A. He organized the Japanese counterattack on the American carriers and is credited with the sinking of the USS Yorktown, the only American Carrier sunk at Midway. [2] He emerged from the war as one of the greater admirals in American naval history. I am lazy, and I never have done things myself that I could get someone to do for me. He was commissioned an ensign in 1908, and during a tour of shore duty he took a postgraduate course in electrical engineering in Schenectady, N.Y. The main auditorium of the U.S. On the afternoon of June 4, 24 American dive bombersincluding 10 refugees from Yorktownscored four hits on Hiryu. On April 28, the last day of the invasion, Spruances command was redesignated as the Fifth Fleet. He envied no one, rivaled no man, won the respect of almost everyone with whom he came in contact, and went ahead in his quiet way, winning victories for his country.When we come to the admirals who commanded at sea, and who directed a great battle, there was no one to equal Spruance. Besides his family, he loved the companionship of his pet schnauzer, Peter. help him spread the Gospel?Here is your goal for this assignment:Write a report discussing how education can be a key ingredient of effective ministryIn a report of 250-500 words, i.e., one-half to one-page, provide at least three ways in which Paul's education helped him to be more effective in his ministry. Nagumo ordered his planes rearmed on their return. >On March 29, 1944, Admiral Spruance took tactical command of a three-pronged assault against the Palau Islands, 550 miles east of the Philippines, and against Yap Island and Ulithi Atoll in the western Carolines. The Japanese managed to inflict only superficial damage on three ships. Then, reflect on the education opportunities that God has provided us today. This article was written by Michael D. Hull and originally appeared in the May 1998 issue of World War II magazine. >A few days later, Mitscher rejoined Spruance and the Fifth Fleet. Spruance became a shadowy sort of legend in the Navy. Kennedy Hickman is a historian, museum director, and curator who specializes in military and naval history. The Navy honored Spruance by giving his name to a new class of 30 destroyers, the first of which, USS Spruance, was launched in 1973. He was promoted to captain in 1932, and the following year he was assigned as chief of staff and aide to the commander of a destroyer scouting force. My mind is blank. Kwajalein was in American hands, but the rest of the Marshalls groupabout 30 islands and more than 800 reefs scattered over hundreds of miles of oceanremained to be dealt with. Analyzing Information How does Admiral Spruance explain the U.S. victory Known for his calm in moments of crisis, Admiral Spruance became one of the U.S. Navy's largest assets in World War II. As part of this reorganization, the force became known as the Fifth Fleet when Spruance was in charge and the Third Fleet when Halsey was in command. US Naval Task Force under Frank Fletcher with aircraft carrier Yorktown. [21] Buell quotes Spruance speaking with Morison: As a matter of tactics I think that going out after the Japanese and knocking their carriers out would have been much better and more satisfactory than waiting for them to attack us, but we were at the start of a very important and large amphibious operation and we could not afford to gamble and place it in jeopardy. In fact, Spruance had a knack for getting along with difficult people, including his friend Admiral Kelly Turner, the hotheaded commander of 5th Fleet's amphibious force. No matter what other people tell you, your decision was correct". Two years later, he aided in the fitting out of USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) then under construction in the yard. Michio Kobayashi President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Spruance for promotion to full admiral on February 10, 1944, and he was approved. [14][15] For his actions at the battle of Midway Rear Admiral Spruance was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal and cited as follows: "For exceptionally meritorious service as Task Force Commander, United States Pacific Fleet. United States Aircraft Carrier attached to Task Force 16. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. The USS Enterprise ambushes and sinks the Hiryu. He began attendance at the Naval War College in 1926, and graduated in 1927. Flagship of Kakuta. It was the only aircraft carrier in the presence of Midway Island to survive the dive bomber attack and launched two and a half waves of planes against the United States Navy. After three days of pre-invasion bombardment, Marines landed on Roi Islet and captured it the same day. The enemy units were forced to withdraw their battered aircraft carrier Shokaku, while the Americans had to abandon the old, cherished carrier Lexington. When Vice Adm. Bull Halsey was confined to a hospital with a skin disease, Pacific Fleet Commander Nimitz appointed Spruance to succeed him as commander of Task Force 16. In the seven-week campaign, 55 Japanese ships were sunk, five probably sunk and 74 damaged. About his intellect he was equally unpretentious: Some people believe that when I am quiet that I am thinking some deep and important thoughts, when the fact is that I am thinking of nothing at all. Japanese Admiral in command of the second division of the carrier strike force based on Aircraft Carrier IJN Hiryu. The gloomy reports from Nagumo and his other commanders led Yamamoto to suspend his assault on Midway. Advertisement Still have questions? At Midway, Spruance's force inflicted on the Imperial Japanese Navy its worst setback in 350 years. Spruance's rise to fame . He was survived by his wife and a daughter, Mrs. Gerald S. Bogart of Newport, R.I. His only son, Navy Captain Edward D. Spruance, who served for 30 years, was killed in a car accident in Marin County, Calif., in May 1969. When Yorktown was struck at Midway, however, Fletcher transferred his flag to the cruiser Astoria and placed Spruance tactically in charge. That December he was elevated to rear admiral, and in February 1940 he was placed in command of the 10th Naval District (Caribbean), with his headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Carrier units of his force penetrated waters of the Japanese homeland and Nansei Shoto. US Naval Task force under Raymond Spruance with 2 carriers, Enterprise and Hornet. During the joint operations leading to the assault and capture of the important enemy bases, complete integration of Army and Navy units was accomplished under his outstanding leadership, enabling all the forces to perform their closely co-ordinated missions with outstanding success.[24]. In 1939 he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. "Foreward for Midway." US Naval Institute Proceedings 81, no. Thus the Americans knew the Japanese planned to move toward Midway. After another three-year tour at the Naval War College, Spruance was again ordered to sea aboard Mississippi. Samuel Eliot Morison agreed: Power of decision and coolness in action were perhaps Spruances leading characteristics. He was responsible for leading the 5th Fleet into the pivotal Battle of the Philippines Sea, nicknamed the 'Great Marianas Turkey Shoot' because a total of 365 Japanese planes were brought down. Fewer than two days before launch from Pearl Harbor, Nimitz's commander of the fleet carrier force, Admiral Halsey, was hospitalized with severe shingles;[10] Halsey immediately recommended Admiral Spruance to Nimitz as his replacement with Admiral Fletcher receiving overall command. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. She went down with Admiral Yamaguchi, an outstanding flag officer who, it was said, would have been Yamamotos successor had he lived. catalogued as someone to watch; there was never any possibility that he would be passed over in the lists for promotion. Spruances performance at Midway so impressed Admiral Nimitz that he made him his chief of staff. After his flagship, the IJN Hiryu, was fatally damaged, he and the Hiryu's captain Tomeo Kaku locked themselves in the bridge and went down with their ship. You can specify conditions of storing and accessing cookies in your browser, How does Admiral Spruance explain the U.S. victory, The Brown case began what trend in American Things did not look hopeful for Spruance and his force on the eve of Midway. I can thank heredity for a sound constitution, and myself for taking care of that constitution. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. A. Desegregation of Society The other U.S. flattop, Yorktown, escaped with one bomb hit. [9] On the other hand, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester Nimitz knew he must intercept the Japanese invasion fleet, and that he must give battle to the enemy aircraft carriers before they could project their overwhelming power against the naval air station at Midway. One commentator said: The quick success of the offensive was attributed to the strategic daring by which Vice Admiral Spruances forces cut behind the eastern chain of the Marshalls. Yet the decision is hailed by the series's narrator as instrumental in sealing the American victory. When you moved into Admiral Spruance's command, the printed instructions were up to date, and you did things in accordance with them.[19]. [27], Spruance was an active man who thought nothing of walking eight or 10 miles a day. Raised in Indianapolis, IN, he attended school locally and graduated from Shortridge High School. He died on 13 December 1969 at the age of 83. For the main Midway assault, the Japanese force consisted of the main battle fleet under Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, composed of three battleships, a light carrier and a destroyer screen; Admiral Chuichi Nagumos combined fleet of two battleships, two heavy cruisers, destroyers and four fleet carriers carrying more than 250 aircraft; and an invasion task force led by Admiral Nobutake Kondo, consisting of a dozen transport ships carrying 5,000 troops, closely supported by four heavy cruisers, two battleships and a light carrier; and a three-cordon submarine force intended to neutralize U.S. countermoves. ThoughtCo. Bombs destroyed the bridge of Kaga and set her ablaze from stem to stern. The surviving carrier, Hiry, gave the Japanese some brief respite by sending strikes that again damaged Yorktown. From the remaining enemy carrier, Hiryu, Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi launched bombers and torpedo planes against Yorktown. He suggested Spruance replace him as commander of the Fleet carrier force, despite the fact that Spruce had little experience with carriers. Yet because of his modest, retiring nature, Spruance was never a popular hero in the manner of Admirals Nimitz, William F. Halsey and Marc A. Mitscher. He did not discuss his private life, feelings, prejudices, hopes or fears, except perhaps with his family and his closest friends. . When Nimitz named him commander of the disputed Central Pacific Area, this made him responsible for the planning and execution of the attack on the Gilbert Islands in November 1943. Admiral Spruances last campaigns were the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and he was awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism. In August 1943 Spruance was placed in command of the Central Pacific Force, which, on April 29, 1944, was redesignated as the Fifth Fleet. He presided over US Forces in the Pacific during two decisive Allied victories: the Battle of Midway in 1942 and the 1944 Battle of the Philippines Sea. Just before the planned invasion of Midway island in June 1942, Halsey suddenly became ill with shingles. Its commanding officers Admiral Yamaguchi and the ship's captain both stayed aboard their ship. Capturing and occupying Midway was the brainchild-plan of commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. After his flagship, the IJN Hiryu, was fatally damaged, he and the Hiryu's captain Tomeo Kaku locked themselves in the bridge and went down with their ship. Moving forward in mid-1944, Spruance embarked on a campaign in the Marianas Islands. Halsey was aggressive and a risk taker. His steady rise, according to Newsweek magazine, has borne the imprint of his personalityunobtrusive but undeviating. After the enemys raids on Midway, Admiral Spruance ordered the launching of every possible plane to search for and attack the Japanese carriers. He disliked personal publicity and had a reputation for freezing reporters who invaded his privacy. The young, ambitious officer was then assigned to Bainbridge, U.S. destroyer No. Admiral William L. Calhoun saw him as a cold-blooded fighting fool. This saw Allied forces move against Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands. erful leader. Historian Samuel Eliot Morison believed he was one of the greatest fighting and thinking admirals in American naval history. Fletcher would command Task Force 17, but the task force flag ship, USSYorktown, had been badly damaged at the Battle of the Coral Sea and the formation's other carrier, Lexington, had been sunk, but at Nimitz's behest Yorktown was patched-repaired in "rush" time purposefully to join the Midway operation.[11]. The Japanese expected no American ships in the Midway area until after the landing there, and they hoped that the Pacific Fleet would dash northward as soon as it received word of the opening strikes in the Aleutians. As his staff worked, Halsey used the fleet to win the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Yorktowns planes hit Soryu as she was turning into the wind to launch aircraft. [17], The Battle of Midway is considered by many to be a turning point of the war in the Pacific, along with the Guadalcanal campaign. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. From 1952 to 1955 Spruance served as the American ambassador to Philippines. The three-day operation was the most extensive ever undertaken by carriers. The Iwo Jima and Okinawa actions lasted from January to May 1945, and in August the Japanese surrendered. That is how the US navy could inflict great damage to the Japanese fleet and aircraft. They would draw them north to deal with a Japanese invasion in the bleak Aleutian Islands, and then strike at unprotected Midway. Nimitz had no battleships left after the Pearl Harbor attack, and after the Battle of the Coral Sea there were only two flattops ready for action, Enterprise and Hornet. His division was an element of the task force built around the aircraft carrier USSEnterprise and commanded by Vice Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. Flagship of Task Force 16 under the command of Raymond Spruance. Spruance was about to face the sternest test in his long, distinguished career. Spruance rewarded his trust by playing a decisive role in the US victory at the Battle Of Midway. Japanese Vice Admiral in command of the Japanese Carrier strike force based on the Aircraft Carrier IJN Akagi. In July 1941, his responsibilities were expanded to include oversight of the Caribbean Sea Frontier. On June 14, while Mitscher led a diversionary attack on the Bonin Islands 800 miles to the north, U.S. Marines and infantrymen stormed ashore. This was followed by a promotion to Deputy Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet in September. While in that capacity he assumed additional duty as a member of the board on doctrine of aircraft in connection with fleet fire control. He enjoyed hot chocolate and would make it for himself every morning. Raymond Ames Spruance as Ambassador to the Republic of the Philippines Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee - 1945 During the last year of World War I he was assigned as Assistant Engineer Officer of the New York Naval Shipyard, and carried out temporary duty in London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland. society in the 1950s? McClusky led one squadron, VB-6, against the carrier Kaga, while the other Enterprise squadron pounced on Nagumos flagship, Akagi. Hickman, Kennedy. With it he intended to significantly expand the Imperial Japanese Navy's outer defense perimeter across the central Pacific; and, he believed, this very powerful stroke against Midway would so severely threaten Hawaii and Pearl Harbor that the U.S. government would be induced to sue for peace. So he changed course northeastward, avoiding the first wave of dive bombers launched against him from Spruances carriers. It Didnt End Well. He was the grandfather of legendary theatre director Anne Bogart. Morison said: Keeping in his mind the picture of widely disparate forces, yet boldly seizing every opening, Raymond A. Spruance emerged from this battle one of the greatest fighting and thinking admirals in American naval history.He was bold and aggressive when the occasion demanded offensive tactics; cautious when pushing his luck too far might have lost the fruits of victory. The battle would open in the mist-shrouded Aleutians with airstrikes against Dutch Harbor on June 3, followed by landings at three points on June 6. I finally wangled two months at sea, in 1918, before the war was over. John C. Waldron. Navy.[4]. Admiral Spruance no.__!t to seek and destroy the Imperial Japanese Navy in a "decisive battle." Rather, Spruance chose to place highest priority on covering and defending the United States (U.S.) amphibious forces that were in the initial phase of the invasion of Salpan. Though Spruance had not led a carrier force in the past, Nimitz agreed as the rear admiral would be aided by Halsey's staff, including the gifted Captain Miles Browning. This approach of bypassing Japanese strong points, such as Truk, was applied on a large scale as the Allies devised their strategy for moving across the central Pacific. The two admirals were a contrast in styles. 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