Wikipedia

Husband E. Kimmel

Husband Edward Kimmel(February 26, 1882 – May 14, 1968) was aUnited States Navyfour-staradmiralwho was thecommander in chiefof theUnited States Pacific Fleet(CINCPACFLT) during the Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor.He was removed from that command after the attack, in December 1941, and was reverted to his permanent two-star rank ofrear admiraldue to no longer holding a four-star assignment. He retired from the Navy in early 1942. The United States Senate voted to restore Kimmel's permanent rank to four stars in 1999, but President Clinton did not act on the resolution, and neither have any of his successors.

Husband E. Kimmel
Admiral Husband E. Kimmel in 1941
Birth nameHusband Edward Kimmel
Nickname(s)"Kim", "Hubbie", and "Mustafa"
BornFebruary 26, 1882
Henderson, Kentucky,U.S.
DiedMay 14, 1968(1968-05-14)(aged 86)
Groton, Connecticut,U.S.
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/ branchUnited States Navy
Years of service1904–1942
RankRear Admiral
CommandsUSSNew York
Cruiser Division 7
Cruisers, Battle Force
United States Pacific Fleet
Battles / warsMexican Revolution

World War I

World War II

AwardsMexican Service Medal
World War I Victory Medal
World War II Victory Medal

Life and career

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Early life

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Husband Kimmel was born inHenderson, Kentucky,[1]on February 26, 1882, to Sibella "Sibbie" Lambert Kimmel (1846–1919) and MajorManning Marius Kimmel(1832–1916), a graduate ofWest Pointwho fought with theUnionside during theAmerican Civil Warbefore switching allegiance to theConfederate States Armyto fight alongside his neighbors.[2]Kimmel was a descendant ofHerman Husband.[3]

Kimmel was known by variousnicknamesthroughout his life: "Kim" and "Hubbie", contractions of his given and family names, and later, "Mustafa", the last being a reference toMustafa Kemal Atatürk,due to the similar sounding (homophony) "Kimmel" and "Kemal".[4][5]

He married Dorothy Kinkaid (1890–1975), sister of AdmiralThomas C. Kinkaid,with whom he had three sons:Manning,Thomas K. Kimmel and Edward R. Kimmel.[6]

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Kimmel graduated in 1904 from theUnited States Naval AcademyinAnnapolis,Maryland.[1]One of his classmates was futurefleet admiralWillam Halsey.From 1906 to 1907 he served on several battleships in the Caribbean.[1]In 1907 he was assigned to theUSSGeorgiaduring its participation in the around-the-world cruise of theGreat White Fleet.[1]Kimmel then served in theUnited States occupation of Veracruz,Mexico, during which he was wounded in April 1914.[1]

In 1915 he was briefly appointed as an aide toAssistant Secretary of the NavyFranklin D. Roosevelt.[1]DuringWorld War I,Kimmel served as asquadron gunnery officerinU.S. Battleship Division Ninewhich served as theSixth Battle Squadronof the BritishGrand Fleet.[1]After the war he served asExecutive Officeraboard thebattleshipUSSArkansas,then in Washington, D.C., and thePhilippines,as well as commanding twodestroyer divisionsbefore attaining the rank ofcaptainin 1926 upon completion of the senior course at theNaval War College.[1]

From 1926 to 1937 Kimmel held a number of positions in theNavy Department,as well as the command of adestroyersquadronand of the battleshipUSSNew York.[1]

In 1937 he was promoted to theflag rankofrear admiral.In this capacity he commandedCruiserDivision Seven on a diplomatic cruise toSouth Americaand in 1939 became Commander ofBattle ForceCruisers.[1][7][8]

Pearl Harbor

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Kimmel (center) confers with his chief of staff,William "Poco" Smith;and operations officer and assistant chief of staff, CaptainWalter S. DeLany(left), at Pearl Harbor, 1941.

After AdmiralJames O. Richardsonwas relieved of command in February 1941, in part for protesting that the Pacific Fleet if based inPearl Harbor,Hawaii, would be the logical first target in the event of war with Japan, Kimmel was appointed in his place asCommander in Chief,United States Fleet(CINCUS). Kimmel was also appointed Commander in Chief,United States Pacific Fleet(CINCPACFLT), a position reestablished on February 1, 1941, whenGeneral Order 143was issued, and Kimmel assumed command with the temporary rank ofadmiralstarting on that date.[9]Kimmel earned a reputation as a hard worker who inspired subordinates, but some later criticized him for over-attention to detail, claiming it portrayed a lack of self-confidence. These critics asserted that Kimmel constantly revisited minute tasks he had done previously when he could have delegated the work to others.[7]

On the other hand, Kimmel's fleet gunnery officerWillard Kittslater testified that under Kimmel's leadership, "the efficiency and training of the Fleet was at its highest level."[10]William "Bull" Halsey,who in 1941 commanded one of the Pacific Fleet's carrier task forces and rose during the war tofive-star fleet admiral,described Kimmel as "the ideal man for the job."[11]

The base for the fleet had been moved from its traditional home atSan Diego,California, toPearl Harbor,Hawaii, in May 1940. Richardson had been relieved of command for his vocal opposition to this move and concerns about the fleet's vulnerability.[12]On 18 February 1941, Kimmel wrote to theChief of Naval Operations(CNO), AdmiralHarold Raynsford Stark:

I feel that a surprise attack (submarine,air,or combined) on Pearl Harbor is a possibility, and we are taking immediate practical steps to minimize the damage inflicted and to ensure that the attacking force will pay.[13]

On April 18, 1941, Kimmel wrote to the CNO requesting additional resources for base construction atWake Islandand for aMarine Corpsdefense battalionto be stationed there.[7]On 19 August the first permanent Marine garrison was assigned.Naval Air Station Midwaywas commissioned in August after the completion of runways and support structures, and a Marine garrison assigned shortly afterwards.[14]In November Kimmel orderedUSSEnterpriseto ferry Marine fighters and pilots to Wake Island to reinforce the garrison, and forUSSLe xing tonto depart Pearl Harbor on December 5 to ferry Marinedive bombersto Midway. Because of these missions, neitheraircraft carrierwas in Pearl Harbor during the later Japanese attack.

Japan'sattack on Pearl Harboroccurred in an air raid on December 7, 1941, and caused the deaths of 2,403 U.S. military personnel and civilians.Edwin T. Laytonrelated that during the attack:

Kimmel stood by the window of his office at thesubmarine base,his jaw set in stony anguish. As he watched the disaster across the harbor unfold with terrible fury, a spent.50 caliber machine gunbullet crashed through the glass. It brushed the admiral before it clanged to the floor. It cut his white jacket and raised a welt on his chest. "It would have been merciful had it killed me," Kimmel murmured to hiscommunications officer,CommanderMaurice "Germany" Curts.[15][16]

InThe World at War,a naval serviceman—who had been alongside Admiral Kimmel during the attack—recalled that as Kimmel watched the destruction of the fleet, he tore off his four-starshoulder boardsin apparent recognition of the impending end of his command.[17]

After Pearl Harbor

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Kimmel was relieved of his command ten days after the attack. At the time he was planning and executing retaliatory moves, including an effort to relieve and reinforce Wake Island that could have led to an early clash between American andJapanesecarrier forces.Vice AdmiralWilliam S. Pye(Commander, Battle Force, Pacific Fleet) became acting CINCPACFLT on 17 December. He had reservations about Kimmel's plan and decided the Wake Island operation was too risky, recalling the relief force. AdmiralChester W. Nimitztook over as CINCPACFLT on 31 December and by that time Wake Island had been invaded and occupied by the Japanese. Kimmel's CINCUS command was reassigned to AdmiralErnest J. King(at that time Commander in Chief,U.S. Atlantic Fleet[CINCLANTFLT]) in a wartime expanded role of Commander in Chief,United States Fleet(with the new acronym of COMINCH), which would also be combined with King's subsequent appointment as theChief of Naval Operations.

In 1942, theRoberts Commission,appointed by PresidentFranklin D. Rooseveltto investigate the attack, determined that Kimmel and his counterpart,ArmyLieutenant GeneralWalter Short,were guilty of errors of judgment anddereliction of dutyin the events leading up to the attack. Kimmel defended his decisions at several hearings, testifying that important information had not been made available to him.

Following the death of Secretary Knox in April 1944, his successorJames V. Forrestalordered that aNaval Court of Inquirybe convened to investigate the facts surrounding the Japaneseattack on Pearl Harborand to assess any culpability borne by members of the Navy. The court consisted of AdmiralAdolphus Andrews;AdmiralOrin G. Murfin,who served as President of the Court, and AdmiralEdward C. Kalbfus.[18][19]The court convened on July 24, 1944, and held daily sessions in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Pearl Harbor. After interviewing numerous witnesses, it completed its work on October 19, 1944. Its report to the Navy Department largely exonerated Kimmel. The court found that Kimmel's decisions had been correct given the limited information available to him, but criticized then-Chief of Naval OperationsHarold R. Starkfor failing to warn Kimmel that war was imminent. The court concluded that "based upon the facts established, the Court is of the opinion that no offenses have been committed nor serious blame incurred on the part of any person or persons in the naval service."[20]Because the court's findings implicitly revealed thatAmerican cryptographershad broken the Japanese codes, a critical wartime secret, the court's report was not made public until after the end of the war.

Upon reviewing the report, Forrestal felt that the court had been too lenient in assigning blame for the disaster. The court had found that the Army and Navy had adequately cooperated in the defense of Pearl Harbor; that there had been no information indicating that Japanese carriers were on their way to attack Pearl Harbor; and that the attack had succeeded principally because of theaerial torpedo,a secret weapon whose use could not have been predicted. Forrestal disapproved of all of these findings, judging that Kimmel could have done more with the information he had had to prevent or mitigate the attack. Forrestal concluded that both Kimmel and Stark had "failed to demonstrate the superior judgment necessary for exercising command commensurate with their rank and their assigned duties."[21]

Kimmel retired in early 1942, and worked for the military contractorFrederic R. Harris, Inc.after the war. In retirement, Kimmel lived inGroton, Connecticut,where he died on May 14, 1968.[7]

His son,Manning,died after the submarine he commanded, theUSSRobalo,was sunk nearPalawanon or around July 26, 1944. The Kimmel family at the time was informed that Manning had gone down with his ship. Though it was widely believed that Manning Kimmel died on board his boat, several sources (including AdmiralRalph Waldo Christie,commander of submarine operations atFremantleat the time) stated after the war that Manning was one of a handful of survivors from his submarine, having been swept overboard as the boat sank after hitting a mine. According to these sources, Manning was captured by Japanese forces, and along with several other survivors from the USSRobalowas pushed into a ditch, doused with gasoline and burned alive by his captors, who were enraged over a recent American air attack.[22]

Posthumous reputation and debate

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Historians agree that the United States was unprepared for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor at all levels. Japanese military forces enjoyed clear superiority in training, equipment, experience and planning over the Americans. The extent to which Kimmel himself bore responsibility for the unreadiness of his Pacific Fleet has been a matter of debate.

Some, such as submarineCaptainEdward L. "Ned" Beach,concluded that Admiral Kimmel and General Short, who was also dismissed from command, were madescapegoatsfor the failures of superiors in Washington. Kimmel's supporters point to a series of bureaucratic foulups and circumstances beyond anyone's control that led to the fleet's lack of preparedness, including poor atmospheric conditions that blocked a radio warning from the War Department to Pearl Harbor of a possible attack, forcing it to be sent as a telegram,[23]which delayed it long enough for the attack to start before Kimmel received it (the telegram messenger was on his way to deliver the message when the attack commenced; he was forced to take cover in a ditch. Kimmel did not get the warning until after the attack ended).

Edwin T. Layton,chiefintelligence officerfor Kimmel and one of the officers who knew Kimmel best, provided support for Kimmel's position. Layton argued Kimmel had not been provided complete information and that Kimmel deployed the fewreconnaissanceresources at his disposal in the most logical way, given the available information.[24]

On the other hand, Kimmel's critics point out that he had been ordered 10 days prior to the attack to initiate a "defensive deployment" of the fleet. Kimmel, thinking the main threat to the fleet was sabotage, kept much of the fleet in port and did not place the fleet on alert. When his intelligence unit lost track of Japan'saircraft carriers,he did not order long-range air or naval patrols to assess their positions.[25]He had a poor working arrangement with his Army counterpart, General Short, who was charged with defending the fleet while in port.[26][page needed]

Historians generally recognize that American forces would have fared poorly even if Kimmel had reacted differently. In a 1964 interview, Admiral Chester Nimitz, who took over as commander of the Pacific Fleet three weeks after the attack, concluded that, "It was God's mercy that our fleet was in Pearl Harbor on December 7."[27]If Kimmel "[had] had advance notice that the Japanese were coming, he most probably would have tried to intercept them. With the difference in speed between Kimmel's battleships and the faster Japanese carriers, the former could not have come within rifle range of the enemy's flattops. As a result, we would have lost many ships in deep water and also thousands more in lives."[27]Instead, at Pearl Harbor, the crews were easily rescued, and six of eight front-line battleships ultimately raised.[28]This was also the assessment ofJoseph Rochefort,head of the US Navy'sStation HYPO,who remarked the attack was cheap at the price.[29]

In 1994 Kimmel's family, including his grandson, South Carolina broadcaster Manning Kimmel IV, attempted for the third time to have Kimmel's four-star rank reinstated. PresidentBill Clintondenied the request, as had PresidentsRichard NixonandRonald Reagan.A 1995 Pentagon study concluded other high-ranking officers were also responsible for the failure at Pearl Harbor, but did not exonerate Kimmel.

On May 25, 1999, theUnited States Senate,by a vote of 52–47, passed a non-binding resolution to exonerate Kimmel and Short and requested that thePresident of the United Statesposthumously restore both men to full rank.[25]SenatorStrom Thurmond,one of the sponsors of the resolution, called Kimmel and Short "the two final victims of Pearl Harbor." The Senate enquiry in 2000 issued a lengthy exoneration of Kimmel's conduct.[30]President Clinton did not act on the resolution, nor have any of his successors.

Portrayals

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Kimmel has been portrayed by:

Military awards

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Cuban Pacification Medal Mexican Service Medal World War I Victory Medal
with one campaign star
American Defense Service Medal
with "BASE" clasp 		Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
with one campaign star 		World War II Victory Medal

References

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  1. ^abcdefghijAxelrod, Alan (2007).Encyclopedia of World War Two.New York: Facts on File. p. 490.ISBN9780816060221.RetrievedMarch 16,2017.
  2. ^Summers & Swan 2016,p. 29.
  3. ^"York Co. grandson battles to clear admiral's name".
  4. ^Twomey, Steve (November 1, 2016).Countdown to Pearl Harbor: the twelve days to the attack.Simon and Schuster. p. 54.ISBN978-1476776507.RetrievedMay 26,2020.
  5. ^Summers & Swan 2016,pp. 29, 43.
  6. ^Summers & Swan 2016,pp. 37ff.
  7. ^abcdChen, Peter."Husband Kimmel".World War II Database.RetrievedMay 26,2020.
  8. ^Summers & Swan 2016,pp. 38ff.
  9. ^"A Brief History Of U.S. Fleet Forces Command".US Fleet Forces Command.Archived fromthe originalon May 11, 2019.RetrievedJune 8,2017.
  10. ^Summers & Swan 2016,pp. 66.
  11. ^Halsey, William; Bryan, J (1947).Admiral Halsey's Story.New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 70.
  12. ^Flynn, John."The Final Secret of Pearl Harbor".Antiwar.RetrievedMay 26,2020.
  13. ^"INTELLIGENCE AT PEARL HARBOR".Central Intelligence Agency.July 4, 1946. Archived fromthe originalon December 3, 2016.RetrievedDecember 2,2016.
  14. ^"Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial".U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.Archived fromthe originalon June 10, 2017.RetrievedJune 8,2017.
  15. ^Leckie, Robert (1988).Delivered from Evil: The Saga of World War II.Perennial Library. pp.340–41.ISBN0-06-091535-8.
  16. ^Edwin T. Layton,And I Was There: Pearl Harbor and Midway -- Breaking the Secrets(1985), p. 315 (the scene was recreated by Martin Balsam, who played Kimmel in the 1970 filmTora! Tora! Tora!)
  17. ^Arnold-Forster, Mark (2001).The World at War(3rd ed.). London: Pimlico. p. 161.
  18. ^"Vice admiral Adolphus Andrews – Naval History and Heritage Command".history.navy.mil.Naval History and Heritage Command Websites.RetrievedJanuary 28,2018.
  19. ^"Pearl Harbor Inquiry ordered by Forrestal – Santa Cruz Sentinel, Volume 89, Number 168, 15 July 1944; page ONE".cdnc.ucr.edu.RetrievedAugust 27,2016.
  20. ^Congress of the United States, Seventy-Ninth Congress (1946),Report of Navy Court of Inquiry,Hearings Before the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Part 39: Reports, Findings, and Conclusions of Roberts Commission, Army Pearl Harbor Board, Navy Court of Inquiry, and Hewitt Inquiry, With Endorsements, Government Printing Office, pp. 297, 318–321
  21. ^Congress of the United States, Seventy-Ninth Congress (1946),Fourth Endorsement to Record of Proceedings of Pearl Harbor Court of Inquiry,Hearings Before the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Part 39: Reports, Findings, and Conclusions of Roberts Commission, Army Pearl Harbor Board, Navy Court of Inquiry, and Hewitt Inquiry, With Endorsements, Government Printing Office, pp. 373, 375–377, 381–383
  22. ^Clay Blair (2001).Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan.Naval Institute Press. p.688.ISBN978-1-55750-217-9.
  23. ^"Pearl Harbor Review".NSA.gov.National Security Agency. May 3, 2016.RetrievedDecember 8,2017.Army communications to Hawaii were down due to technical problems, and the warning was sent -- via Western Union telegram!
  24. ^Edwin T. Layton,And I Was There: Pearl Harbor and Midway, Breaking the Secrets(1985), pp. 222-226: "Jaluit Atoll,in theMarshall Islandslay 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) to the southwest andtraffic analysisindicated a powerful submarine force there. It was also thought at least one carrier division was making for Japanese bases in the Marshalls, andphoto reconnaissancewas ordered to settle a difference in analysis..... Kimmel had to make his plans on the assumption that the main danger to Pearl Harbor in the event of war was an enemy task force steaming out to make a surprise attack from the southwest.... At no time did Kimmel receive any intelligence, or hint, that there was any threat to Pearl Harbor from any direction but from the southwest. "
  25. ^ab"Military, lawmakers want Pearl Harbor commanders pardoned".Syracuse Herald-Journal.Syracuse, New York.December 1, 1999. p. A-9.
  26. ^Prange, Gordon W., Goldstein, Donald M., & Dillon, Katherine V.December 7, 1941: The Day the Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988).
  27. ^abMueller, John (1991). "Pearl Harbor: Military Inconvenience, Political Disaster".International Security.16(3 (Winter, 1991–1992)). The MIT Press: 176–177.doi:10.2307/2539091.JSTOR2539091.S2CID153949177.
  28. ^Gordon Prange,Miracle at Midway,1983, paperback, p. 9
  29. ^Holmes, W. J.Double-Edged Secrets[page needed]
  30. ^Congressional Record, V. 146, Pt. 7, May 24, 2000 to June 12, 2000

Bibliography

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Preceded by Commander in Chief of theUnited States Pacific Fleet
1941 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander in Chief,United States Fleet
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