Ernest King
Ernest King was on the General Board when the war began, an “elephant’s graveyard” in which senior officers would remain until they retired. However, King was brought back by one of his friends in the Navy, Harold Stark, who appointed him Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet in late 1940. He was later made Admiral in February of 1941, before becoming C-I-C of the United States Fleet later that year. In 1942, King would replace his friend Stark as Chief of Naval Operations.
King was very much in favour of war against Japan, contrary to the “Germany-first” opinions of his colleagues. Thanks to him, Japanese marine activity was destroyed and he made extremely good appointments in the Navy (including Nimitz). His leadership saw the U.S. Navy grow to 92,000 ships and approximately four million personnel.
When reaching the mandatory retirement age of 64, he wrote to President Roosevelt to state this fact, to which the President replied “So what...?” In December 1944 he was promoted to Fleet Admiral, and he retired in 1945.
For more information on Ernest King:
Buell, Thomas B. Master of Sea Power: A Biography of Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press), 1995.
King was very much in favour of war against Japan, contrary to the “Germany-first” opinions of his colleagues. Thanks to him, Japanese marine activity was destroyed and he made extremely good appointments in the Navy (including Nimitz). His leadership saw the U.S. Navy grow to 92,000 ships and approximately four million personnel.
When reaching the mandatory retirement age of 64, he wrote to President Roosevelt to state this fact, to which the President replied “So what...?” In December 1944 he was promoted to Fleet Admiral, and he retired in 1945.
For more information on Ernest King:
Buell, Thomas B. Master of Sea Power: A Biography of Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press), 1995.