Forrest P. Sherman

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Forrest P. Sherman as Chief of Naval Operations

Forrest Percival Sherman (born October 30, 1896 in Merrimack , New Hampshire , † July 22, 1951 in Naples , Italy ) was an Admiral in the US Navy during World War II and from 1949 to 1951 the 12th Chief of Naval Operations .

Military career

Born in Merrimack, New Hampshire, Sherman graduated from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis from 1914 to 1917 . After the First World War he served as an officer on the gunboat USS Nashville and the destroyer USS Murray in European waters. From 1919 to 1921 Sherman was an officer on the battleship USS Utah and the destroyers Reid and Barry .

After his time as a flag officer in the Atlantic Fleet , he received his flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola and was assigned to the second combat squadron as a pilot in 1922. In 1924 he returned to Pensacola as an instructor and then studied at Naval War College . From 1927 to 1930 he was on the aircraft carriers USS Lexington and USS Saratoga as commander of the air group. After being promoted to Lieutenant Commander in 1930, he returned to the Naval Warfare Academy. In the following decade he commanded the first combat squadron, was navigator on the USS Ranger and worked in the Bureau of Ordnance . In 1937 he was promoted to commander . 1941/42 he was a member of the joint defense committee of the United States and Canada and the Chief of Naval Operations. After his promotion to captain , he took command of the aircraft carrier USS Wasp and took part in the Battle of Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands campaign. After the Wasp was sunk by a Japanese submarine, he was awarded the Navy Cross and promoted to Rear Admiral . He took over the post of chief of staff at the commander of the US Air Force of the Pacific Fleet . In November 1943, he became Deputy Chief of Staff to the Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz . Sherman held this post until the end of the war. In this position he took part in the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945.

After a brief stint as aircraft carrier squadron commander, he was promoted to Vice Admiral in December 1945 and appointed Deputy Chief of Naval Operations. From January 1948 to October 1949 he commanded the US fleet in the Mediterranean , but was then recalled to Washington, DC . Promoted to Admiral , he became Chief of Naval Operations in October 1949. During the following 16 months he had to struggle with the consequences of the admiral uprising , plus the “hot” war in Korea and the intensifying cold war with the Soviet Union .

Sherman died on July 22, 1951 during a diplomatic trip in Naples , Italy after a series of heart attacks .

Two destroyers were named USS Forrest Sherman in his honor , and an island in Antarctica was named Sherman Island as part of the International Geophysical Year . The airfield at Naval Air Station Pensacola was named Forrest Sherman Field , as was the airfield of the United States Naval Academy .

Awards

Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of the Military Awards:

literature

Web links

Commons : Forrest P. Sherman  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Sherman, Forrest P.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sherman, Forrest Percival (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US Navy Admiral
DATE OF BIRTH October 30, 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH Merrimack , New Hampshire
DATE OF DEATH July 22, 1951
Place of death Naples , Italy