View source for Forrest Sherman

{{Short description|United States Navy admiral}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox military person
|image= Forrest P SHerman.jpg{{!}}border
|image_size=
|alt=
|caption=
|nickname=
|birth_name=Forrest Percival Sherman
|birth_date= {{birth date|1896|10|30}}
|birth_place= [[Merrimack, New Hampshire]], U.S.
|death_date= {{death date and age|1951|7|22|1896|10|30}}
|death_place= [[Naples]], Italy
|placeofburial= [[Arlington National Cemetery]]
|allegiance= <!-- United States; too obvious to list -->
|branch= [[United States Navy]]
|serviceyears= 1917–1951
|rank= [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]]
|unit=
|commands= [[Chief of Naval Operations]]<br />[[United States Sixth Fleet]]<br />{{USS|Wasp|CV-7|6}}<br />[[VFA-14 (U.S. Navy)|Fighter Squadron VF-1B]]<br />[[VA-54 (U.S. Navy)|Scouting Squadron VS-2B]]<br />{{USS|Barry|DD-248|6}}
|battles= [[World War I]]<br />[[World War II]]
|awards= [[Navy Cross]]<br />[[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]<br />[[Legion of Merit]]<br />[[Purple Heart]]
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}
'''Forrest Percival Sherman''' (October 30, 1896&nbsp;– July 22, 1951) was an [[Admiral (United States)|admiral]] in the [[United States Navy]] and the youngest person to serve as [[Chief of Naval Operations]] until Admiral [[Elmo Zumwalt]] in 1970. The {{Sclass|Forrest Sherman|destroyer|2}} and the airfield at Naval Air Station Pensacola (Forrest Sherman Field) were named for him.

==Early life and education==
Born in [[Merrimack, New Hampshire]], Sherman was a member of the [[United States Naval Academy]] class of 1918, graduating in June 1917 due to America's entry into [[World War I]].

==Naval career==
During and shortly after World War I, Sherman served in European waters as an officer of the [[gunboat]] {{USS|Nashville|PG-7|6}} and [[destroyer]] {{USS|Murray|DD-97|6}}. In 1919–21, Sherman was assigned to the [[battleship]] {{USS|Utah|BB-31|6}} and destroyers {{USS|Reid|DD-292|6}} and {{USS|Barry|DD-248|6}}, serving as commanding officer of the latter.

Following duty as Flag Lieutenant to Commander Control Force, [[United States Atlantic Fleet|Atlantic Fleet]], he received flight training at [[Naval Air Station Pensacola]], Florida. Designated a Naval Aviator in December 1922, Lieutenant Sherman was assigned to [[VF-6|Fighter Squadron VF-2B]] until 1924, when he returned to Pensacola as an instructor. Study at the [[Naval War College]] was followed in 1927 by service in the [[aircraft carrier]]s {{USS|Lexington|CV-2|6}} and {{USS|Saratoga|CV-3|6}}. While in the latter ship, he commanded [[VA-54 (U.S. Navy)|Scouting Squadron VS-2B]] and was Flag Secretary to Commander Aircraft Squadrons, [[Battle Fleet]].

Promoted to the ranks of lieutenant commander in 1930 and commander in 1937, during that decade Sherman served at the Naval Academy, commanded [[VFA-14 (U.S. Navy)|Fighter Squadron VF-1B]], had charge of the Aviation Ordnance Section of the [[Bureau of Ordnance]], was Navigator of the aircraft carrier {{USS|Ranger|CV-4|6}}, and had duty on a number of flag staffs. In 1941–42, he served with the Office of the [[Chief of Naval Operations]] and was a member of the Permanent Joint Board on Defense, Canada-United States.

Commander Sherman worked closely with then US Army Major [[Albert C. Wedemeyer]], author of the "Victory Plan of 1941", "the blueprint... for the mobilization of the United States Army for World War 2". Wedemeyer, while working in the War Plans Department, was commissioned to write the "Victory Plan by General George C. Marshall."
{{Blockquote|The Victory Plan predicted the future organization for an army that did not yet exist, outlined combat missions for a war not yet declared, and computed war production requirements for industries that were still committed to peacetime  manufacture."  Captain Forrest Sherman's personal relationship with Major Albert Wedemeyer "ensured a community of planning effort between the two services and pointed to a future in which the services would acknowledge that mobilization planning was a joint responsibility that one service alone could not conduct adequately.|source=Charles E. Kirkpatrick, ''Writing the Victory Plan of 1941''}}

[[File:Forrest Sherman 1918.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Midshipman Forrest Sherman]]
In May 1942, after reaching the rank of captain, Sherman took command of the carrier {{USS|Wasp|CV-7|6}}, taking the ship through the first month of the [[Solomon Islands campaign]].

After ''Wasp'' was sunk by a Japanese [[submarine]] on September 15, 1942, Sherman was awarded the [[Navy Cross]] for his extraordinary heroism in command of the carrier during the opening days of the [[South Pacific Area|South Pacific]] operations. Sherman then became Chief of Staff to Commander Air Force, [[United States Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]]. In November 1943, Rear Admiral Sherman was assigned as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Pacific Fleet commander, Admiral [[Chester W. Nimitz]]. He held that position for the remainder of World War II, playing a critical role in planning the offensives that brought victory in the Pacific, and was present when Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945. Following a short tour as a carrier division commander, in December 1945 Vice Admiral Sherman became Deputy Chief of Naval Operations. During 1946 and 1947 he had a vital role in the negotiations for the unification process leading to the [[1947 National Security Act]].

Sherman's next assignment, beginning in January 1948, was to command the navy's operating forces in the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. He was recalled to [[Washington, D.C.]], at the end of October 1949 to become Chief of Naval Operations, with the rank of admiral. During the next sixteen months, he helped the navy recover from a period of intense political controversy (as in the so-called "[[Revolt of the Admirals]]"). Sherman's absence from the recent controversy, and his role in the unification negotiations made him the logical candidate. <ref> Palmer, Michael A., Origins of the Maritime Strategy. The Development of American Naval Strategy 1945-1955 </ref> As Chief of Naval Operations, he oversaw the responses to the twin challenges of a [[Korean War|hot war]] in Korea and an intensifying [[Cold War|cold war]] elsewhere in the world.

On July 22, 1951, while on a military and diplomatic trip to Europe, Admiral Forrest Sherman died in [[Naples]], Italy, following a sudden series of heart attacks. He was buried at [[Arlington National Cemetery]] on July 27, 1951.

==Legacy==
{{USS|Forrest Sherman|DD-931}}, lead ship of the {{Sclass|Forrest Sherman|destroyer}}s was named in his honor, followed by {{USS|Forrest Sherman|DDG-98}}, an {{Sclass|Arleigh Burke|destroyer|0}} [[guided missile destroyer]].

Also named in his honor was [[Sherman Island (Antarctica)|Sherman Island]], [[Antarctica]]; Forrest Sherman Field at [[NAS Pensacola]], home of the [[Blue Angels]]; and Forrest Sherman Field at Hospital Point at the [[US Naval Academy]]. The US Department of Defense school in Naples, Italy was formerly called [[Naples American High School|Forrest Sherman High School]].

==Decorations and medals==
Admiral Sherman's decorations include:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ussforrestsherman.org/the_admiral.htm |title=The Admiral |publisher=Ussforrestsherman.org |access-date=2012-02-20 |archive-date=February 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227035735/http://www.ussforrestsherman.org/the_admiral.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="3"|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Naval Aviator Badge.jpg|width=256|alt=}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=award-star|ribbon=Navy Cross ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=award-star|ribbon=Navy Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|alt=}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=Legion_of_Merit_ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=award-star|ribbon=Purple_Heart_ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|other_device=|ribbon=World_War_I_Victory_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|other_device=|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=3|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific 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=Army_of_Occupation_ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Phliber_rib.svg|width=106}}
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="3"|[[United States Aviator Badge|Naval Aviator Badge]]
|-
|[[Navy Cross]]
|[[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]
|[[Legion of Merit]]
|-
|[[Purple Heart]] (award for wounds received aboard the USS ''Wasp'')
|[[World War I Victory Medal (United States)|Victory Medal]] with "Patrol" Clasp
|[[American Defense Service Medal]] with "Fleet" clasp
|-
|[[American Campaign Medal]]
|[[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with three [[battle stars]]
|[[World War II Victory Medal]]
|-
|[[Navy Occupation Service Medal]]
|[[National Defense Service Medal]]
|[[Philippine Liberation Medal]] with one battle star
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}
* The quotes{{which|date=December 2020}} from the "Victory Plan of 1941" and Captain Forrest Sherman are from [https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/victoryplan-cmh-pub-93-10.pdf ''Writing the Victory Plan of 1941''], Charles E. Kirkpatrick, Center of Military History, Washington, D.C., 1942<!-- This is the full pdf document -->
* {{DANFS}}
* ''Some material is from the official site of USS ''Forrest Sherman'', produced by the navy and therefore in the public domain.

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
{{Commons category|Forrest Sherman}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070503232200/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-s/f-shermn.htm Material on Forest Sherman at the US Navy Historical Center]
* [https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgdzaGVybWFuEgdmb3JyZXN0/ ANC Explorer]
*[https://www.usna.edu/Library/sca/man-findingaids/MS_557.EAD.xml Forrest P. Sherman Papers, 1903-1941 (bulk 1903-1917) MS 557] held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy

{{S-start}}
{{S-mil}}
{{Succession box|title={{nowrap|[[Chief of Naval Operations]]}}|before=[[Louis E. Denfeld]]|after=[[William Fechteler]]|years=1949–1951}}
{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherman, Forrest Percival}}
[[Category:1896 births]]
[[Category:1951 deaths]]
[[Category:United States Naval Aviators]]
[[Category:United States Navy admirals]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States)]]
[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Chiefs of Naval Operations]]
[[Category:People from Merrimack, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:United States Navy World War II admirals]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War I]]