887–1973), and began three years of shore duty as a Naval Academy mathematics instructor. He returned to sea in 1916 commanding the yacht {{USS|Eagle|1898|2}} in the Caribbean. Hewitt was awarded the [[Navy Cross]] commanding the destroyer {{USS|Cummings|DD-44|6}} escorting Atlantic convoys during [[World War I]]. His citation reads:{{blockquote |The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Commander Henry Kent Hewitt, United States Navy, for distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. CUMMINGS, engaged in the important, exacting and hazardous duty of patrolling the waters infested with enemy submarines and mines, in escorting and protecting vitally important convoys of troops and supplies through these waters, and in offensive and defensive action, vigorously and unremittingly prosecuted against all forms of enemy naval activity during World War I.<ref name="vahkh">{{citation |title=Valor Awards for Henry Kent Hewitt |url=http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=10315 |access-date=11 April 2012}}</ref>}}

Hewitt was an instructor of electrical engineering and physics at the Naval Academy from 1919 to 1921 before returning to sea as gunnery officer aboard {{USS|Pennsylvania|BB-38|6}}. After spending three years at the [[Naval War College]] in [[Newport, Rhode Island]], he commanded Destroyer Division Twelve with the battle fleet from 1931 to 1933. He then chaired the Naval Academy mathematics department for three years while the Naval Academy developed the [[Keuffel & Esser]] Log Log Trig [[slide rule]].<ref>Atkinson, Rick ''The Day of Battle, the war in Sicily and Italy, 1943–44'' p.31</ref> He returned to sea commanding the cruiser {{USS|Indianapolis|CA-35|6}} and transported President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] to the Pan-American Conference at [[Buenos Aires]] following the 1936 elections.<ref name="loc">{{cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/mss/eadxmlmss/eadpdfmss/2001/ms001023.pdf|title=Papers of H. Kent Hewitt|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=2012-04-10}}</ref>

==Flag rank during World War II==
[[File:Major General Patton and Rear Admiral Hewitt on USS Augusta (CA-31), circa in November 1942 (80-G-30116).jpg|left|thumb|Major General [[George S. Patton|George Patton]] with Rear Admiral Hewitt aboard [[USS Augusta (CA-31)|USS ''Augusta'']], off the coast of North Africa, November 1942.]]
Hewitt was promoted to rear admiral in 1939, and commanded Atlantic Fleet Task Groups in neutrality patrols and convoys from 1941 until becoming Commander, Amphibious Force, [[United States Fleet Forces Command|Atlantic Fleet]], in April 1942. This force, also called Task Force 34, became the U.S. component of the [[Operation Torch]] landings in November 1942. Hewitt was then assigned as [[United States Eighth Fleet|Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Northwest Africa Waters]] or COMNAVNAW. His flagships included {{USS|Augusta|CA-31|6}} while he commanded American naval forces at the [[Naval Battle of Casablanca]],<ref>Sean Maloney, ''To Secure Command of the Sea'', thesis, 1991, p. 25</ref> {{USS|Monrovia|APA-31|2}} while he commanded the western task force during the [[Battle of Gela (1943)|invasion of Sicily]], and {{USS|Ancon|AGC-4|2}} while he commanded all Allied amphibious forces during the [[Allied invasion of Italy|invasion of Italy]]<ref>Potter, E.B. & [[Chester W. Nimitz|Nimitz, Chester W.]], ''Sea Power'' (1960) Prentice-Hall p.595</ref> and later [[Anzio landings]] and [[Operation Dragoon|invasion of southern France]].

Hewitt was awarded both the Army and Navy Distinguished Service Medals for his part in the invasion of North Africa. The [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]] citation reads:{{blockquote |The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Distinguished Service Medal to Rear Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt (NSN: 0–5819), United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility, as Commander of the United States Naval Forces which escorted and supported the United States Army Forces in successful landings and occupation of certain objectives in French Morocco from 7 November 1942 to 15 November 1942. By his careful and exhaustive planning and his able and efficient conduct of escort and coverage of United States Army landing forces, Rear Admiral Hewitt contributed greatly to the successful accomplishment of one of three major objectives in the occupation of North Africa.<ref name="vahkh"/>}}

The [[Army Distinguished Service Medal]] citation reads:{{blockquote |The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Rear Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt (NSN: 0–5819), United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility. Admiral Hewitt, in his capacity as Commander of the Amphibious Force Atlantic Fleet, and of Naval Task Force No. THIRTY-FOUR (34), with the highest type of skill and leadership, conducted his large fleet from the United States to the shores of French Morocco, through waters infested with hostile submarines, without loss. Through his care, foresight, and leadership, the forces he transported were landed 8 November 1942 on a hostile and unknown shore, during hours of darkness, in a heavy sea, at the proper time and places. In subsequent tactical action he handled his forces so as to prevent interference by hostile naval units with the landing of our forces as planned. His services contributed in marked degree to the success of the enterprise.<ref name="vahkh"/>}}

[[File:80-G-702560 (cropped) - Henry Kent Hewitt.png|thumb|Henry Kent Hewitt, photographed while [[USS Missouri (BB-63)|USS ''Missouri'']] was visiting [[Piraeus|Piraeus, Greece]], circa 10–14 April 1946.]]

Hewitt was awarded a second Navy Cross for his part in the invasion of Italy. The citation reads:{{blockquote |The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Navy Cross to Admiral [then Vice Admiral] Henry Kent Hewitt (NSN: 0–5819), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commander, Western Naval Task Force, in action against enemy German forces during the invasion of Salerno, in September 1943. In command of more than 600 Allied Men-O'-War, ships and large landing craft responsible for the safe sea borne movements of the Allied [[United States Army North|FIFTH Army]] to the Gulf of Salerno, Admiral Hewitt brought them skillfully through mined approach courses and developed a sea frontier length of approximately fifty miles despite limited maneuvering space. As the second wave of our landing boats reached the shore, strong German armored elements, deployed along selected beaches, launched heavy counterattacks. They raked the sands where our troops were trying to dig in, tanks rolled out of the valley and charged; hostile artillery continually shelled ships in the anchorage; enemy air forces attacked with high and low-level bombings, dive-bombing and strafing, and with [[Henschel Hs 293|radio-controlled and rocket-glider bombs]]. The entire operation was in jeopardy. Aware of the narrow margin of success, Admiral Hewitt went ashore. He made a personal reconnaissance of the situation and learned of the peril in flat coastal plains where Allied formations were enveloped in two small detached areas pounded by artillery fire from rugged high ground inland, and requested immediate air and sea reinforcements. With his Flagship marked for destruction by the German Command and pursued as a vital target, he shifted his Flag to a less important unit. His long-range Naval guns blasted enemy formations without respite. German penetration was sealed off and rendered an immobile target for heavy strikes by Allied bombers, thus insuring the success of the Salerno Campaign. By his courage, initiative and inspiring leadership under fire, Admiral Hewitt upheld the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service.<ref name="vahkh"/>}}

Hewitt was awarded a second Army Distinguished Service Medal for his part in the invasion of southern France. The citation reads:{{blockquote |The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Vice Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt (NSN: 0–5819), United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility. As Naval Commander, Western Naval Task Force, from 13 August to 27 September 1944, Admiral Hewitt was responsible for all Naval activities in connection with the invasion of southern France. Displaying great technical skill, efficiency and a broad knowledge of the tremendous task entrusted to him, he coordinated all Naval activities of both United States and Allied Forces involved in the operation. His wide professional experience, sound judgment and energy were of the greatest service in executing combined operations. His forces engaged in amphibious offensive operations with marked effectiveness and made an invaluable contribution to the success of the invasion of southern France. His initiative and tact enlisted the enthusiastic cooperation of all forces under his command.<ref name="vahkh"/>}}

Hewitt was awarded a second Navy Distinguished Service Medal as commander of the [[United States Eighth Fleet]] for the last two years of the war. The citation reads:{{blockquote |The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal to Vice Admiral Henry Kent Hewitt (NSN: 0–5819), United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility as Commander of the EIGHTH Fleet during the period from 1943 to 1945. Operating jointly with the forces of the United States Army, the forces under Vice Admiral Hewitt's command executed a successful landing on hostile shores. The meticulous planning and sound tactical knowledge which were essential to the accomplishment of a particularly strategic mission reflect great credit upon Vice Admiral Hewitt and the United States Naval Service.<ref name="vahkh"/>}}

==Post-war==
Hewitt remained in this post until 1945, when he chaired a [[Pearl Harbor]] investigation. Following World War II, he commanded U.S. Naval Forces Europe, advised the [[Naval War College]], and served as a Navy representative to the [[United Nations]]. Hewitt retired from active duty to [[Orwell, Vermont]] in 1949. and died at [[Middlebury, Vermont]] in 1972.<ref name="loc"/> {{USS|Hewitt|DD-966|6}} was named in his honor.

==Personal life==
Hewitt was married to the former Floride Hunt until his death. They had two daughters.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1972-09-16 |title=ADM. HEWITT |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/16/archives/ad1vi-hewitt-led-invasion-foices-commander-of-naval.html |access-date=2023-09-24 |issn=}}</ref>

==Honors and awards==
{|
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=award-star|ribbon=Navy Cross ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|[[Navy Cross]] with one gold [[award star]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=award-star|ribbon=Navy Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|[[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]] with one gold [[award star]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|[[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Army Distinguished Service Medal]] with one [[oak leaf cluster]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Navy Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|[[Navy Expeditionary Medal]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Dominican Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|[[Dominican Campaign Medal]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=World War I Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|[[World War I Victory Medal (United States)|World War I Victory Medal]] with one bronze [[service star]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=ADSM A.png|width=106}}
|[[American Defense Service Medal]] with Atlantic "A" device
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|[[American Campaign Medal]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=4|type=service-star|ribbon=European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|[[European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal]] with four bronze [[service star]]s
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|[[World War II Victory Medal]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Order of the Bath (ribbon).svg|width=106}}
|Knight Commander of the [[Order of the Bath]] (United Kingdom)
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Legion Honneur GO ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|[[Legion of Honour|Legion of Honor]], rank of Grand Officer (France)
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with palm (France) - ribbon bar.png|width=106}}
|[[Croix de guerre 1939–1945 (France)|Croix de Guerre, 1939–45]] with one bronze Palm device (France)
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=BRA - Order of the Southern Cross - Commander BAR.svg|width=106}}
|[[Order of the Southern Cross]], degree of Commander (Brazil)
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Order of Orange-Nassau ribbon - Knight Grand Cross.svg|width=106}}
|Grand Cross of the [[Order of Orange-Nassau]] (Netherlands)
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Order kutuzov1 rib.png|width=106}}
|[[Order of Kutuzov|Order of Kutuzov (1st class)]] (Soviet Union)
|}

There is a display of Admiral Hewitt's orders, decorations and medals at the [[United States Naval War College]] Museum in [[Newport, Rhode Island]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book| last = Cressman| first = Robert| year = 2000 | title = That Gallant Ship U.S.S. Yorktown (CV-5)| publisher = Pictorial Histories Publishing Company| location = Missoula, Montana, U.S.A.| isbn = 0-933126-57-3}}
* Hindley, Meredith (2017). Destination: Casablanca: exile, espionage, and the battle for North Africa in World War II (2017). New York, New York, U.S.A.: PublicAffairs/Hachette Book Group. {{ISBN|9781610394055}}.
*{{cite book| last = Hewitt| first = H. Kent| year = 2004 | title = The Memoirs of Admiral Admiral H. Kent Hewitt| publisher = Naval War College Press| location = Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A.| isbn = 1-884733-20-4}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewitt, H. Kent}}
[[Category:1887 births]]
[[Category:1972 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Hackensack, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Naval War College alumni]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]
[[Category:Officers of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau]]
[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]]
[[Category:United States Navy World War II admirals]]
[[Category:United States Navy admirals]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Bergen County, New Jersey]]